Anyone who sets up or maintains automations for a property uses the designer, whether you are building your first automation or refining one that is already live. You open it from Mews Automations whenever you create an automation from a template, build one from scratch, or edit an existing flow. The designer is the visual flow editor where you build, configure, and modify the logic of an automation. This means you can turn a manual, repetitive task, for example, checking a guest’s loyalty tier before offering an upgrade, into a flow that runs on its own.

 

In this article, you can learn about:

• How to create and edit an automation in the Automations designer

  • Opening the designer
  • Anatomy of the designer
  • Building a flow
  • Editing an existing automation
  • Terminology reference

 

How to create and edit an automation in the Automations designer

Opening the designer

1. In Mews Operations, go to the main menu  > Automations.
2. You can open the designer in four ways:
   • From a template: Click Create on a template. The designer opens automatically with the template logic pre-loaded.
   • From scratch: Click Create. The designer opens, where you select your trigger to start your flow.
   • With Copilot: Describe the automation you want in the chat panel beside the designer, and Copilot builds it on the canvas. Review what it produces before you switch it on.
   • To edit an existing automation: Go to the Automations list, click the automation you want to edit, and click the edit icon.

Anatomy of the designer

The designer has three main areas.

Canvas is the main workspace where your automation flow lives. Components appear as cards connected by lines. The flow reads left to right, with triggers on the left and actions flowing to the right.

Stencil Panel is the component library on the left side of the screen. It organises components in a three-level hierarchy:

• Category: The top level, such as Property event triggers, Operations, or Utilities.
• Connector: The sub-group, such as Reservations, Rooms and availability, or Loyalty programs.
• Component: The individual item, such as Get Eligible Arrivals, Upgrade Assigned Room Category, or Get Loyalty Tiers.

Configuration Panel appears on the right side when you click on a component. It shows all the settings for that component. The panel marks required fields, and you cannot save the automation until you complete every required field.

Building a flow

1. Set your trigger. If you haven’t already placed one, click + Add step to drag a trigger from the Stencil Panel onto the canvas. A trigger is the event or schedule that starts your automation. For example, use Timers to schedule runs, or Reservation Checked In for an event-based flow.
2. Add your first action. Drag an action component from the Stencil Panel onto the canvas and connect it to the trigger by drawing a line from the trigger’s output port to the action’s input port.
3. Configure the component. Click the component to open the Configuration Panel on the right and fill in the required fields.
4. Chain additional components. Drag more components onto the canvas and connect them in sequence. The output of one component feeds into the input of the next. For example, the guest list from Get Eligible Arrivals feeds into the Each loop, which then passes each guest individually to the next component in your flow.
5. Add conditional logic. Use the Condition utility in the Utilities category to branch your flow based on a condition. For example, if occupancy is below 80%, the flow continues to upgrade the guest, otherwise it stops. Note: Messaging steps have an error output as well as out. If you leave error unconnected, a delivery failure has nowhere to go and produces no visible result. Chain a second channel off error to build a fallback.
6. Add guardrails. Place components such as Check Occupancy and Get Loyalty Tiers early in your flow to exclude ineligible guests before running any write actions such as upgrades, gifts, or tasks.
   • Note:
     • Get Loyalty Tiers lists the property’s tiers only. It does not test a guest against them. To gate on loyalty, use a Condition step, or apply the loyalty programme and tier filters built into Get Eligible Arrivals.
     • Set a cooldown on any step a guest can see, such as a message, a gift, or an upgrade, so the automation does not action the same guest twice. The cooldown fields sit in a collapsed group in the configuration panel. The unit defaults to Days, but you set the period yourself.
7. Add a closing action. Ending a branch with Add Note To Reservation or Add Note To Guest Profile records what the automation did, where staff see it in Operations. Note: Notes do not affect the Action Log. The Action Log records every run whether or not the automation writes a note.
8. Name your automation. Click the name in the top right corner, then click Rename. Give it a clear, descriptive name that includes the use case, the audience, and the property, for example, Room Upgrade, Gold and Platinum, Main Property.
9. Click Activate.

This creates and edits an automation in the Automations designer.

Editing an existing automation

1. Open the automation from the Automations list.
2. Click the edit icon to open it in the designer.
3. Make your changes. You can add components, remove them, reconnect ports, or adjust any configuration value.
4. Reactivate the automation.

Note: Editing a template-derived automation does not affect the original template. Your copy is independent.

Terminology reference

The Stencil Panel uses Mews property terminology to make components easier to find. The table below shows how Stencil Panel terms map to Mews system terms.

Stencil Panel term	Mews system term
Room	Space or resource
Room type	Resource category
Guest	Customer
Check in	Start reservation
Charge	Order item
Additional guest	Companion

 

You can now build, edit, and refine automations using the designer to create consistent, automated guest experiences across your property.