DM templates · Facebook
Messenger away messages for when your Page is closed
A Messenger away message is the automatic reply your Facebook Page sends when someone writes while you're closed. Meta's own version is in Meta Business Suite: open Inbox, then Automations, choose Away message and set when it runs, such as outside your business hours. Below are 12 for nights, holidays, the off-season and sudden closures, and what happens to messages that arrive while you're out.
Updated 6 October 2026 · 12 templates
12 messages to copy
Tap a card to copy the message. Swap anything in braces, like {name}, for your own words before you send it.
Kitchen closed for the night
Thanks for your message! The kitchen has closed for tonight, so this reply is automatic. You can book a table for another day here: {link}. For anything else, we're back on Messenger from {time}.
Booking messages keep arriving after last orders. A link lets people sort it out tonight instead of waiting for you.
Out on jobs all day
Hi, thanks for getting in touch. We're out on jobs and can't reply until {time}, so this message is automatic. For a quicker quote, send a photo of the job and your postcode here.
The details you'd ask for anyway are waiting when you pick up the phone, so the quote can go out in one message.
Public holiday
Happy holiday from all of us! We're closed today and this reply is automatic. Normal hours start again on {date} at {time}, and we'll work through every message from then.
Check that the hours on your Page agree. Facebook shows them to visitors, and people notice when the two don't match.
Closed for the off-season
Thanks for writing! We're closed for the winter, so this reply is automatic and the inbox is checked every few days. Bookings for next season open on {date}, and you're welcome to ask anything before then.
Campsites, ice-cream vans and holiday lets go quiet for months. Saying how often you check stops people expecting a same-day answer.
Volunteers answer twice a week
Hi there. Our Page is run by volunteers, so this reply is automatic, and we answer messages on {time}. If it's about this week's event, everything you need is here: {link}
Clubs and charities rarely have anyone on duty. Naming the days you check beats a vague “we'll be in touch soon”.
Closed unexpectedly today
We're sorry, we've had to close unexpectedly today, and this message is automatic. If you were booked in today, we'll call or email you to rearrange. We hope to reopen on {date}.
Promise a call or an email for rebooking, not a Messenger message: once 24 hours pass after their last message, an automated reply can't reach them there.
Moving to a new shop
Big news: we're moving! The shop is closed while we pack up, and this message is automatic. We reopen at our new address on {date}, and here's the map: {link}
Change the address on your Page on moving day, or the map and the message will disagree.
Messages from an ad, after hours
Thanks for messaging us from our ad! We've closed for the day, so you're reading an automatic reply. Prices and sizes for everything in the ad are here: {link}. A person will answer anything else from {time}.
Ads that open Messenger keep running while you sleep. Answer the ad's main question in the away message, or pause the ad when nobody can reply.
Owner away, shop open
Hello! The shop is open as usual, but the owner is away until {date}, so replies may be a little slower than normal. This message is automatic, and orders and bookings aren't affected.
Not every away message means closed. This one sets expectations without putting anyone off ordering.
Closed for a private event
We're closed to the public tonight for a private event, and this reply is automatic. We open as normal tomorrow from {time}. Thinking of hiring the place yourself? The details are here: {link}
Venues hear from people who found the doors shut. A line about hiring gives them somewhere to go next.
Away, with words that get instant answers
No one's at the desk right now, and this reply is automatic. Send HOURS for our opening times or BOOK to reserve a table, and the answer comes straight back. Anything else, we'll answer from {time}.
Only list words that have their own automatic answer. In DMFast, keyword replies are checked before the reply to every message, so the words keep working while you're away.
Monday catch-up, sent by hand
Hi {name}, sorry this has taken until Monday. To answer your question: {answer}. If it's easier, send me a number and I'll give you a call instead.
Typed by a person, so it isn't an automated reply. Tools built on the Messenger Platform send it with Meta's human agent tag, which allows up to 7 days after their message.
Set it up in DMFast
Messages saying URGENT get the out-of-hours route
People in a hurry write “urgent” or “emergency” without being asked, so the words do the sorting. Add EMERGENCY to the same auto-reply, and keep a no-keyword reply as the everyday away message: DMFast checks keyword replies first, so the two never clash.
Pick direct messages
Connect your Facebook Page and add an auto-reply for Messenger. It answers messages, not comments.
Set the word: URGENT
Any message with the word URGENT in it gets this answer, in capitals or not.
Paste the message
Add the message shown here and the link card that goes with it.
