Spun translates WhatsApp chats both ways on your hotel's or agency's own number, so a receptionist reads a guest's Korean in English and the reply goes out in Korean, with voice notes written out as text. It runs on a flat monthly plan with team members free and a free trial, and it needs no Business API approval and no new number.
This guide covers the rest: which kind of translation suits which moment, how to set a chat up once, how to handle voice notes, where the AI helps and where a person must check the words. Most of the habits apply whatever tool you use.
Why language is the hardest part of guest messaging
Travel is the one business where your customers arrive from everywhere. A small hotel can host guests from ten countries in a week, a tour operator runs a coach of three nationalities, and an umrah agency coordinates with hotels and drivers in Arabic while its pilgrims write in Urdu, Indonesian or French.
Most of those messages are simple: what time is breakfast, where is the driver, can we check in early. The problem is that the person on shift cannot read them, so the guest waits while someone copies the text into a translation app, pastes the answer back and hopes nothing was lost. Voice notes are worse, because there is nothing to copy at all.
Three ways to translate a WhatsApp chat
Translation inside the inbox works at three levels, and a busy desk uses all of them depending on the guest.
| Way | When it suits | What the guest sees |
|---|---|---|
| Translate one message | An occasional message in a language you do not read | Your reply, in the language you chose to send |
| Automatic translation for a chat | A guest who writes to you in their language for the whole stay | Every reply in their language |
| Voice translation | A guest who prefers voice notes, or when typing is slow | A voice note in their language |
Translation is per chat, so each guest keeps their own language.
Set a chat up once
- 1
Translate one message first
Hover over a message and click its translate icon. The translation appears under it with a line such as "Translated to English from Indonesian", so you can see which language was detected and catch a wrong guess.
- 2
Open the language settings
Click the globe icon in the chat header to open the chat's language and voice settings.
- 3
Switch on automatic translation
In the Messages tab, choose the language you read and the language the guest writes in. From then on every message in that chat is translated in both directions, and each chat keeps its own pair.
- 4
Read before you send
Type in your own language. The translated text is shown for review, and you can edit it or skip the translation for one message.
Translations are saved with the chat, so the next receptionist who opens it sees the same text without translating again.
Voice notes in both directions
Guests send voice notes from taxis, airports and beaches. In the Audio tab of the same settings you can switch on automatic transcription and choose the language the text is shown in, so a two-minute voice note in Portuguese becomes a few lines of English. You can also transcribe incoming voice notes for every chat or only the chats you pick.
Going the other way, record a voice note in your language and Spun produces it in the guest's language, with a preview before you send. Voice translation is on paid plans.
Transcription and voice translation are automatic. Spun marks transcripts that may be wrong, and you should still check room numbers, flight numbers and times with the guest.
Related: Plans and pricing
Where AI helps with languages
Translation is one part. The rest of Spun's AI also works across languages, and every piece of it waits for a person unless you decide otherwise.
- Smart replies suggest an answer as you read, and drafts from AI Compose can be written, rewritten or translated in the message box. You read and send each one.
- Chat summaries and reports can be written in the language you choose, so a manager who reads only English can follow an Arabic supplier thread.
- An AI chatbot, only if you switch it on, can answer in the guest's language. Every reply it sends is marked as sent by the chatbot, and it hands over to your team on the words you choose.
- Quick replies are your own saved texts. Keep each standard answer in the languages your guests use; travel businesses start with a small set in English, Spanish and Arabic.
Related: AI replies for hotel guests
Live calls with guests or partners
Some conversations need a call: a group leader with a changed itinerary, a supplier who prefers to talk. Translation Rooms are live audio and video calls where each person speaks their own language and hears everyone else in theirs. You invite a guest with a link, and the room keeps a running transcript.
Related: Translation Rooms
When a person must check the words
Machine translation handles most everyday questions and still makes mistakes. A wrong word about breakfast costs nothing; a wrong word in a cancellation term or a medical note can cost a lot. Set a simple rule for your team.
- Contracts, cancellation and refund terms: have someone who reads the language check the text, or send it in a language the guest confirms they read.
- Medical, allergy and accessibility details: confirm the key facts back to the guest in a short, plain message.
- Legal and visa wording: never rely on a machine translation alone.
- Names, dates, flight numbers and amounts: repeat them in digits so they survive translation.
If guests send passport photos or ID numbers, set PII redaction so personal data is removed before messages reach Spun's AI. Your team still sees the original message.
Your team's own language
The people answering do not all share one language either. Spun's interface is available in about 37 languages, so each receptionist can work in the language they read best, while the content features such as translation and transcription cover over 100 languages.
What Spun does not do
- It does not provide human or certified translation. It is machine translation, so a person checks contracts, medical details and legal wording.
- It does not connect to your PMS or channel manager, and it does not take bookings or payments. Send your own booking or 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 send AI replies unless you decide so. Suggestions and drafts wait for a person; a chatbot only runs if you switch it on, and marks its replies.
Related: Spun for travel businesses · Spun for hotels