Workflows handle procedures, not facts
A workflow is a node-based automation: a trigger, some conditions, then actions. Where the Knowledge Base holds what is true about a property, a workflow holds what to do when a situation occurs.
The test is whether the answer depends on circumstances. "Checkout is 11 AM" is a fact for a host note. "If they ask for a late checkout, check the turnover, then offer or decline" is conditional, and belongs here. If a workflow does not match a situation, Besty escalates to a human rather than improvising.
The workflow list
Go to Workflows. There are two tabs, Workflows and Templates, with + New Workflow at the top right.
Each workflow is a card carrying a thumbnail of its node diagram, its name, an enable toggle, a status chip and a scope label such as All Listings. The thumbnail is a live preview of the branching logic, which makes the grid genuinely useful: an over-complicated workflow is visible as a tangle before you open it.
Four states matter, and the filter chips along the toolbar match them:
Live, running against real conversations
Draft, not running
In Review, submitted but not yet active
Disabled, switched off
A workflow left in Draft is doing nothing. That matters more than it sounds, because Besty falls back to its default behaviour for whatever that workflow was meant to govern. If you built a workflow to hold back address details and it never went Live, the default applies instead. Check the status chip before assuming a rule is in force.
Edits take effect for new incoming messages. They do not retroactively change conversations already in progress.
Check the template library first
The Templates tab holds 41 prebuilt template groups across ten categories. This is the best answer to "how do I make Besty handle X", and it is worth browsing before building anything from scratch.
You can filter by tag, covering things like check-in, checkout, cleaning, escalation, lock-access, lost-found, maintenance, pets, pricing, upsell, vip and wifi, or browse the categories:
Guest requests: discount, pet, early check-in, late checkout, extra guests, luggage storage, long-term stay, availability, booking modification, refund
Check-in and access: access instructions, lock code reminder, lockout troubleshooting, VIP recognition, under-25 deposit, pre-arrival communication
Maintenance and issues: general maintenance, wifi, power, cleaning complaints, plumbing
Upsells and revenue: pool heating, upsell fulfilment, pre-checkout extension offers, celebration packages
Cancellation and retention, inquiry and booking, checkout and post-stay, sentiment and escalation, and operations and scheduling
Several are worth knowing by name. Emergency Situations handles gas leaks, fires, floods, CO alarms and medical emergencies. Negative Sentiment, Disable Upsells automatically stops upselling a guest who has expressed frustration, which is the kind of judgement that is expensive to get wrong manually. Checkout and Cleaner Notification tells the cleaning team when a guest has actually checked out.
What a workflow can do
Beyond messaging a guest, workflows can notify individual staff directly, read and write fields in your connected PMS, and branch on whether a guest has completed the rental agreement or the guest portal. A workflow has to pass automated validation before it can be enabled.
Still Having Trouble?
Reach out via chat or at support@getbesty.ai.