Understanding: Delivery Status of Different Message Types in Inbox

  Understanding:   Delivery Status of Different Message Types in Inbox

  This article describes message delivery status in the Lynx Inbox interface, and how to use the indicators to understand message delivery.

  Lynx Inbox allows you to send and receive messages to and from guests as well as staff, using any combination of SMS, email, and/or Guest Portal messaging. Since both SMS and email have the potential for issues that could prevent messages from being sent or received, the Inbox interface includes alert indicators to quickly identify any message that didn't send correctly.

Emergency Communication Warning (US & Canada): The Lynx messaging system (including SMS, Email, and Guest Portal) does not support Text-to-911 or other emergency routing services. In the event of an emergency, guests and staff must dial 911 directly from their personal mobile devices or landlines.

1.     Benefits  
2.     Messages Sent Using a Single Delivery Method  
3.     Messages Sent Using Multiple Delivery Methods  
4.     Understanding Message Delivery Statuses  
5.     Identifying and Correcting Errors  
6.     Delivery Status for Airbnb Chat Messages  

  Benefits:

•     Lynx Inbox status icons allow you to see delivery status at a glance  
•     Messages sent using just any delivery method (email, SMS, or Guest Portal) will display their delivery status right in the Inbox.  
•     Messages sent using multiple delivery methods provide an additional pop-up display, for a detailed view of delivery status for each method.  
•     If an error is encountered when sending a message through more than one delivery method, you can click the indicator to view the status of each message type and identify which message(s) failed to send.  
•     Quickly identify, troubleshoot, and correct errors for messages sent through Lynx Messaging Automation.
         

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  Messages Sent Using a Single Delivery Method:

  Inbox allows you to send messages using either a single Delivery method (email, SMS, or Guest Portal) or multiple methods at once. Messages that are sent with only a single Delivery method will provide their delivery status directly in the Inbox display. No additional pop-up is needed to view the delivery status of these messages.

•     Single-method messages that were delivered successfully will display a double check-mark icon below the message, as seen here:
         

•     Single-method messages that were not delivered successfully will display a red "X" icon below the message, as seen here:
         

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  Messages Sent Using Multiple Delivery Methods:

  Inbox allows you to send a message using more than one method (email, SMS, and/or Guest Portal) at the same time. Messages that are sent using multiple delivery methods will display an "Information" icon by the delivery-status icons, regardless of the status of each message type. You can click on this icon to view a pop-up displaying the individual status of each message type.
   

•     Multiple-type messages that were delivered successfully by all selected methods (email, SMS, and/or Guest Portal) will display a double check-mark icon next to the "Information" button below the message, as seen here:
         

•     Multiple-type messages that were delivered successfully by one or methods, but are still queued/pending by at least one other method, will display a clear check-mark icon next to the "Information" button below the message, as seen here:
         

•     Multiple-type messages that failed to deliver using one or more selected method will display a red "X" icon next to the "Information" button below the message, as seen here:  

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  Understanding Message Delivery Statuses:

  Lynx identifies four different delivery statuses for messages, and any of these could apply to either email and/or SMS messages. These statuses are:

•     Queued: The message has been initially sent but has not yet been passed to our 3rd-party messaging systems (like Twilio or SendGrid).  
•     Sent: The message has been successfully passed to our 3rd-party messaging systems.  
•     Delivered: We have received a successful webhook/callback from the 3rd-party software, confirming delivery.  
•     Failed: The message failed to send.  

Important Note: The "Guest Portal" message type sends a message directly to the Guest Portal for the selected stay. Since these messages are sent internally within the Lynx servers without the potential for external failure, they should always display "Delivered" status. If you see a "Failed" status for a Guest Portal message, please reach out to Lynx Support.

  For messages that are sent using multiple delivery methods (email/SMS/Guest Portal), you can click the "Information" icon below the message to display the delivery status of the message using each method. This can help troubleshoot configuration errors, identify inaccurate guest contact information, and ensure that messages are being sent at the scheduled times. See the table below for a detailed description of each possible status combination.

Note: The table below notes "Delivered or Sent" status for instances that include at least one "Failed" status as well. This is not a separate delivery status type, it simply notes that either status will result in the same status indicator if any delivery method fails.

SMS Status	Email Status	Main Display Status	Status Display on Clicking
Delivered	Delivered	Delivered:
Sent	Delivered	Sent:
Delivered	Sent	Sent:
Sent	Sent	Sent:
Delivered or Sent	Failed	Failed:
Failed	Delivered or Sent	Failed:
Failed	Failed	Failed:

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  Identifying and Correcting Errors:

  When you find a message that displays one or more "Failed" indicators, you will need to correct whatever condition or error caused the message delivery to fail before you can send the message. In these cases, the "Automation" link provides detailed information to assist in troubleshooting.

  For instructions on how to troubleshoot message delivery failures, refer to our Knowledge Base article at How To: View and Manage Automated Messages with Inbox.

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  Delivery Status for Airbnb Chat Messages:

  Automated messages can now be sent directly through Airbnb's native chat channel, in addition to SMS, email, and Guest Portal. This solves the historical issue of proxy email addresses and missing phone numbers, since guests receive messages in the Airbnb app where they already monitor their booking. 

•     Airbnb chat messages use the same delivery status indicators (Queued, Sent, Delivered, and Failed) described above.  
•     When a message is sent through Airbnb chat, the status on Lynx reflects whether Airbnb has queued the message for delivery. Actual guest read receipt depends on when the guest checks their Airbnb app.  

Important Note: The Airbnb chat delivery method is included with the Airbnb integration at no additional cost. Templates sent through Airbnb chat must be plain text only — no HTML formatting is supported. Full two-way live inbox conversations require the separate Lynx Inbox feature. If the Airbnb option is missing from your automation settings, verify that the Airbnb integration is fully connected and that the property is linked.

For more information, see How To: Send Automated Messages Through Airbnb Chat.

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Learn more about how to use the Lynx Inbox here.