Part of the automated guest journey — see how this fits with arrival messages and SES filing in The automated guest journey.
Where to get the message
Go to Properties, open the listing, then its Channels tab. The "Automatic check-in link" card there has a ready-to-paste message with the property's own link already in it — copy it from there rather than typing anything by hand, since the link is unique to each property.
Airbnb
What this sets up
Once configured, Airbnb sends one automatic message per listing after each booking is confirmed, and every future guest gets their check-in link without you lifting a finger. With the confirmation-code variable in place, the guest just taps the link: they see a short branded verification screen, then land directly on their check-in form — nothing to type. Without the variable, the same link still works — it opens a page that asks the guest for their booking code first.
Setting it up in Airbnb
Menus move around on Airbnb from time to time, so treat these as a starting point rather than exact, permanent steps.
Open the listing and go to Scheduled messages.
Create a new message triggered after booking is confirmed.
Paste the message you copied from the Channels tab.
Right after the link, insert Airbnb's confirmation code variable from the variable/shortcode menu — with no space or punctuation between the link and the variable. The sent message should end up containing a link like:
https://checkinea.com/c/a1B2c3D4e5F6/HMABC123XYSave the scheduled message.
About Airbnb's off-platform message policy
Airbnb's off-platform communication policy explicitly allows sharing information a guest is legally required to provide — and Spain's traveler-registration rules are exactly that case, so this message is covered.
Booking.com
What this sets up
Once configured, Booking.com sends one automatic message per listing, and every future guest gets their check-in link without you lifting a finger. With a reservation-number placeholder in place, the guest just taps the link: they see a short branded verification screen, then land directly on their check-in form — nothing to type. Without the placeholder, the same link still works — it opens a page that asks the guest for their booking number first.
Setting it up in the extranet
Menus move around in the Booking.com extranet from time to time, so treat these as a starting point rather than exact, permanent steps.
Log in to the extranet and find messaging templates or scheduled messages.
Create a new template or scheduled message.
Paste the message you copied from the Channels tab.
If the editor offers a reservation-number placeholder, insert it right after the link, with no space or punctuation in between. The sent message should end up containing a link like:
https://checkinea.com/c/a1B2c3D4e5F6/1234567890Not every extranet template editor offers this placeholder — if yours doesn't, skip it; the guest will type their booking number on the page instead, and the link still works.
If your test message arrives without the link
Booking.com can strip links from automated messages. If you send yourself a
test and the link is missing, go to the extranet's messaging security
settings and approve/whitelist the checkinea.com domain, then send another
test to confirm the link comes through.
Troubleshooting: guest's booking number isn't recognized
This usually means the booking reached Checkinea only through the calendar (iCal) connection — Booking.com's iCal feed doesn't carry the real reservation number, so there's nothing for the page to match against. Setting up email forwarding fixes this for future bookings. For a booking already affected, the direct check-in link from the booking's detail page in Checkinea always works, regardless of how the booking number lookup goes.
If the booking isn't confirmed in Checkinea yet
If the guest's stay already exists in Checkinea but as a booking candidate (not yet confirmed with full details), tapping the link shows them a page saying check-in isn't open yet — and you get an email right away so you can confirm the booking and open it up.
Test it before relying on it
Send yourself a test message and tap the link, the same way a guest would, before trusting it to run unattended. For Booking.com, also confirm the link survived Booking.com's message filtering, as described above.