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SMS Response Duration Report

The SMS Response Duration report measures how quickly agents respond to inbound SMS messages. It provides both overall average response times and business hours filtered response times, allowing you to evaluate agent responsiveness during working hours.

SMS Response Duration Report

Report Columns​

ColumnDescription
AgentThe agent who sent the outbound SMS response
Average ResponseAverage time to respond across all hours (format: HH:MM:SS)
Total ResponsesTotal number of SMS responses sent by the agent
Bus Hours Average ResponseAverage response time only during business hours (format: HH:MM:SS)
Bus Hours ResponsesNumber of responses sent during business hours

How the Numbers Are Computed​

Methodology Overview​

The average response time is calculated from when the first guest inquiry is received until the first agent response goes out. Multiple guest messages before an agent responds are grouped together as a single inquiry block.

The duration is calculated per guest per agent. Each unique guest that messages in has their response durations tracked independently. Those durations are then averaged across all unique guests for the selected time period.

How Conversation Sequences Work​

The system groups consecutive guest messages together and measures from the first message until the agent responds:

1:00:00  → Guest message (starts duration)
1:10:00  → Second guest message
1:15:00  → Third guest message
1:20:00  → Agent response (ends duration)

Duration for this block: 20 minutes
(First guest message at 1:00 → First agent response at 1:20)

Once an agent responds, a new duration counter starts with the next guest message:

1:00:00  → Guest message (starts duration #1)
1:10:00  → Second guest message
1:15:00  → Third guest message
1:20:00  → Agent response (ends duration #1 = 20 min)
1:21:00  → Guest message (starts duration #2)
1:22:00  → Agent response (ends duration #2 = 1 min)
1:25:00  → Agent message (no new duration - still waiting for guest)
1:30:00  → Guest message (starts duration #3)
1:31:00  → Guest message
1:33:00  → Guest message
1:35:00  → Guest message
4:30:00  → Agent response (ends duration #3 = 3h 0m, but CAPPED)

Why We Cap Long Response Times​

Response times are capped at 3 days to prevent outliers from skewing the average. If an agent misses a message and responds 12 hours later, that single long duration would dwarf all the smaller durations, making it difficult to see the actual detail in response times.

The cap ensures you can still identify when people aren't responding in reasonable timeframes, while keeping the average meaningful for day-to-day performance tracking.

Response Time Calculation Summary​

  1. Group Guest Messages: Consecutive inbound SMS messages from a guest are grouped together as a single inquiry
  2. Find Agent Response: The system finds the first response manually sent by an agent (automated messages don't count)
  3. Calculate Duration: Time from the first guest message to the first agent response
  4. Cap Outliers: Response times over 3 days are excluded to prevent skewing the average
  5. Calculate Average: All durations within your selected date range are averaged per agent

Excluded Messages​

The following automated messages are excluded from the analysis:

  • "SMS Opt in from webform"
  • "SMS Opt in from Wifi"

These are system-generated opt-in confirmations, not customer inquiries requiring a response.

Average Response (All Hours)​

  • Average of all response durations (where response was within 3 days)
  • Includes all responses regardless of when the inbound SMS arrived

Total Responses​

  • Count of all SMS responses by the agent
  • The totals row shows the sum across all agents

Bus Hours Average Response​

  • Same as Average Response, but only counts inbound SMS messages that arrived during business hours
  • Only includes conversations where the guest's SMS arrived between your configured start and end hours
  • Shows responsiveness specifically for messages received during working hours

Bus Hours Responses​

  • Count of responses to inbound SMS messages that arrived during business hours
  • The totals row shows the sum across all agents

Report Filters​

Date Range​

  • From/To: Select the date range for SMS messages to analyze
  • Example: Jan-01-2026 to Jan-31-2026

Timezone​

  • Purpose: Determines how business hours are calculated
  • Options: Select from available timezones (e.g., Central, Eastern, Pacific)
  • The start and end times for business hours are interpreted in this timezone

Business Hours​

  • Start Time: Beginning of business hours (e.g., 08:00)
  • End Time: End of business hours (e.g., 18:00)
  • Only SMS messages received between these hours are included in the "Bus Hours" columns

Understanding the Results​

Example Rows​

AgentAverage ResponseTotal ResponsesBus Hours Avg ResponseBus Hours Responses
Nicolas Wegener14:34:38714:34:387
Roy Collins08:13:18300:00:000
Nicole Finnegan00:00:11100:00:111

This shows:

  • Nicolas Wegener: Responded to 7 SMS messages with an average response time of 14 hours, 34 minutes. All 7 arrived during business hours.
  • Roy Collins: Responded to 3 messages with an average of 8 hours, 13 minutes. None arrived during business hours (all were after-hours messages), so Bus Hours shows 00:00:00 and 0 responses.
  • Nicole Finnegan: Responded to 1 message in just 11 seconds. That message arrived during business hours.

Why Bus Hours Responses May Be Lower or Zero​

The "Bus Hours Responses" count only includes responses to SMS messages that arrived during business hours. If a customer texts at 10 PM and the agent responds at 8 AM the next day, that response counts toward "Total Responses" but NOT "Bus Hours Responses" because the inbound message arrived outside business hours.

Why Bus Hours Average May Show 00:00:00​

When an agent has zero business hours responses, the average is displayed as 00:00:00 rather than being blank.

Target Response Times​

SMS response duration targets will vary based on how your team is set up, but as a general guideline:

  • Standard target: Under 2 hours — this is what most teams aim for on SMS, Airbnb, and WhatsApp channels
  • High-performance target: 15 minutes — some teams strive for this, particularly on Airbnb, though this is more the exception

SMS and other messaging channels generally expect faster response times than email due to the real-time nature of the medium.

Use Cases​

Performance Monitoring​

  • Track which agents respond fastest to customer SMS messages
  • Identify agents who may need coaching on response time
  • Compare response times during vs outside business hours

Staffing Decisions​

  • If business hours response times are significantly better than overall, consider adjusting coverage
  • Identify if after-hours SMS messages are being handled promptly
  • Determine if overnight SMS coverage is needed

Customer Experience​

  • Set and monitor response time SLAs for SMS
  • Ensure consistent response times across the team
  • SMS typically expects faster response times than email

Important Notes​

  • Only Agent Responses: The report only counts responses manually sent by agents. Automated campaign messages are excluded.
  • 3-Day Cap: Response times over 3 days are excluded to prevent outliers from skewing averages.
  • First Response Only: Only the first agent response to a guest inquiry is counted, not subsequent follow-ups in the same conversation.
  • Opt-in Exclusion: Webform and WiFi opt-in messages are excluded since they don't represent customer inquiries.
  • Email Response Duration: Same methodology applied to email messages
  • Airbnb Response Duration: Same methodology applied to Airbnb messages
  • SMS Volume By Agent: Track total SMS volume sent by agents