Problem statement
Hosts managing properties across different time zones often work with co-hosts or team members who cover specific shifts. Currently, there's no way to route notifications to different team members based on time windows. This means:
- All team members receive all notifications regardless of whether they're "on duty"
- Co-hosts can't easily tell when they're responsible for responding
- Team members must manually filter through notifications that aren't relevant to their shift
Current workaround
Hosts and co-hosts coordinate shift coverage outside of Hospitable (e.g., agreeing that one person covers midnight to 4pm UK time, and another covers 4pm to midnight). Both team members receive all notifications via Hospitable's notification rules, and they manually determine who should respond based on their agreed schedule.
Impact
- Notification overload: Team members receive notifications during off-hours, creating unnecessary noise and mental load
- Double work: Both team members must review all notifications to determine if they fall within their shift
- Unclear responsibility: Without system-enforced boundaries, it's harder for co-hosts to know when they're "on call"
- Reduced efficiency: Time spent filtering irrelevant notifications could be better spent on guest experience
Proposed solution
Add time-based routing to notification rules, allowing hosts to specify:
- Which team member(s) should receive notifications during specific time windows (e.g., User A: 00:00–16:00 UK time, User B: 16:00–00:00 UK time)
- Timezone settings for each notification rule
- The ability to create multiple notification rules per team member with different time windows
Unlock
With time-based notification routing, hosts could:
- Ensure co-hosts only receive notifications during their designated shifts
- Reduce notification fatigue and improve work-life balance for team members
- Create clear "on call" boundaries that are enforced by the system
- Manage properties across time zones more effectively without manual coordination
- Allow team members to focus only on notifications relevant to their shift