Spun vs Chatlyn
Spun vs Chatlyn: which fits your hotel?
Chatlyn reads your PMS and runs on the Business API. Spun keeps your own number and your whole team on it.
Start Free TrialVerified 23 October 2026
Chatlyn is a guest messaging platform for hotels, from single properties to chains, that connects WhatsApp through the Business API and reads guest data from your property management system (PMS). Spun is a shared WhatsApp inbox for your team on the number your guests already have saved, with no PMS connection. Choose Chatlyn if you run a larger hotel and want messages driven by your PMS, with WhatsApp templates and booking-channel messages in one place. Choose Spun if your team answers the guests who write to you and you want to keep your number, with team members free on a flat monthly plan.
Side by side
| Topic | Chatlyn | Spun |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp connection | WhatsApp Business API through a Meta Business Solution Provider. | Your existing number, connected by QR as a linked device through a connection provider. Not the Business API. |
| PMS | More than 13 direct PMS connections, including Oracle OPERA Cloud, Mews, Apaleo, Protel, Clock PMS+ and Guestline. Reads from the PMS. | Spun does not connect to a PMS. You track each enquiry on a pipeline board with stages you name yourself. |
| Pricing model | One plan with every feature. No published price: a platform fee based on rooms, a one-time setup fee per property and a one-year or multi-year agreement. | A flat monthly plan with a free trial. Current prices are on spun.com/pricing. |
| Team | Does not charge per user. Five inboxes per property, with extra inboxes charged. | Team members free, each with their own login, on one shared inbox per number. The plan itself is paid after the trial. |
| Messages before arrival | WhatsApp templates, journeys and broadcasts, driven by guest data. | A message written now and scheduled from the chat, such as the evening before arrival. Spun does not read arrival dates or your booking system. |
| AI replies | AI replies in the guest's language, with handover to a person. | An AI chatbot that answers from what you give it, marked "Sent by AI chatbot", with handover words. |
| Channels | WhatsApp, email, webchat, Booking.com, Messenger, Instagram and one-way SMS fallback. | WhatsApp, plus email from your own Gmail in the same timeline as the WhatsApp chat. |
Vendor facts as published on each vendor's own site on 23 October 2026. Vendors change their plans and prices, so check their page before you decide.
Which one fits
Choose Chatlyn when
- You run a hotel of around 200 rooms or more on a PMS Chatlyn connects to, and guest messages should follow reservations in that PMS.
- You want WhatsApp templates and journeys sent to guests at scale through the Business API.
- You want Booking.com and Messenger messages in the same inbox as WhatsApp.
- You run several properties and want one platform with a contract and setup per property.
Choose Spun when
- Your guests already write to one WhatsApp number and you want to keep it, with its chats and groups.
- Your team answers the guests who write in, and you want everyone on the number with no per-seat fees.
- You want to start on a free trial this week rather than sign a yearly agreement.
- Your drivers, partners and suppliers are in WhatsApp groups you want next to guest chats.
What to weigh
Does the PMS need to drive messages?
If a reservation in your PMS should send the welcome note on its own, you need a tool that reads the PMS. Spun does not.
How many guests write first?
At most small and mid-sized hotels, guests start most chats. A team answering fast on the number guests know matters more than templates.
How do you want to pay?
Chatlyn quotes by rooms with a setup fee and an agreement. Spun is a flat monthly plan with a free trial.
Which number do guests use?
A Business API tool needs a number set up for it. Spun keeps the one on your confirmations and website.
How to decide
Check your PMS and room count
If you have around 200 rooms on a PMS Chatlyn connects to and want messages driven by it, ask Chatlyn for a quote.
Check who starts your chats
If guests start most of them and the front desk answers, a shared inbox on your own number does the job.
Try Spun on your number
Start the free trial, connect your number by QR and invite the front desk, then decide.
What Spun gives you
Keep your number
Spun connects the number guests already have saved, with its chats and groups, as a linked device. It is not the Business API.
Learn moreTeam members free
Reception, reservations and the night shift each get their own login on one shared inbox, with no per-seat fees.
