Message residents through the Inbox

The Inbox at /my/inbox is where conversations with residents happen. Keeping conversations on-platform — rather than on WhatsApp or email — protects you in two important ways: support can read the history when needed, and you have a complete record.

When to use the Inbox

Before booking — answer questions from prospective residents.
Immediately after acceptance — welcome message and check-in plan.
During the stay — anything that affects the stay (payments, complaints, requests).
After check-out — thank-you, review nudge, reminders about belongings.

When NOT to use other channels

Avoid WhatsApp, SMS, personal email, or social media for booking-related conversations. If a dispute arises, those conversations:

Can't be verified by Coliving support.
Have to be screenshot-uploaded individually.
Often miss context the support team needs.

If a resident insists on WhatsApp for casual chat (which happens), keep the booking-relevant conversation in the Inbox in parallel.

What you can do in the Inbox

Send messages to the resident.
Mark a conversation unread to come back to it.
Archive a conversation to clear it from your active list.
Close a conversation when there's nothing more to discuss. Closing is final-ish — both sides are notified and the conversation becomes read-only.

Useful message patterns

The Inbox doesn't have a saved-templates feature, so most hosts keep a few text snippets in a notes file or a password manager and paste them in. Useful ones:

Pre-booking inquiry response

"Thanks for reaching out! Yes, the room is available for your dates. To answer your questions: [size], [bathroom], [internet]. Send a request when ready and I'll confirm within a few hours."

Booking acceptance welcome

"Welcome! Your booking is confirmed. Quick essentials: check-in is at [time]; the address is [address]; key plan is [plan]. I'll send full check-in info 48 hours before move-in. Let me know if you have questions."

Check-in instructions (48 hours before)

"Move-in tomorrow! Full info: address [X], door code [Y], your room [name], Wi-Fi [network/password]. I'll meet you at [time]. Safe travels."

Gentle rule reminder

"Hey, quick reminder that quiet hours are from 22:00 — got a couple of comments from neighbours last night. Just keeping it on your radar."

Check-out reminder

"Hope the stay's been good. Quick check-out reminder for [date]: out by [time], strip the bed, leave keys [where]."

Practical tips

Reply within 4 hours during the day. Slow replies frustrate residents and lose bookings.
Use the resident's name. Small but lands.
One message per topic. Five short messages clutter the thread.
Re-read before sending. Tone is hard in text.