Delays let you pause an automation before continuing to the next step. Use them to space out messages, wait for a better time of day, or give guests a window before following up.
Fixed Duration
Pauses the automation for a set amount of time before continuing.
Set the number and unit (minutes, hours, etc.) and the workflow will wait that long before moving to the next step.
Example
After a guest checks in, wait 30 minutes before sending a "How's everything?" message — giving them time to settle in before you reach out.
Until Time of Day
Pauses the automation until a specific time of day, using your organization's timezone.
This is useful when an earlier step might fire at an inconvenient time and you want to hold the message until a reasonable hour.
Good to know: If the time you set has already passed today, the automation will wait until that time tomorrow. For example, if a trigger fires at 10:00 PM and you have a delay set to "Until 9:00 AM," the automation will hold until 9:00 AM the next morning.
Example
A reservation status change triggers at 11:00 PM. Instead of texting the guest immediately, add a delay until 8:00 AM so the welcome message arrives at a reasonable hour.
Tips
Combine both delay types. Use "Until Time of Day" to wait for morning, then follow it with a "Fixed Duration" delay of a few hours to space out multiple messages.
Your data refreshes after a delay. When the workflow resumes, it re-pulls the reservation data before running the next step — so conditions and messages after a wait use the reservation as it is now, not as it was when the workflow started.
Delays survive restarts. If the system restarts during a delay, the automation picks up right where it left off — you won't lose scheduled messages.
A delay waits for time, not for the guest. If what you want is to pause until the guest replies — and do different things depending on what they say — use the Guest question step instead. See Asking Guests a Question.
The automation is marked "Waiting" during delays. If you look at the execution log, you'll see the workflow in a waiting state until the delay completes.