How to setup my AI co-host?

How to set up and activate your AI co-host

Setting up your AI co-host on Nowistay is quick and straightforward. The AI co-host automatically responds to guest messages on Airbnb, Booking.com and other platforms — saving you hours every week while keeping your guests happy with fast, accurate replies in their language.

This guide walks you through the entire process: from creating your account to choosing how to connect your properties and configuring your AI assistant preferences.

Step 1: Create your account and add your properties

Before activating the AI co-host, you need to add your properties to Nowistay. When you sign up and start adding properties, a guided onboarding flow walks you through the process with simple questions.

The onboarding questions

When you click "Add a property" from your properties dashboard, you'll be guided through a few questions:

Question 1: "Do you use a channel manager (PMS) software?"

• If you answer "Yes", you'll be asked if your PMS is in the supported list (Beds24, Smoobu, Lodgify). If it is, you can connect it directly. If not, you can add your property manually.
• If you answer "No", you'll be asked if you list on Airbnb.

Question 2 (if no PMS): "Do you list on Airbnb?"

• If you answer "Yes", you'll be redirected to Airbnb to authorize the connection. Nowistay imports all your listing data automatically — property details, photos, descriptions, and calendar.
• If you answer "No", you can create your property manually by filling in the details.

The setup checklist

After adding your first property, a setup checklist appears at the top of your dashboard. It guides you through several steps to get fully operational:

1. Create your first property
2. Create your welcome guide
3. Activate the AI assistant
4. Review property details (check-in, check-out, nightly rate)
5. Add at least one cleaning team member
6. Add your first cleaning checklist
7. Enable cleaning automation
8. Create missing cleaning missions

If you use the direct connection (OTA) method, there is an additional step to connect your calendar via iCal, since this method does not automatically sync your bookings. With the Nowistay PMS or a supported PMS, your calendar is synced automatically — no extra step needed.

You can complete these steps in order, and each step unlocks as previous ones are finished. The checklist helps you get the most out of Nowistay — not just AI messaging, but also team management and cleaning automation.

Step 2: Choose how to connect your properties

To activate the AI co-host, your properties need to be connected to a booking source so the AI can receive and respond to guest messages. There are three methods, and the best one depends on your current setup.

Method 1: Connect via the Nowistay PMS (Recommended)

This is the recommended and most powerful method. Nowistay becomes your channel manager, centralizing the management of your listings, bookings, availability, and pricing — all from one place.

When to choose this method

• You don't currently use a PMS or channel manager
• You're willing to switch to Nowistay as your channel manager to simplify your workflow
• You want the most reliable, feature-rich connection with your booking platforms

Why is this the best option?

• AI handles messages from the very first contact — including pre-booking inquiries and questions, not just post-booking messages
• Unified management — manage availability, pricing, and bookings across Airbnb, Booking.com, and other platforms from your Nowistay dashboard
• No separate PMS subscription needed — Nowistay replaces your channel manager
• Calendar automatically synced — no need to set up iCal or manual calendar connections
• Greater reliability — direct integration means fewer sync issues and faster message delivery
• More features added regularly — this integration is actively developed with new capabilities

How to set it up

The setup differs slightly depending on the platform:

For Airbnb: During the onboarding flow, answer "No" to the PMS question and "Yes" to the Airbnb question. You'll authorize your Airbnb account, select your listings, and import them. It takes about 2 minutes.

👉 Full step-by-step tutorial: Connect the AI co-host to Airbnb

For Booking.com: You first need to activate the Nowistay PMS as your connectivity provider in the Booking.com extranet, then connect the property from your Nowistay dashboard using the Synchronization option.

👉 Full step-by-step tutorial: Connect the AI co-host to Booking.com

Method 2: Connect via a supported PMS / channel manager

If you already use one of these PMS / channel managers and want to keep using it, Nowistay integrates directly with them:

• Beds24
• Smoobu
• Lodgify

When to choose this method

• You already use Beds24, Smoobu, or Lodgify and are happy with your current PMS
• You want to keep your existing setup while adding AI-powered guest messaging

How to set it up

During the onboarding flow, answer "Yes" to the PMS question and select your PMS from the list. You'll then connect your PMS account and your properties will be automatically synced.

👉 Activate the AI co-host with Beds24

👉 Activate the AI co-host with Smoobu

👉 Activate the AI co-host with Lodgify

More integrations coming soon — the Nowistay team is actively working on connecting with other PMS and channel managers like Guesty, BookingSync, and more.

Method 3: Direct connection (OTA)

This method is available if you already use a PMS that is not yet supported by Nowistay and you don't want to switch to the Nowistay PMS. With this approach, Nowistay connects directly to your Airbnb or Booking.com listing to handle messaging, while your current PMS continues to manage availability and pricing.

When to choose this method

• You use a PMS that is not Beds24, Smoobu, or Lodgify
• You don't want to switch to the Nowistay PMS
• You still want the AI co-host to handle your guest messages

Important limitations

• Airbnb: The AI assistant cannot respond to the very first inquiry message (pre-booking). It handles messages once a conversation has been initiated or a booking is confirmed, unless you grant "Full access" co-host permissions.
• Booking.com: The AI assistant can only handle messages once a booking is confirmed. It cannot respond to pre-booking inquiry messages.
• Calendar not synced automatically: You will need to connect your calendar via iCal so that Nowistay can see your bookings.

How to set it up

For each platform, you'll need to:

1. Go to your property in Nowistay and open the AI Assistant configuration
2. Select the "Direct (OTA)" integration type
3. Follow the platform-specific setup instructions

👉 Connect the AI co-host to Airbnb (Direct method) — see "Option 2: Direct Connection" section

👉 Connect the AI co-host to Booking.com (Direct method) — see "Option 2: Direct Connection" section

Step 3: Subscribe and activate

Once your properties are connected, they will appear in your properties list with a "Ready to activate" badge. To activate the AI co-host:

1. Go to your Properties page
2. Click on the property showing the "Ready to activate" badge
3. You'll be prompted to subscribe to the AI Assistant plan for this property
4. Complete the subscription checkout

Once your subscription is active, the AI co-host will immediately start handling guest messages.

Step 4: Configure your AI assistant preferences

After activation, you can customize two important settings from your AI assistant configuration panel.

Response time

Your AI co-host waits before responding to messages to mimic a natural human response and avoid appearing robotic. The default delay is 2 minutes.

You can adjust this timing in the configuration panel — shorter for faster responses, or longer for a more natural feel.

Pause duration after email notifications

When the AI encounters a situation that requires your intervention (a complex or unusual request), it notifies you by email and temporarily pauses to give you time to take over. By default, this pause lasts 2 hours (120 minutes).

During the pause, the AI won't respond to that conversation, letting you manage it directly. You can customize this duration in the configuration panel.

Quick summary: which method should I choose?

• I don't use a PMS → Method 1: Nowistay PMS (recommended) — import your Airbnb/Booking.com listings and let Nowistay handle everything
• I use Beds24, Smoobu, or Lodgify → Method 2: Supported PMS — connect your existing PMS to Nowistay
• I use another PMS and don't want to switch → Method 3: Direct (OTA) — connect the AI co-host directly to your Airbnb or Booking.com listing
• I use another PMS but I'm willing to switch → Method 1: Nowistay PMS (recommended) — simplify your workflow by using Nowistay as your channel manager

Need help?

Our support team is here to guide you through setup or answer any questions. Just reach out at our contact page or email us at hello@nowistay.com. We'll get back to you quickly!

With Nowistay, activating your AI co-host means saving time without compromising the guest experience. You're in good hands!