Summary
Different channels have different fees, audiences, and communication norms, so you'll often want a message that only goes to guests from one specific channel. Host Tools lets you apply any message rule to a single channel — for example, a check-in message tailored for Airbnb guests, or a payment reminder only for Booking.com guests. The same approach works for pricing — see How do I set a channel-specific price rule?.
Every message rule includes a Channels setting. The default is All, which means the rule applies to reservations from every connected channel. Selecting a specific channel restricts the rule to that channel only.
Setting the channel on a message rule
Click Messaging in the header menu.
Choose the listing or listing group the rule should apply to.
Click Add Message Rule in the top right-hand corner — or open an existing rule to edit it.
Configure the rule as you normally would: pick a template from the Templates drop-down, set the trigger event, and write the message. For a walkthrough of the basics, see How do I add a message rule?.
Scroll down to the Channels field and pick the channel you want this rule to send to (for example, Airbnb, Booking.com, Direct, or Vrbo).
Click Save in the bottom right-hand corner.
Going forward, the rule will only fire for reservations booked through the channel you selected.
Can I apply one rule to more than one channel?
No — the Channels field is a single selection. If you want the same message to send on more than one channel (say, Airbnb and Vrbo), the easiest path is to copy the rule and change the Channels setting on the copy. You can copy a rule as many times as you have channels you want to cover.
What happens if I leave Channels set to All?
The rule applies to reservations from every connected channel — Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Houfy, and direct bookings. Any reservation that meets the rule's other conditions will trigger the message regardless of which channel the guest booked through.