Holiday lets on Instagram: answer every dates question and keep the booking with you
A good holiday cottage account on Instagram is a slow drip of daydreams: the view from the hot tub, the log burner, the dog asleep on the sofa. Then the DMs arrive. Is it free the second week of August? Do you take dogs? Is there a cot? How far is the beach? Most of these come in the evening, when you are changing beds at another property or finally sitting down. An AI agent can answer from a short property note and your availability, tell guests how to book direct and collect the details you need. You confirm every booking, take every payment and handle anything about the stay itself. This playbook shows how to set it up and where the line sits.
Why guests message on Instagram
Guests often find a holiday let on Instagram long before they are ready to book. They follow the account, save a few posts and then message when they have dates in mind. Others find you through a hashtag or a reel and want to know whether you are on a booking site or whether they can book with you directly.
Those messages are warm leads. Someone who has followed your account for six months and asks about August is far more likely to book than a stranger on a listing site. The difference is speed. If they wait two days for a reply, they book somewhere else. An AI agent gives them an answer that evening, with the facts of your property and a clear next step.
Dates, prices and the booking itself
Availability is where a holiday let most needs to be right. If the agent says "yes, those dates are free" from an old note and the cottage is already booked, you have a disappointed guest and an awkward message to write. Give it one source of truth: a calendar your agent can read through its own tools, or a short list of booked dates you update every time a booking lands.
Even then, tell the agent to say "those dates look free" rather than "booked", and to pass the guest to you or to your booking link to confirm. Spaces does not connect to booking sites or channel managers, so the agent never holds dates on your behalf. You, or your booking system, make the booking real.
If you also list on a booking site, check its rules about guests who found you there. Many sites do not want hosts moving their guests off the platform. Guests who found you on Instagram are a different matter, but tell the agent never to suggest a guest cancels a booking elsewhere to book with you.
What customers ask on Instagram
- Is the cottage free from 9 to 16 August?
- Do you take dogs? We have two spaniels.
- Can we book direct with you rather than through a site?
- Is there a cot and a highchair?
- How far is it to the beach and the nearest pub?
- What time is check-in, and can we arrive early?
- The hot tub isn't heating, what do we do? (from a guest staying now)
An example conversation
This illustration shows a dates enquiry from a follower turning into a direct booking. Names, prices and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Hannah | Hi! We've been following you for ages. Is Hayloft Cottage free 9 to 16 August? 2 adults, 2 kids and our dog. |
| AI agent | Hi Hannah, I'm the cottage's AI agent and Rachel reads every chat. Those dates look free. Hayloft sleeps four, takes one well-behaved dog (£25 a stay) and has a cot and highchair. That week is £1,150. Would you like to book direct? |
| Hannah | Yes please! How does that work? |
| AI agent | Rachel will message you here with a booking form and the deposit details, usually within a few hours. I've passed her your dates and party size. Is there anything else you'd like her to know? |
| Hannah | Our youngest is 1, so the cot is great. Thanks! |
| Rachel | Hi Hannah, Rachel here. Lovely to hear from you! Here's the booking form. Once the deposit's in, the week is yours. |
What the agent answers
- Whether dates look free, from your calendar or booked-dates list.
- Prices by week or night, minimum stays and changeover days.
- What the property has: beds, cot, parking, Wi-Fi, hot tub, EV charging.
- Dog and children policies, from your note.
- How to book direct, and which booking sites you are also on.
- Local questions: the beach, pubs, shops, walks, from a list you write.
What it always hands to you
- Confirming any booking, taking any payment and sending bank details.
- Discounts, special requests and anything outside your usual rules.
- Problems during a stay, such as heating, hot water, a lock or a leak.
- Door codes, key safe numbers and anything about getting in.
- Damage, deposits, complaints and refunds.
- Anyone asking for an event, a party or a group larger than the property sleeps.
Never send access codes from the agent
Key safe codes and door codes are the one detail that must never go to the wrong person. Tell the agent never to send them, even to someone who says they are a confirmed guest. You send them yourself, a day or two before arrival, to the guest you took the booking from. It is a small habit that protects the property from anyone pretending to be a guest in a DM.
The Instagram limits that matter here
| Limit | Spaces limit per Instagram account |
|---|---|
| Messages | Up to 150 a day |
| Gap between messages | At least 15 seconds |
| New conversations you start | 10 an hour, 100 a day |
Instagram only lets you message someone who has not replied inside its messaging window, so replies in existing chats work best.
Set it up in an afternoon
- Write a property note: each property's beds, features, dog and child rules, prices, minimum stays, changeover days, how to book direct, check-in times and local tips. There is an example below.
- Connect the Instagram account in Spaces. You sign in to Instagram through a secure link and approve the connection. If you run several properties from one account, keep them all in one note.
