How to use WhatsApp Business for hotels and hospitality
Travellers and guests today expect more than just a comfortable stay—they crave personalised service, instant responses, and seamless interactions. In an era of demanding guest expectations, hotels and businesses in the hospitality industry must adopt innovative strategies to make a lasting impression and indefinitely attract customers.
Importance of effective two-way communication in the hospitality industry
55% of customers have used self-service chatbots, showcasing the growing demand for instant, automated responses. To accomplish efficiency of communication in the hospitality industry today, the situation calls for a comprehensive solution that combines both technology and human support. When executed well, it can significantly impact customer retention, reputation, and operational efficiency.
Why WhatsApp is the best channel for hospitality communications
WhatsApp is direct, accessible, and user-friendly, offering a range of tools that enhance communication in the hospitality industry. Most importantly, it has a global reach and a user-friendly interface that can connect you to customers outside of your country.
1. WhatsApp has international coverage for overseas guests
Travelling internationally often brings communication challenges, particularly with phone services. Many guests rely on prepaid SIM cards instead of opting for costly roaming services, leading to potential communication breakdowns with hotels and travel agents.
WhatsApp resolves this issue by providing a seamless, cost-free communication channel that works across borders. This means that you can remain in touch with your guests regardless of their location, keeping them updated with any changes in the travel plan while ensuring that timely assistance is accessible to them throughout their journey.
2. Attractive WhatsApp rich media messages with travel brochures and videos
Visually appealing messaging, complete with travel brochures, promotional videos, and other multimedia content is what captivates travellers and hotel guests in our highly competitive environment today. While printed brochures and newspaper listings are the way to go in the past, social media content is the most viable solution at this time.
Sharing your hotel’s amenities, local attractions, or special offers through engaging visuals via WhatsApp will reduce the friction for customers to reach out to you for further enquiries. In other words, prior to placing their bookings for hotels or travelling plans, they no longer have to make a phone call and fill in a lead form on the website, both of which involve a considerable waiting time before they get their questions answered.
3. WhatsApp chatbot to tackle hospitality staff shortages
Staff shortages are a persistent challenge in the hospitality industry, often leading to delays in service and diminished guest satisfaction. Hospitality chatbot on WhatsApp automates routine enquiries and requests, freeing up your staff to focus on more complex tasks while offering quality service 24/7.
For example, a guest from Brazil planning to check in to your hotel in Singapore tomorrow may ask:
There’s been changes with my flight. Is it possible for me to check in earlier, around noon?
During the holiday season, with time differences across countries, your customer support team may get an influx of messages. While they cannot respond to this type of request immediately, you can set up a hospitality chatbot to first collect the necessary information:
Thank you for your request. We're happy to try our best to accommodate an early check-in. However, we can't confirm availability until the day of your check-in. In the meantime, could you please provide the following information?
Your full name:
Your booking confirmation number:
Your arrival date:We will mark your request down along with the booking and get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
With a template message for hospitality chatbots like the above, your hotel guests will have a good impression of your services as they can be rest assured that their requests have been received. At the same time, your customer support team do not have to stress out over unreplied messages or worry about missing out on client demands.
4. WhatsApp green tick to gain travellers’ trust
There are fraud trends in the hospitality industry, and the last thing you want is for customers to assume your brand as scammers. The WhatsApp green tick verification serves as a trust signal, assuring guests that they are communicating with a legitimate and trustworthy business. Also, as WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption for chats, guests can also share their personal details with a peace of mind.
5. Unified WhatsApp inbox for travel or hotel agents
WhatsApp has a unified inbox that allows multiple agents to reply to customers at the same time. Not only that it enables enquiries to be responded to as soon as possible, the centralised platform allows for smooth coordination between front-of-house and back-of-house staff.
6. API to integrate instant messaging into your in-house mobile app
While emails remain a valuable tool in hospitality, they often fall short in terms of immediacy and engagement. Incorporating WhatsApp for hotels and hospitality lets you meet guests where they are, whenever they want. Hence, by tapping into the habitual use of WhatsApp, you can integrate the WhatsApp API into your in-house mobile app.
