A booking's Messages tab vs the Inbox

Every booking (and every inquiry) carries a Messages tab, and it shows the same thread the Inbox does - the same bubbles, the same composer, the same transports. There is exactly one conversation per guest relationship; the two screens are just two doors into it.

Screen /bookings/<booking> · Roles: every booking seat can read; replying needs a guest-messaging seat

One thread, two doors

	The Inbox	The booking’s Messages tab
Where	/inbox	A tab on the booking (or inquiry) page
Shows	Every conversation, as a queue	This one thread, scoped to the stay
Best for	Triage: what needs an answer right now	Context: replying while looking at the payments, dates, and codes of one stay
Composer	Full composer, drafts kept per thread	The identical composer

A reply sent from either door lands in the other instantly - the guest never knows which screen you were on. Internal notes, @mentions, attachments, and template insert all work identically in both places.

When each door wins

• Start in the Inbox for the morning sweep: the queue orders every conversation by newest activity and shows your unread dots.
• Switch to the record when the answer needs the record: the booking page puts the payment state, the stay dates, and the access-code panel on the same screen as the composer. The Inbox’s context rail links you straight there - the reference under the guest’s name opens the booking.

Before a thread exists

A booking whose guest has never been messaged has no thread yet. The booking page offers a minimal first-message box; the first send is what creates the conversation, and from then on both doors show it.

The notification always uses the Inbox door

A “new message” or @mention notification deep-links into /inbox at the exact conversation - and, for a mention, scrolls to the exact message.

What’s next

The guest has their own door too: Where guest-app messages land.