- Connect your AI agent using the steps on our agents page. Chat apps such as Claude or ChatGPT reply when you ask them in a chat, so for replies around the clock use an always-on agent such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw or Hermes. Give it the property note and your booked dates. Spaces does not connect to booking sites or calendars, but your agent can read a calendar through its own tools if you set that up. Otherwise, update the booked dates in the note every time a booking lands.
- Agree how fast you pick up handed-over chats. A guest with a problem during a stay should hear from you within the hour. Put a phone number in the guest welcome pack for anything urgent.
- Decide when the agent answers. Evenings and weekends are when guests plan holidays, so many owners let it reply then. If you want it quiet overnight, tell it in its notes or pause sending.
- Ask your AI agent to hold replies as drafts for the first week, and nothing goes out until you approve it. Once the answers read the way you would write them, switch drafts off for the everyday questions.
- After a month, read the handed-over chats and add any answer you keep giving, such as "is the garden enclosed?", to the note.
A sample property note
One block per property keeps it easy to update. Here is the shape of one, with example details.
OWNER: Rachel. Two cottages at Brook Farm, 2 miles from Saltmarsh beach.
HAYLOFT COTTAGE: sleeps 4 (1 double, 1 twin). Cot and highchair.
One dog welcome, £25 a stay. Enclosed garden. Parking for 2 cars.
Prices: low season £650 a week, summer £1,150. Short breaks Nov to Mar.
Changeover: Friday. Check-in 4pm, check-out 10am.
BOOKED DATES: 2 to 9 Aug, 23 to 30 Aug, 18 to 25 Oct.
Say "those dates look free" and pass to Rachel. Never confirm.
BOOK DIRECT: Rachel sends a booking form and deposit details.
Also listed on one booking site. Never suggest cancelling a booking there.
LOCAL: The Anchor pub 10 minutes' walk. Shop in the village.
Beach car park fills by 10am in summer.
NEVER: send door or key safe codes, bank details, or agree discounts.
DURING A STAY: hand every problem to Rachel straight away.Guests who message during their stay
Some guests will message the Instagram account during their stay because it is the chat they already have open. The agent can answer simple questions from your guest information, such as where the spare bedding is or what time the bins go out. Anything that is a problem with the property, such as no hot water, a power cut or a lock that will not open, goes to you straight away.
Put your phone number in the welcome pack and tell the agent to share it with any guest who has an urgent problem. An Instagram DM is not the right place for a guest locked out at 10pm to wait for an answer.
A quick decision table
| Guest asks | The agent | You |
|---|---|---|
| Are these dates free? | Checks your dates and says they look free or offers the nearest free week | Confirm and send the booking form |
| Do you take dogs? | Answers from your dog rule | Decide anything outside the rule |
| Can you do £100 off? | Says you will reply | Decide on any discount |
| What is the key safe code? | Says you will send arrival details yourself | Send codes to the booked guest |
| The boiler is not working | Hands over at once and shares your phone number | Sort the problem |
Common mistakes holiday let owners make
- Forgetting to update booked dates, so the agent says a booked week looks free.
- Letting the agent confirm bookings or send bank details. Fraudsters copy holiday let accounts for exactly this.
- Sending door codes from a chat run by an AI agent.
- Messaging every follower with a late availability offer. Instagram limits messages to people who have not written to you.
- Leaving guests during a stay with only an Instagram DM for urgent problems.
Who you message
In short
For a holiday let, an AI agent on Instagram answers dates, prices, dogs, cots and local questions the evening they arrive, and passes every booking to you to confirm. Payments, codes, discounts and problems during a stay always come to you.
Keep the booked dates current, never let the agent send codes or bank details, and read the drafts for the first week. Spaces paces every message and keeps the account inside safe limits, but no tool can promise Instagram will never restrict an account, so keep the agent to people who message you first.
Pricing
FAQ
Can the agent take bookings?
It can check your dates and pass a ready-to-book guest to you with everything you need. You, or your booking system, confirm the booking and take the deposit. Spaces does not connect to booking sites or channel managers.
How does it know which dates are free?
From the booked dates in its note, or from your calendar if your agent can read it through its own tools. Update the note every time a booking lands, and tell the agent to say "look free" rather than confirming.
Can it send the key safe code?
It should not. Send access details yourself to the guest you booked. That protects the property from anyone pretending to be a guest in a DM.
What about guests who found us on a booking site?
Check that site's rules, because many do not want hosts moving guests off the platform. Tell the agent never to suggest a guest cancels a booking elsewhere to book with you.
Can it answer questions during a stay?
Simple ones from your guest information, yes. Any problem with the property goes to you straight away, and the agent shares your phone number for anything urgent.
Can we message past guests about next year?
Message past guests who asked to hear from you, one at a time. Instagram limits messages to people who have not replied recently, so a late-availability blast to followers is not the way to do it.
Can I still reply from the Instagram app?
Yes. When you reply in a chat, the agent stays out of it until you hand it back.
Does it work for more than one property?
Yes. Put each property in its own block of the note, with its own dates and rules, and the agent answers about whichever one the guest asks about.