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Product update

Host Notifications by SMS, Slack and Microsoft Teams, Not Just Email

Chad Reynolds
Chad Reynolds Global Director of Sales · · 5 min read

The most common complaint I hear during demos is not about price or missing features. It is about the time between a visitor checking in and their host showing up. Hosts live in Slack. The system sends an email. The visitor stands in the lobby for four minutes wondering if anyone got the message. That is the gap we closed.

WelcomeDesk notification settings for SMS, Slack and Teams
Screenshot Notification settings: connect SMS, Slack and Teams in a few clicks.

Reach hosts where they already are

WelcomeDesk now delivers arrival notifications across four channels:

Every alert carries the visitor's name, company and badge number, so the host knows exactly who's waiting before they even stand up.

One check-in, every channel
Maya Chen checked in · badge #418
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SMS to host
Maya Chen has arrived at reception.
#
Slack message
Maya Chen (Globex) is here to see you.
T
Teams message
Your visitor Maya Chen has checked in.
How it works One arrival fans out to whichever channel each host actually watches.

Each host picks their own channel

Notification preferences are per host, not per workspace. Your facilities manager can take SMS, your engineers can take Slack, and someone who genuinely prefers email can keep it. Set a workspace default and let people override it for themselves.

How to switch it on

SMS, Slack and Teams notifications are included in the Business plan and available on Starter through the Communications add-on.

Once a channel is connected, hosts choose it from their notification settings and the next arrival comes through instantly.

What's coming after thisTwo-way messaging is on the roadmap: a host replies to the Slack or SMS notification and the reply appears on the kiosk screen, so the visitor knows someone is on the way. The infrastructure for that is the Slack OAuth integration, a more involved setup than a webhook. We will ship it when it is solid, not before.

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