Unlike traditional live chat pop-ups, WhatsApp preserves chat history, where guests can continue their conversations seamlessly, even after closing the app. It is, undoubtedly, a more natural and preferred mode of interaction for many consumers, and a more responsive, guest-centric communication channel.
The use of WhatsApp Business has been proven to yield substantial benefits, including a 34x increase in ROI, a 33% reduction in call centre volume, and a 50% improvement in customer satisfaction. - WhatsApp Business
How to use WhatsApp Business for hotel and hospitality industry communication: a seamless guest journey
From pre-traveling excitement to post-service loyalty, WhatsApp Business API can transform your hospitality business with a reliable communication strategy for every stage of the guest journey.
Automate the booking flow on WhatsApp
The pre-purchase process for hotels and hospitality businesses is often similar; for instance, checking room availability, verifying prices for travel packages, and finalising their reservations. Using the Flow Builder feature, you can create a visual, automated flow that guides guests through booking enquiries.
At the start of the flow, you can use chat buttons for prospective customers to choose their preferred language or enquiry type. Once they select the desired option, you can include the WhatsApp Catalog feature to showcase available services and packages so that they can browse through the details and prices without leaving WhatsApp.
Next, when they have further questions, they can directly drop their queries right in the chat and get automatically assigned to a human agent. Alternatively, they can opt for their ideal package and check for availability right away.
If you set up the correct branching and conditional logic, each guest will receive personalised responses based on their needs, such as the room type, the travel destination, preferred budget, and more. As a result, guests and travellers can make reservations quickly and easily, right from their mobile devices, efficiently increasing booking conversion.
WhatsApp in-chat payment for a simplified check-out process
WhatsApp can also streamline the check-out process, offering guests a quick and hassle-free way to settle their deposits and bills.
For example, once the customer confirms the reservation, you can generate a customised in-chat payment link for them to pay via credit cards, Google Pay, or Apple Pay. Assuming that they change their minds within the grace period, refunds can also be arranged.
Broadcast pre-arrival details with personalised information via WhatsApp
Pre-arrival communication is critical to ensuring a smooth guest experience. By using WhatsApp's broadcast feature, you can send personalised booking reminders and essential pre-arrival details to multiple guests at once, without revealing their contact information to each other.
Your personalised messages can include directions, check-in procedures, or dining options at your hotel so that guests are well-prepared and feel valued. Besides generating increased revenue for other hotel services or travel packages, you can also get a glimpse of their interests and preferences when travelling.
Also, guests can chat during their stay with you for extra services like extra amenities, room service, or local recommendations, providing immediate assistance without needing to call or visit the front desk
In the future, when there are seasonal promotions or relevant events, you can schedule WhatsApp broadcast messages according to these personalised interests, strategically encouraging past guests to book another stay or try out new services.
Schedule WhatsApp messages to collect valuable post-service feedback
After check-out, you can send your guests a personalised thank you message to express appreciation for the guest's stay, reinforcing a positive experience. Later, use WhatsApp to gather feedback. Since guests are more likely to share their thoughts on a platform they are comfortable with, it is more possible for you to acquire valuable insights on WhatsApp to improve your services or address any potential issues before they turn into negative reviews.
Furthermore, upon receiving positive feedback, the glowing reviews can also be used as marketing materials on social media platforms. With the healthy communication and customer experience ecosystem, word-of-mouth recommendations can also be shared with friends and families easily.
Segment customers using WhatsApp CRM
Social CRM features like chat labelling and Custom Object can also be utilised to organise guests based on their preferences, past interactions, and booking history. For example, you might label guests who frequently book premium suites as "Luxury Guests" and target them with exclusive offers or early access to promotions.
Based on the detailed criteria like travel dates or services used, you can further refine the segments or better yet, integrate with your existing CRM systems to gain a comprehensive view of your customer profiles.
