How to manage Guest board activity

Overview

Managing the Guest board effectively is key to maintaining an active and safe community. This article explains how hotel staff can monitor interactions, moderate user profiles, and engage with guests by responding to or creating posts.

Before getting started

Before you begin managing the board, ensure you have:

• At least one staff member assigned to monitor community interactions.
• All tab settings reviewed and fully completed.

Step by step guide

Once guests begin using the board, staff members can perform the following management actions:

Step 1: View guest profiles

To see and manage users registered on the Guest board follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Activity > Guest board.
2. Select the Profiles tab. From here, you can manage guest accounts, review profile metrics, moderate access, and maintain a safe environment for everyone.
3. Use the search bar or filters to refine the list. You can filter by:
   • Status: Filter profiles based on their current account status: All, Active, or Blocked users.
   • Risk level: Filter profiles by the total reports received on all their posts and replies: All, No reports, Low risk (1-3 reports), or High risk (4+ reports).
4. Once filtered, the table displays the following details for each profile:
   • Name: The public nickname chosen by the user when creating their Guest board profile.
   • Guest: The name and room number entered by the guest when logging into the Guest app.
   • Joined: The date and time the profile was created.
   • Replies: Total number of replies published by the user.
   • Reports: Total number of reports received by all posts and replies created by that specific profile.
   • Actions:
     • View guest profile: View stay details (check-in/out) and activity history (orders, reservations, etc.).
     • Block profile: Restrict users who violate community rules.

Step 2: Block and unblock profiles

Block a user

If a guest violates community rules and guidelines, you can block their profile. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Activity > Guest board.
2. Select the Profiles tab to view the list of registered users.
3. In the Actions column, click the Lock icon.

Please note:

• Once a user is blocked, they can no longer post or reply. Their previous posts and comments will stay visible on the Guest board (this warning message will appear in a pop-up when you block them).
• Once a user is blocked, the user profile will display a red lock icon. This icon will also appear next to their name in the Posts tab, allowing staff to easily identify restricted users.
• The blocked guest will be notified of their status via the Guest app. A red lock icon and a banner stating "Profile restricted to read-only mode" will appear on their profile.
• While blocked, the guest cannot edit their profile and interact with the board (create new posts, reply, report, or save content).

Unblock a user

If a guest has been blocked, they can also be unblocked at any time. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Activity > Guest board.
2. Select the Profiles tab to view the list of registered users.
3. In the Actions column, locate the closed lock icon. Clicking this icon will unlock the profile.

Please note:

• Once unblocked, this user will be able to post and reply on the board again (this notice will appear in a pop-up when unblocking the user).
• The red lock icon will disappear from the CMS (both in the Profiles and Posts tabs), indicating the user is active again.
• The red lock icon and the read-only mode banner will disappear from the guest's smartphone. The guest will once again be able to edit their profile and interact with the board (create new posts, reply, report and save posts).

Step 3: View posts and replies

To monitor community health and manage live content, follow these steps::

1. Navigate to Activity > Guest board.
2. Select the Posts tab. Here you will find a table listing all posts created by users. From here, you can manage all guest interactions and community health, track live content, respond to reports, and ensure a safe environment for everyone.
3. Use the search bar or filters to refine the list. You can filter by:

1. • Date: Filter by the post's publication date.
   • Status: Filter posts by their current status:
     • All: Shows all posts regardless of their status.
     • Published: Live posts visible to guests.
     • Hidden: Posts manually removed by staff for violating guidelines.
     • Archived: Posts automatically moved from the board after the visibility period set in the Settings tab.
   • Reports: Filter by report status:
     • All: Shows all posts regardless of report history.
     • No reports: Posts that have not received any report.
     • Pending review: Posts that have a pending review of a report.
   Once filtered, the table displays the following information:
   • Name: The guest's stay login name and their public @nickname.
   • Title: The title of the post.
   • Replies: Total number of comments on the post.
   • Reports: Total number of reports.
   • Status: Current status of the post.
   • Last activity: Date and time of the most recent activity.
   • Actions: Here you have two options:
     • View guest profile: Access stay details (check-in/out) and activity history (orders, reservations, etc.).
     • View post: Opens a preview of the post and its replies in the same format guests see on their smartphones.

Step 4: Hide a post

Staff may need to hide a specific post or a reply (without blocking the user) for various reasons, such as violating community rules, posting about a sensitive topic, or any other situation. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Activity > Guest board.
2. Select the Posts tab. Here you will find the list of posts created by users.
3. Find the post you wish to hide.
4. In the Actions column, click the View post icon. You will see the post and its replies in the same format as a guest would see them on their smartphone, with the main post at the top and the replies from other users below.
5. Click the Visibility icon (eye icon) to hide the post. Guests won't be able to see it anymore; it will only remain accessible to hotel staff from the CMS. The post status will change from Published to Hidden.
6. To show again a hidden post, repeat these steps. In this case, the visibility icon will appear in red, and clicking it will perform the Show post action. The post status will change back to Published, and it will be visible on the Guest board again.

