pono

CONCIERGE

Guest questions answered fast and right.

From booking through the stay, we reply in the guest's own language, right away. We never guess at anything unclear — you can always check before it's sent.

In progress From $79/mo per property · excl. tax
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In progress — we'll notify you about early access.

For small inns where one person carries every guest conversation. Night questions get the inn's own answer.

Answering daily at our own two properties — 430 measured turns, median about 8 seconds.

Figures measured 2026-07-17 from live operation of our own two properties.

See where these numbers come from →

21:47

“I'm trying to check in, but the front door won't unlock…”

pono CONCIERGE

“Your code is 1234. ① Enter the 4 digits → ② press “#” → ③ once the green light is on, push the lever down. If it still won't open, just reply here — we'll guide you in a different way.”

Every message has two faces.

Running an inn, you notice that every guest message has two faces: a question asked in a moment of trouble, and a conversation that builds a relationship. For both, the right answer is “as fast and accurate as possible” — delivered 24/7/365, with the same warmth no matter who's answering. That, it turned out, was more than any human team could sustain.

Gaps between shifts, things lost in handover, answers that vary person to person. The more we demanded perfection, the more the team wore down. But it doesn't have to be perfect. Even when a person answers, the response varies. So it just has to clear the human bar — and improve from there. That's how we came to see it.

So we deliberately let it pause for a breath before replying. Not answering instantly is what gives it a human touch. And the more it exchanges with a guest, the more it comes to know them. Speed and accuracy are the baseline — what we really wanted to build was someone at the inn who keeps a light on even for a question in the middle of the night, and remembers you.

Why we deliberately pause before replying

“Faster than a person, yet still with a human touch.” Speed was the baseline — what we really wanted to build was a moment where the guest feels someone genuinely looked after them. So even when an instant reply is possible, we let it pause for a breath. And when confirmation is needed, it stops and says ‘let us check on that.’ We chose trustworthy speed over unwavering speed.
つくり手の言葉を、もっと — note へ ↗

23:52

“Is the little diner you told us about last time still open today?”

pono CONCIERGE

“Yes, open today — still closed Wednesdays. They do close irregularly sometimes, though, so I'd recommend calling ahead. Phone: 0980-xx-xxxx”

TRIAGE

Behind the chat, it arrives here too.

The conversation with the guest reaches the owner's screen at the same moment.

Works with email and Slack

Via an Airbnb message

“Could we borrow a couple of extra towels?”

Draft

“Of course — extra towels are in the entryway storage.”

Approve & send Edit Check with staff

The draft arrives here automatically. A person always sends it.

TRUST

Three quiet things that make it work.

  • Multilingual, automatically — English · Japanese · Chinese & more
  • Live 24 hours
  • A person reviews it before anything is sent

01:18

“Sorry to write so late — the bathroom light won't turn on.”

pono CONCIERGE

“Besides the wall switch, there's another switch on the right side of the fixture itself — could you try turning that on and off? If it still doesn't come on, the bulb has likely burned out, so we'll arrange for staff to replace it as soon as possible. We'll follow up once we've confirmed. For now, could you just let us know how it goes after trying that?”

TEACH

With every conversation, it grows into your inn's seasoned concierge.

When a similar question comes up again, a candidate answer is ready and waiting.

From 5 similar exchanges

“Can we leave our bags after checkout?”

Candidate answer

“Yes — we can hold your bags in the lobby until 5pm after checkout.”

Confirm & add Edit Don't use this

Whether to add it is always the owner's call.

From $79/mo — up to 10 resolutions.

pono CONCIERGE

From $79/mo per property

Includes 10 resolutions a month, then $1 each (capped).

This is a preview price while we're still in progress — we'll confirm before signups open.

Get notified

USD prices exclude tax — calculated at checkout.

It doesn't have to be perfect. Once it clears the human bar, it can keep improving from there.

— pono CONCIERGE