Free plan, no card. Instagram professional accounts and Facebook Pages.
Rules to know
- Automated replies can only go out within 24 hours of the person's last message, so an away message has to answer at once rather than wait for your return.
- Each new message from the same person starts a fresh 24 hours: a second question on Saturday morning keeps the chat open until Sunday morning.
- Beyond 24 hours, a person can still reply by hand for up to 7 days using Meta's human agent tag. It covers manual replies only.
- Meta requires automated chats to say so at the start of a conversation and after a significant gap, which is exactly when away messages tend to go out.
- A comment on your Page's post can get one private reply in Messenger, sent within 7 days of the comment.
Sources
Business Suite's away message, or an app
Meta's away message is free and built in. In Meta Business Suite, open Inbox, then Automations, choose Away message, write your text and choose when it runs. Tie it to your business hours and it covers every evening and weekend without anyone remembering to switch it on.
An app built on Meta's Messenger Platform works differently. In DMFast, an away message is a Messenger auto-reply with no keyword: you switch it on when you close, and it answers each person once a day, however many messages they send. It has no timetable, so it suits holidays and closures better than a nightly routine. Keyword replies are checked first, so a message containing URGENT or BOOK still gets its own answer.
Tip: Using both? While the away message is on, send your Page one test message with a keyword and one without, and read exactly what comes back.
What happens to messages while you're closed
The away message goes out the moment someone writes. After that, the clock decides what your Page can still send.
| What arrives | Automated replies | A person replying |
|---|---|---|
| A message on Friday at 8pm | Until Saturday at 8pm | Up to 7 days, with the human agent tag |
| Another message on Saturday at 10am | The clock restarts: until Sunday at 10am | Up to 7 days from that message |
| A comment on a post on Friday at 8pm | One private reply, until the following Friday at 8pm | Same rule: one private reply within 7 days |
So nothing automatic can reach Friday's customer on Monday morning, and a person has to answer. Tools on the Messenger Platform send those replies with Meta's human agent tag, within the 7 days. Comments are more forgiving than messages, as the last row shows.
Writing one that fits a Facebook Page
- Lead with when you're back. Everything else in the message is optional; the reopening time isn't.
- Agree with your Page. Facebook shows your opening hours and address to visitors, and a message that contradicts them makes people trust neither.
- Give people one thing they can do now: book online, track an order or read the menu.
- Say it's automatic. After a closure it may land in a chat that has been quiet for months, which is exactly when Meta's policy expects the reminder.
- Don't promise to message people later. “We'll be in touch when we reopen” only works if they write again, or if a person replies within 7 days.
After you reopen
Read the conversations that came in while you were closed and note what people asked. If one question keeps coming up, give it a keyword reply before your next closure, and name the word in the away message so the answer is there at any hour.
- Switch off a holiday away message the day you reopen, or people get “we're closed” from a Page that's open.
- Clear out dates that have passed. A closure notice for last month makes people wonder whether anyone reads the Page.
- Check that any phone number you give is answered too, or you've sent people from one silent channel to another.
- Look at ads that open Messenger. If they ran all night, the away message was the first answer every one of those people got.
Questions people ask
How do I set up an away message on my Facebook Page?
Open Meta Business Suite, go to Inbox, then Automations, and choose Away message. Write your text, pick when it should run, for instance outside your business hours, and save. It's free and needs no app.
Can a Messenger away message run only at night?
In Business Suite you decide when it runs, so linking it to your business hours covers every evening and weekend. A DMFast auto-reply has no schedule: you turn it on and off yourself, which suits holidays and sudden closures.
Does the away message go out every time the same person writes?
With DMFast, once a day at most: a reply set to answer every message skips anyone it has already answered that day. Other tools differ, so send two test messages a few minutes apart and see what happens.
Can I message everyone who wrote while I was closed?
Not automatically, unless they wrote within the last 24 hours. Go through the conversations by hand instead, oldest first. Tools on the Messenger Platform can send those manual replies for up to 7 days after each message, using Meta's human agent tag.
What about comments left on my posts while I was away?
They have longer than messages. Each comment can get one private reply in Messenger for 7 days, so weekend comments can still be answered on Monday. On paid plans, DMFast can go back over a post's comments from the past 7 days and reply to the ones with your keyword.
Is there an away message for Instagram too?
Yes, set up separately. Business Suite offers an away message for a connected Instagram professional account as well, and the same 24-hour rule applies to it.
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