Step 5: Review and dismiss reports

Guest board users can report any content, including both posts and replies. Once a user submits a report, the staff must review these reports and take the necessary actions. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Activity > Guest board.
2. Select the Post tab.
3. In the post table, locate the Reports column. This column displays the total number of reports a post has received. This number is a counter that sums up reports for the main post as well as all its replies (Level 1 and Level 2). The number in this column appears in two colors:
   • Yellow: Reports that are still pending review and dismiss by the staff.
   • Grey: Reports that have already been dismissed by the staff.
   
   
   
4. Click on the post row with reports to see more information. This will open the preview of the main post and its replies. Each piece of content will show its corresponding number of reports at the bottom, using the colors mentioned above (yellow or grey).
5. Click on the report count banner to open the Report details pop-up.
6. Here, you will see the history of all reports (reviewed or not) that the post has received. They are ordered with unreviewed reports at the top, followed by chronological order. The reports appear in two colors:
   • Yellow: Reports that are still pending staff review.
   • White: Reports that have already been reviewed by the staff.
   
   
   
7. Within each report, the following information is displayed:
   • The name of the user who submitted the report.
   • The reason for the report (if provided, as this is an optional field).
   • The date and time of the report.
   • The Staff member's name, date, and time of the review (this only appears for reviewed reports—dismissed—which are shown in white).
     
     
8. To mark a report as Dismiss or reviewed, you have two options:
   • Option 1: Click Dismiss on a specific report. This will mark only that individual report as dismissed; any others will remain in a pending state.
   • Option 2: Click the Dismiss all button. This will mark all reports for that specific post as dismissed.
9. After reviewing a report, the staff can decide to hide the post (refer to Step 4) or, if a specific user's posts or replies are receiving a high number of reports, block the user (refer to Step 2).
   
   

Step 6: Create a staff profile to interact on the Guest board

Regarding staff profiles used for interaction, please keep the following points in mind:

1. Staff user permissions are managed in the Employees section (Corporate > Employees). Based on the permissions assigned to their profile, staff members will have different levels of access to the Guest board:

   • Read permission: Read-only access to the Guest board and its filters. The user cannot perform any actions or modify any settings.

   • Read and write permission: Read-only access to the Guest board and its filters. The user cannot perform any actions within the board, but does have access to the Settings section to configure the feature.

   • Read and manage permission: The user can perform all Guest board actions and interactions, including:

     • Creating a post.
     • Replying to posts.
     • Hide or show posts and replies.
     • Blocking or unblocking profiles.
     • Managing content reports.

     This user cannot modify anything within the Settings section.

   • Read, write and manage permission: Full access to the feature, including both interactions and settings.

    

    

    

2. The name displayed is the one entered during the employee creation process, along with their position. For more details, refer to the article on How to create employees (Link).

3. By default, the employee creation process does not include an option to add a profile image. If you need to add a photo to a staff profile so it appears when interacting with users on the Guest board, please contact our support team.

Step 7: Reply to a post

The hotel team can reply to guest posts, for example, to answer questions or provide recommendations on topics being discussed. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Activity > Guest board.
2. Select the Posts tab. Here you will find the list of posts created by users.
3. Find the specific post.
4. Go to the last column, Actions, and click the View post icon. A window will open showing the post and its replies. You have two options:
   • Reply directly to the post: Click the speech bubble icon below the post text. An Add your reply box will open for you to type your response. Once written, click Publish. Your comment will automatically appear as a reply to the post.
   • Reply to an existing comment: In the same way, click the speech bubble icon below the text of a specific reply. An Add your reply box will open. Once written, click Publish, and your comment will automatically appear as a response.

Step 8: Create a post

The hotel team can proactively create posts for various purposes, such as notifying guests of an offer, a new service, or an activity that requires more attendees. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Activity > Guest board.
2. Select the Posts tab. Here you will find the table listing all posts created by users.
3. In the top-right corner, click the Add post button. A window will open to create your post, displaying your staff name and position (as configured in Employees).
4. Add the post title (maximum 300 characters).
5. Add the post message (maximum 2500 characters).
6. Click Publish. The post will be automatically visible on the Guest board. Guests will be able to reply to it just like they would to a post created by another guest.

Next steps

Now that you know how to manage Guest board activity, we recommend:

• Visit the Posts tab to ensure all live content aligns with your community guidelines.
• Regularly filter by Pending review to address any guest concerns or reports promptly.
• Proactively create a post to welcome guests or share a special offer to boost interaction.
• Learn how to make the board visible to guests (Link) via Guest app home page, direct links or QR codes to increase participation.

Need further assistance?

If you have additional questions or require further assistance:

• Contact us via live chat.
• Send a ticket to our Support team.
• Visit STAY Academy, our training platform.