From then on, you will be able to send highly targeted updates or promotions and effectively increase the likelihood of engagement and repeat bookings.
Extra tips: WhatsApp marketing for hospitality businesses
Beyond hospitality industry communications, WhatsApp Business for hotels can also serve as a powerful marketing tool that generates leads for conversion.
Use WhatsApp QR to expand customer database at events or check-ins
WhatsApp QR codes are a great way for customers to initiate a chat with your hotel or hospitality business. Here are some great spots where you can put your WhatsApp QR code:
Front desks
Event registration tables
Check-in brochures
Elevators and hotel rooms
Greeting cards or promotion vouchers
Once connected, they can receive welcome messages, exclusive offers, or further information about your services. You can also save costs and benefit from the monthly 1,000 free WhatsApp service conversations.
Find out how to calculate WhatsApp costs from our complete guide.
Publish Click to WhatsApp ads to drive customers from social media to WhatsApp
Click to WhatsApp ads on Facebook and Instagram are designed to drive direct interactions with potential customers who are already interested in your hotel and hospitality services. By embedding a "click-to-WhatsApp" button within your ads, you make it seamless for interested users to start a conversation with your team.
You can create a marketing campaign using click to WhatsApp ads; for instance, prompting prospective customers to reply to your ad to receive a promo code for travel packages or a simple lucky draw where they reply “I’m interested” to your WhatsApp ad to participate.
Track campaign results for an accurate retargeting strategy
Effective marketing requires accurate data tracking, and WhatsApp’s integration with analytics tools makes this possible. Open rates, response times, and engagement levels help offer insights into what works and what doesn’t.
Compare the results of your campaigns at different times of the year and promote the appropriate countries for travelling accordingly. Over time, with increasingly accurate retargeting, the results will generate higher quality leads and conversion rate.
Monitor the performance of travel agents and create incentives
WhatsApp isn’t just for customer-facing interactions; it can also be used to monitor the performance of your travel agents and other partners. By analysing their response times, customer interactions, and conversion rates, you can identify top performers and areas needing improvement.
To motivate your team, consider creating incentive programs based on these metrics. Reward agents who consistently drive bookings or provide exceptional customer service through WhatsApp to encourage a high standard and boost overall employee morale.
Real-world use cases of WhatsApp in hospitality
EU Holidays automates communication and lead management on WhatsApp
EU Holidays, visioned to become the traveller’s first choice, has effectively used WhatsApp's Flow Builder to automate message handling, qualify leads, and route chats to the appropriate agents. This has led to a significant reduction in the manual workload without sacrificing the quality of responses offered to customers.
Intriq Journey achieves a 20% increase in operational efficiency while personalising travel experiences
Intriq Journey, an expert in elite holiday and luxury tours, has incorporated an automated hospitality chatbot on WhatsApp to automate their chat flows. Hosting multiple WhatsApp Business accounts on a unified platform, they cater to diverse client bases in Hong Kong and Singapore while maintaining a consistent brand identity. In a recent campaign, Intriq Journey sent personalized WhatsApp broadcast messages to over 3,000 previous travelers, achieving an impressive 75% message open rate while increasing operational efficiency by 20%.
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Pearl Holiday expands customer reach and generates over 2,000 new leads in a single campaign
Pearl Holiday, a leading travel agency in Malaysia, has also equipped themselves with WhatsApp chatbots for the hospitality industry. They set up WhatsApp QR codes during events and efficiently collected customer details, even when the staff was unable to attend to all visitors.
In a WhatsApp campaign organised for the 2023 in-house travel fair, Pearl Holiday managed to generate over 2,000 new leads, reaching over 10,000 contacts, with a 70-80% reply rate. Their ability to track campaign performance and segment customers based on interests has led them to see the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
SleekFlow helped us set up WhatsApp chat buttons for gauging the customers’ interest and we managed to obtain a satisfying reply rate of around 80%.
The Marketing Team
Pearl Holiday
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