Learn moreMessages scheduled by hand
Write the welcome message now and schedule it for the evening before arrival. One message per schedule, set from the chat.
Learn moreSaved answers with "/"
Save Wi-Fi, parking and check-in answers and insert them by typing "/". Your own texts, with nothing to submit for approval.
Read and reply in any language
Read each guest message in your language and reply in theirs, per message or switched on for a chat.
Learn moreSmart replies
Spun suggests ready-to-send replies in one-to-one chats. A person picks and sends; nothing goes out on its own.
What Spun does not do
- Spun does not offer a PMS integration, channel-manager sync or a booking engine, and it does not read arrival dates from your booking system.
- Spun does not use the WhatsApp Business API, so it has no pre-approved message templates.
- Spun connects as a linked device through a connection provider, and normal WhatsApp limits apply to your number.
- Chatlyn's facts on this page were checked on chatlyn.com on 23 October 2026. Vendors change their plans, so check there before you decide.
Frequently asked questions
When should I choose Chatlyn over Spun?
When you run a larger hotel on a PMS Chatlyn connects to and want guest messages driven by reservation data, with WhatsApp templates sent through the Business API and Booking.com messages in the same inbox. That is the job Chatlyn is built for.
Does Spun connect to my PMS like Chatlyn?
No. Spun does not connect to a PMS or a booking engine and does not read arrival dates. You schedule a message from the chat yourself, and track enquiries on a pipeline board you set up.
How much does Chatlyn cost compared with Spun?
Chatlyn did not publish prices on 23 October 2026: it quotes a platform fee by rooms, a one-time setup fee per property and a one-year or multi-year agreement. Spun is a flat monthly plan with team members free and a free trial; prices are on spun.com/pricing.
Can I keep my hotel WhatsApp number with Spun?
Yes, Spun connects the number your guests already use, with its chats and groups. Guests keep writing to the same number and your team answers it from Spun.
Does Spun send WhatsApp templates like Chatlyn?
No. Spun is not the Business API, so it has no pre-approved message templates. Its quick replies are your own saved texts, inserted by typing "/", with nothing to submit for approval.
Do both tools reply to guests with AI?
Yes. Chatlyn says its AI replies in the guest's language with handover to a person. Spun's AI chatbot answers from the instructions and documents you give it, marks every reply "Sent by AI chatbot" and hands over on the words you set.
Is Spun a good fit for a 15-room guesthouse?
Usually, yes. A small team answering guests who write in gets a shared inbox on its own number, saved answers, translation and AI drafts, with team members free and a free trial to try it first.
Sources and dates
Vendor facts as published on each vendor's own site on 23 October 2026. Vendors change their plans and prices, so check their page before you decide.
- Chatlyn: "One plan. Every feature." No prices published; the platform fee depends on the number of rooms, with a one-time setup fee per property and one-year or multi-year agreements. (chatlyn.com, checked 23 October 2026)
- Chatlyn: Does not charge per user; five inboxes per property are included and extra inboxes are charged. (chatlyn.com, checked 23 October 2026)
- Chatlyn: WhatsApp is connected through the WhatsApp Business API via a Meta Business Solution Provider. (chatlyn.com, checked 23 October 2026)
- Chatlyn: Channels: WhatsApp, email (Gmail, Microsoft 365 or IMAP), webchat, Booking.com, Messenger, Instagram and one-way SMS fallback. (chatlyn.com, checked 23 October 2026)
- Chatlyn: More than 13 direct PMS connections, naming Oracle OPERA Cloud and on-premise, Mews, Apaleo, Protel, Clock PMS+, Guestline, ASA, Casablanca and FO Cloud; reads from the PMS. (chatlyn.com, checked 23 October 2026)
- Chatlyn: Guest messaging for hotels from single properties to chains, with WhatsApp templates, journeys and broadcasts, and AI replies in the guest's language with human handover. (chatlyn.com, checked 23 October 2026)
Try Spun on your own number
Connect the number your guests already use and bring your team in. Team members are free, and the free trial needs no Business API.
Start Free Trial