How to assign Instagram DMs to team members

Housekeeping can tell you when the room will be ready while the receptionist handles the guest. The guest doesn’t need to chase a second department to finish the same conversation.

If the answer will come back after you leave, assign the DM to the evening receptionist. Say what they need to check and let the guest know who will send the update. While your team still owes that answer, keep the request on the list of work to finish.

For a shop, the person replying can ask packing staff about an address change without handing the buyer around. Change the conversation owner when someone else will take the next customer reply.

“Please follow up” leaves your colleague to read the whole thread and work out where you got to. Give them the request, what’s confirmed, what’s still uncertain and what the guest has been told:

Example internal note: “Guest asks about early check-in on Friday. Room dates confirmed; early arrival not confirmed. Housekeeping is checking when the room will be ready. Please reply when they confirm. I told the guest the evening receptionist would send an update.”

Include a booking or order reference wherever your team keeps its handoffs. Your colleague should be able to check the right record without searching by a name that might appear twice.

An order handoff could read: “Buyer wants to change the address. Parcel packed; dispatch not confirmed. Check with packing before promising the change.” For a salon, note whether the proposed replacement time has been approved. A few specific sentences are kinder to the next person than a vague reminder.

A name beside a message can feel reassuring, but the person may still be busy with arrivals or unaware that the request is waiting. Ask them to acknowledge the handoff. “I’ll check with housekeeping and reply” is enough.

Agree a backup for shift changes. If the incoming receptionist hasn’t picked it up, contact that person before leaving. Give your team a way to handle a busy afternoon without relying on whoever notices the DM first.

The new receptionist should check the saved stay details and ask housekeeping about readiness. A room being available for Friday doesn’t establish that it will be ready before lunch.

In an Inboks rental workspace, the guest conversation can stay linked to the booking. Assign it to the next receptionist and leave it in Waiting on you while your team checks early arrival. On Starter and higher plans, a private conversation note can hold the handoff beside the history.

The hotel and guesthouse workflow shows that connection; the plans explain team features. If you use a separate property system, keep its records updated through your own process.

After housekeeping confirms, the receptionist can answer the question the guest asked:

Example reply: “I’ve checked with housekeeping. We can confirm early check-in before lunch on Friday. Your room dates remain the same.”

If the check is still unfinished, tell the guest what you’re waiting for and when you can reasonably update them. Don’t turn a colleague’s “probably” into a confirmed arrival time.

The guest has already given you their dates and explained what they need. Read that conversation before replying so they don’t have to repeat it to each shift.

At the next shift change, look at one request that stalled. Was the note unclear, the booking hard to find, or the new owner unaware they were expected to act? Fix that part of the handoff with the team.

Keep the request open while your team owes a reply. When you’re waiting for the guest to decide, use Waiting on customer. Assigning the DM passes responsibility; mark it Completed after the reply is handled and any agreed booking change is recorded.