Shared hotel inbox
How can several receptionists answer one hotel WhatsApp number?
Keep the number on your booking confirmations and let every shift answer it, each person with their own login.
Start Free TrialLast checked 2026-10-23
Connect your hotel's existing WhatsApp number to Spun and give each receptionist their own login to the same shared inbox, so the day and night shifts see and answer the same guest chats. 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. The hotel phone keeps working alongside Spun as a linked device, and an alarm rule can flag any guest who has waited too long for a reply.
What gets in the way
One handset passed between shifts
Only the person holding the desk phone can answer a guest.
Nobody knows who promised what
A late check-out was agreed last night, and the morning shift cannot see by whom.
Guests wait while the desk is busy
A parking question sits unread during a family check-in.
Personal phones fill with guest chats
Staff answer from their own WhatsApp, and the conversation leaves with them.
How your team works it
Connect the front-desk number
Go to Settings → WhatsApp → Health, press "Continue to QR" and scan the code from the hotel phone (WhatsApp, Linked Devices).
Invite each receptionist
Open Team, click "Share Access", enter each person's email or phone and pick a role from Viewer to Full Control.
Decide what each person sees
Most hotels share the whole inbox. To give someone less, share only the chats in a saved filter or a pipeline stage.
Share new chats out in turn
Open Labels from the sidebar and use the Rotation tab, so new guest chats go to the people in the rotation in turn.
Flag guests who wait too long
Open Alarms from the sidebar and add an Alarm Rule, for example no reply within an hour.
Save the desk's standard answers
Open Quick Replies from the sidebar and save Wi-Fi, parking and breakfast times. Anyone types "/" to insert one.
What Spun gives you
One inbox for every shift
The whole front desk answers the hotel's number from one shared inbox. No per-seat fees; the plan itself is paid after the free trial.
Learn moreRoles and scoped sharing
Choose a role for each person and share the whole inbox or only a saved filter or pipeline stage. A scoped person still works inside the same number.
Round-robin by label
New chats are shared out in turn. Rotation applies a name label only, it does not hide chats from others, and there are no overnight shift windows.
Learn moreAlarms for waiting guests
An alarm rule creates a reminder when a guest has waited too long. Alarms notify your team; they do not reply to the guest.
Smart replies for busy moments
Spun suggests ready-to-send replies in guest chats. A receptionist picks one and sends it; nothing goes out on its own.
Saved answers for the whole desk
Insert saved answers by typing "/". These are your own texts, not WhatsApp Business API templates, so there is nothing to submit for approval.
A day at a 25-room guesthouse front desk
- 07:00The morning receptionist logs in and reads the chats the night shift answered.
- 08:45An alarm rule flags a guest who asked about early check-in and has had no reply, so that chat is answered first.
- 10:30A new booking question arrives, and the rotation labels it with the name of the receptionist next in turn.
- 12:15While one receptionist checks a family in, a colleague answers a parking question with a quick reply.
- 19:30The owner answers a guest from the hotel phone itself, and the message appears in Spun for the evening shift.
- 23:10The night receptionist picks a smart reply to confirm a late arrival.
What Spun does not do
- Every receptionist works inside the same number. A second number is a separate inbox with its own add-on plan, and conversations do not merge between numbers.
- Replies sent from Spun show a "Sent by" line with the receptionist's name; replies typed on the hotel phone carry no name.
- It does not connect to your PMS or channel manager.
- It does not use the WhatsApp Business API or its pre-approved message templates, so normal WhatsApp limits apply.
Frequently asked questions
How can several receptionists answer one hotel WhatsApp number?
Connect the hotel's number to Spun and give each receptionist their own login to the same shared inbox. Everyone sees the same guest chats, so the morning shift can pick up what the night shift started. Team members are free.
Can the hotel phone and Spun be used at the same time?
Yes, the number stays on your phone and Spun works alongside it as a linked device. Messages sent from the phone appear in Spun too.
Can I see which receptionist replied to a guest?
Yes, for replies sent from Spun: each shows a "Sent by" line with the receptionist's name. Replies typed on the hotel's own phone carry no name. For totals, the Team Performance view on the dashboard shows each team member's messages sent, conversations handled and average first reply.
Who answers guests at night?
You choose: someone on the night shift answers from the same inbox, or an auto-reply or AI chatbot answers outside business hours and hands over to a person when the guest asks. Every chatbot reply is marked so your team knows it was not them.
How much does it cost for a team of five?
Spun is a flat monthly plan, and team members are free, so five people cost the same as one. There is a free trial to try it with your own number first. Current prices are on spun.com/pricing.
Does a hotel need the WhatsApp Business API?
No, most small and mid-sized hotels do not. The Business API needs approval, a number moved onto it, pre-approved message templates and per-message fees, and it cannot join WhatsApp groups. Spun works on the number your guests already have saved.
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