Make every guest feel special, effortlessly!
Whether you’re a tech whiz or not, Touch Stay helps you send personalised guidebook invitations and messages.
Field codes automatically pull in each guest’s booking details, so your messages feel personal without you lifting a finger.
In this article:
What is a field code? (includes custom fields)
Field codes are smart placeholders that automatically fill in with the right information for each guide, guest, or message.
They can store details such as:
The guest’s name, email, or arrival date
The guide or property name
Any other booking details or custom information you’ve set up
You simply add a short code like ####{{guest_first_name}} into your guide content or message templates.
When your guest views the guide or receives a message, Touch Stay replaces the code with the real information, no manual edits needed.
Example:
You write:
“Hi ####{{guest_first_name}}, we can’t wait to welcome you to ####{{guide_name}} on ####{{arrival_date}}!”
Your guest sees:
“Hi Sarah, we can’t wait to welcome you to Casa del Sol on 10 July!”
Using Field Codes in the Message Hub Templates
Field codes make your automated messages personal without extra work.
For example:####{{guest_first_name}} will automatically be replaced by the guest’s actual first name when the message is sent.
This means you don’t have to edit or duplicate messages for each guest or guide; the data fills in for you.
Adding field codes to your message templates:
For email from name or subject line, click Insert Field Code.
For email body or SMS content, use the Field Code option in the text editor toolbar.
💡 Tip: You can also use field codes when setting template criteria, helping determine which messages apply to which guide or guest.
For more details, see the article Message template criteria explained
Using Field Codes in Guide content
You can use field codes directly inside your guide to make content feel unique for each property or guest.
For example,
####{{guide_name}} can turn a category title like:
“About the Accommodation”
into:
“About ####{{guide_name}}”
If you manage multiple guides, this ensures each guide automatically displays its own property name.
Adding field codes in your guide:
For section titles, click the Insert Field Code button.
For topic content, use the Field Code option in the toolbar of the text editor.
⚠️ Note:
If you share your guide using a Quick Share link (instead of a personalised invitation), some field codes might not have data to display. (The Quick Share link is the same for all viewers and independent of invitations.)
In those cases, you can add a substitute value to show instead.
Example:
If ####{{guest_first_name}} has no data, you can set a substitute value like “Friend”, so your topic says:
“Hi Friend, welcome to Casa del Sol!”
See below for more details on setting substitute values.
Standard Field Codes
There are a series of standard field codes that come with your account automatically and are based on fixed fields in Touch Stay. These standard field codes are:
guide_name : the name of the guide as set on the Guide Details tab.
invitation_link 1 : the unique link for the invitation.
host_name : the first name set in the Profile settings on the Account page.
guide_address 1 : the street address of the guide.
guide_city : the city of the guide.
guide_region_state : the region or state of the guide.
guide_zipcode : the zip/post code of the guide.
guide_country : the country of the guide.
guide_contact_name : the name set as the “Your contact name” on the Guide Details tab or Profile settings on the Account page.
guide_contact_email : the email set as the “Your contact email address” on the Guide Details tab or Profile settings on the Account page.
guide_contact_phone : a clickable phone link to the phone number set as the “Your contact phone number” on the Guide Details tab or Profile settings on the Account page.
guide_contact_sms : a clickable SMS link to the phone number set as the “Your contact phone number” on the Guide Details tab or Profile settings on the Account page.
guest_first_name : the first name of the person set on the invitation.
guest_last_name : the last name of the person set on the invitation.
guest_email : the email address of the person set on the invitation.
guest_phone : the phone number of the person set on the invitation.
arrival_date : the arrival/start date set on the invitation.
departure_date : the departure/end date set on the invitation.
invitation_view_count 1 : the number of views the invitation has had.
tag 2 : any active tags on the guide.
Notes:
1 – these codes are not available when setting message criteria. 2 – these codes are not available in message template or guide content.
Standard field codes which come from invitation data can have a substitute value set to replace the short code when used in guide content for the Quick Share link. These substitute values can be added by using the “View/Edit” option in the 3 dots menu for each standard field code found in the table on the Field Codes tab of the Account page.
Custom Field Codes
You can create your own custom field codes for use in guide content, message templates or message criteria. Field codes can be for anything that you think will be useful for personalising the information that you want to provide to your guests. When creating custom field codes you can choose where the data will be set and what type that data will be, depending on what you need the code for. You can also set a substitute value to be used if the data is missing. You create custom field codes from the Field Codes tab of the Account page, more details on each option can be found below.
Remember: In custom fields, up to 65000 characters are allowed, but it's worth noting that it can't format the elements and there are no line breaks or paragraphs
Field Code Name
The code name also forms the short code that is used to enter the code into message content. The code must consist of letters, numbers, underscores and hyphens only. You cannot include spaces or any special characters. We will surround your code with double curly brackets to make it easy to identify when in use. You do not need to add the curly brackets yourself and in fact won’t be able to, since they’re a special character and not permitted for the name.
Field Type
The field type determines where this data will be set. The options are:
User/Guest – for data that will be set when creating invitations; or
Guide – if it will be set on the Guide Details tab.
An example of User/Guest data is the lock code. This is specific to each guest and set on the invitation.
An example of Guide data could be the review link. This is specific to the property the guide is for.
Data Type
The data type determines the type of data your custom field code can hold. Once set, this may limit the entries that can be made and it also affects the criteria options, see this article for more details on setting message criteria. The different data types and some examples are given below:
Text – free plain text, for example a reservation or booking ID.
List – a list of data. This means when the field data is set, the options can only be from this list. Enter each value separated by a comma. You could use lists to classify your guests (couple, family, celebration etc) or create special messaging around certain events in your local area.
Link – a weblink. Use to add fixed links related to each guide such as your website reviews page. The short code will be converted into a clickable link when replaced with the data.
Date – a fixed date. This type allows you to create time related criteria such as after or before.
Number – an integer, field data can be whole numbers only. This type allows you to create value related criteria such as greater than or less than.
Yes or No – a simple choice of Yes or No. You could use this for messaging about ancillary services such as airport transfers or welcome hampers.
Substitute Value
The substitute value is optional and only used in the case of missing field data. Substitute values have no effect on criteria, they are only used in message content if the field data is left blank. For example, you create a custom field code called ####{{lock_code}}. The substitute value could be “Call us if code is missing” – this means if you ever forget to add the lock code but a message using the short code gets sent out, then the short code would be replaced with “Call us if code is missing”.
Substitute values are also used in your Quick Share link for any standard field codes where the data is set on the invitation. The Quick Share link is the same for everyone viewing it and therefore can’t have data that changes based on an invitation (that’s precisely what unique invitation links are for!). Substitute values for standard field codes can be added by using the “View/Edit” option in the 3 dots menu for each standard field code found in the table on the Field Codes tab of the Account page.