Klaviyo built its name on e-commerce email and SMS, but its guidance on flows offers a useful way to think about guest communication. It explains clearly a model that is useful for planning automations: trigger, delay, split, message. If you can describe your guest's journey in those four words, you can plan it in any tool. Before choosing one, check its triggers, timing options, conditions and supported channels.
The four parts, in Klaviyo's words
Klaviyo's anatomy of a welcome flow (checked 2026-10-02) breaks a flow into a trigger that starts it, a delay that paces the messages, a split that personalizes the path, and the message that delivers the value. Its flows page (checked 2026-10-02) adds that flows run across email, SMS and push, and start from pre-built templates. The guide gives one piece of advice worth keeping: only branch a flow when you have a distinct goal for the end of that path.
The same four parts on a booking
| Part | In e-commerce | In a rental |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Someone joins a list | A booking is confirmed, check-in is near, an ID is submitted |
| Delay | Wait three days | Wait until the morning, three days before check-in |
| Split | Has purchased before? | Is the ID still missing? Is it a late booking? |
| Message | Welcome email | Check-in instructions, an ID request |
The difference is the anchor. A shopper's clock starts at signup. A guest's clock is the stay, and the stay can move: a date change should move the message with it. When you pick a tool, check whether delays follow the reservation or a fixed time.
Keep the splits few
The warning about branching applies to rental operations too. A flow with ten branches that only its author understands is worse than three flows with one purpose each: one that asks for ID, one that sends arrival details, one that sends the checkout reminder. Name each by its goal, and give each one trigger.
Where the tools differ
Your PMS automations cover the common triggers. A general workflow tool such as n8n can add logic across other systems; see When to use n8n. InnSync's flow editor, InnFlows, follows the same four parts with reservation triggers, waits anchored to check-in or check-out, conditions, and a message sent over the official WhatsApp API from the text you wrote. It is enabled account by account, in conversation with our team, and does not send email or SMS today.
What to read next
To see these flows around your PMS, start here.