Good WhatsApp etiquette for a hotel comes down to four habits: answer fast or say when you will, write the way a good receptionist talks, keep personal details out of the chat, and message guests only about their stay unless they asked for more. Guests forgive a short answer; they remember being ignored, or being sent offers they never wanted.
This guide turns those habits into rules a front desk can agree on, with example wording. Most of it holds whatever tool you use, from the WhatsApp Business app on one phone to a shared inbox such as Spun.
Spun is a shared inbox for a hotel's existing WhatsApp number: every receptionist answers from their own login, on a flat monthly plan with team members free and a free trial, and it needs no Business API approval and no new number.
Reply times: fast, or say when
On WhatsApp a guest can see that the message was delivered, and often that it was read. A read message with no answer feels worse than an unread one. If you cannot answer properly now, send a short holding reply that says when you will.
Agree on a target the whole desk works to, for example a first reply within ten minutes while the desk is open. Write it down and check it now and then. Spun can badge chats that are close to or past a reply target you set, and alert the right person.
Thank you for your message. I am checking this with our team and will get back to you by {time}.Say who is writing
A guest who wrote yesterday and gets an answer today from a different person needs to know who that is. Open the first reply of a shift with your name and role. It also stops two receptionists from answering the same question twice.
If several people answer one number, agree that whoever replies first in a chat takes it to the end of the shift, or hands it over in a note. In Spun, the team sees a "Sent by" line with the receptionist's name on each reply sent from the shared inbox, so colleagues know who is handling a chat; replies typed on the hotel phone carry no name. The guest sees neither, which is why the signature in the message matters.
Good morning, this is {your_name} from reception. I can help with that.Tone: warm, short and plain
Write the way your best receptionist speaks at the desk. Use the guest's name, one greeting, and then the answer. Keep paragraphs to two or three lines; long blocks of text are hard to read on a phone.
Match the guest's level of formality. If they write "hi, what time is breakfast", a short friendly answer fits. If they write a formal paragraph, answer in kind. Avoid internal words such as room codes, rate names or system statuses unless the guest used them first.
- One emoji is fine if the guest uses them. None is always safe.
- Avoid capitals for emphasis; they read as shouting.
- Put times, dates and amounts in a form nobody can misread, such as 15:00 on 12 March.
- End with what happens next, so the guest knows whether they need to reply.
Late hours: answer them, do not wake them
Guests write at any hour, especially when they travel. Answer a late message from a guest who is on the way. Do not start a conversation late at night or very early in the morning: reminders, review requests and offers can wait for the morning.
If nobody is at the desk overnight, say so with an automatic reply that gives the guest what they need: how to get in, an emergency number, and when the desk opens. Keep it short and send it once, not to every message. In Spun, an auto-reply rule can answer outside business hours with a cooldown and a daily cap per contact, and campaigns keep quiet hours by default.
Thank you for your message. Reception is closed until {opening_time}. If you are arriving tonight, {late_arrival_instructions}. For an emergency, call {emergency_number}. We will answer everything else in the morning.Answer in the guest's language
A reply in the guest's own language is the most polite thing a front desk can send. If nobody on shift speaks it, a careful machine translation is better than an English reply the guest has to run through a translator.
Keep translated messages short and simple: one idea per sentence, no idioms. For anything with legal or medical weight, such as a damage charge or an allergy question, have a person who speaks the language check the wording. In Spun, a chat can be translated automatically both ways, and the detected language is shown so a wrong guess is easy to catch.
Voice notes, photos and calls
Many guests prefer voice notes. Listen to them fully before answering, and answer in text when the reply holds details the guest will need later, such as an address, a code or a time. A voice note from the desk is fine for a warm welcome, not for instructions.
Photos are useful both ways: a guest shows a problem in the room, the desk sends a picture of the entrance or the parking. Do not call a guest on WhatsApp without asking first; write and offer a call instead.
Privacy: what should not go in the chat
- Never ask a guest to type a full card number or security code into WhatsApp. Send your own secure payment link instead.
- If a guest sends a passport or ID photo, use it for what you need and keep it out of messages to anyone else.
- Never share one guest's details, room number or plans with another person, including someone who says they are a relative.
- Do not add guests to a WhatsApp group without asking. A group shows every member's number to the others.
- Keep staff discussions about a guest out of the guest's chat. Use an internal note or the team's own chat.
In Spun, photos and documents a guest sends are kept with the conversation for the team, and PII redaction can remove ID numbers, phone numbers and addresses before messages reach Spun's AI. The team still sees the original message.
Offers and marketing: only to guests who agreed
A guest who wrote to ask about parking did not agree to receive offers. Ask first, for example at check-out, and keep a record of who said yes. When you do send an offer, make it relevant, send it in daytime, and say how to stop.
Pace any send to many guests, and keep it rare. No tool can promise that a WhatsApp number will never be restricted, and messages people did not want are the fastest way to put one at risk.
Thank you for staying with us. Would you like us to send you our returning-guest offers here on WhatsApp now and then? Reply YES if so. You can stop them at any time by replying STOP.
Related: Direct booking promotions
Complaints and mistakes
When a guest complains on WhatsApp, answer quickly, thank them for telling you, and say what you will do and by when. Move to a call or a visit to the room if the guest would prefer that, but write the outcome back into the chat so the next shift can see it.
If the hotel got something wrong, say so plainly. "We made a mistake with your booking and I am sorry" lands better than a paragraph about policy.
Closing the conversation
End each request with a clear close, such as "Your taxi is booked for 07:30. Anything else, write here." After check-out, one thank-you message with your review link is enough. Send it to guests you actually hosted, one at a time, and do not follow up if they do not answer.
Related: 20 hotel WhatsApp message templates · WhatsApp for hotels: the complete guide · WhatsApp for hotels · WhatsApp for travel businesses
What Spun does not do
- It does not connect to your PMS or take payments. Copy booking details into the chat yourself, and send your own secure payment link.
- It does not use the WhatsApp Business API or its message formats. It runs on your normal WhatsApp number, so normal WhatsApp limits apply.
- It does not answer guests on its own unless you set it to. Reply targets only alert a person; an auto reply or chatbot runs only if you switch it on, and chatbot replies are marked.
- It does not show the guest who replied. The "Sent by" line is for your team, so sign the first reply of a shift yourself.
- It does not make a translation safe to send unchecked. Have a person who speaks the language check anything with legal or medical weight.