Group messages don’t send as true group messages; your guests will not be in the same text thread with each other. Group messaging is a time-saving tool that allows you to simultaneously push out the same message to multiple guests.
Group messages are a great way to notify your guests of things like:
- Weather advisories
- Broken elevators
- Safety precautions
- Special announcements for certain groups, etc.
IMPORTANT: Group Messaging should not be used to send mass promotions. The FCC heavily regulates promotional messaging via text message, and significant fines can be charged for violating their regulations.
Sending a group message
Open the kabob menu above the guest list and select Group Message.
The guest messaging menu has various ways to sort and filter guests so you can create a group message targeting the correct group.
The checked-in/checked-out drop-down provides the broadest sort of guests.
The guest name or room number search can filter for select guests within a group.
You can filter guests based on a range of room numbers. This is useful if there is an issue on a particular floor or a range of rooms.
You can also select a tag in the dropdown menu of tags in your system. This might be useful if you have a wedding or conference that you have tagged guests as attending, and you want to contact everyone staying at the hotel for that reason.
A guest will receive the message if they have a blue check mark next to their name on the guest list.
You can individually mark the boxes for guests, or you can use the mass selection drop down to automatically select all guests in the filter, no guests, guests who are checking out today, and guests that are checking out tomorrow.
After selecting your recipients type your message in the chat textbox and click the paper airplane send button, or click the drop-down arrow to schedule a time for the message to send.
Message Throttlingwill impact how long it takes Ivy to send a message. If your property experiences a lot of guests, with multiple campaigns and group messages being sent out, it is encouraged to add a 1-2 second delay after each message to reach as many guests as possible, in the quickest amount of time.