The button, with the message already written
A WhatsApp link can carry the text the guest sends you. If it arrives saying “Hi, I am asking about the Premium apartment, 10 to 13 January, two adults”, you already know what to answer and you do not need three messages to find out.
On a phone it should be fixed and reachable with the thumb; on a computer it can sit next to the form. What it must never be is a number written as plain text that nobody can tap.
The five answers that repeat
Ninety per cent of what you type every week is the same five things. Save them once, in each language you work in, and you go from writing to choosing.
- Price and availability for the dates they asked about.
- How to get there, and how long from the airport or the bus terminal.
- What the stay includes: breakfast, cleaning, beach kit, parking.
- Deposit and how to pay it.
- Cancellation and what happens if the weather turns.
Answer fast, even if it is to buy an hour
The first reply wins more bookings than the best price. If you cannot answer properly right away, answer anyway: “I am checking those dates, I will send you the total within the hour.” That keeps the conversation yours.
A greeting outside your hours helps, as long as it says when you do answer. What loses a guest is silence.
What to put in writing
Before the deposit, send one message with everything: dates, guests, total, what is included, the deposit and the deadline to pay it. Then repeat it in an email with the address and a phone number. WhatsApp is where you agree; the email is the receipt.
What to measure
Three numbers, once a month: how many enquiries arrive, how many turn into bookings, and how long your first reply takes. If the last one is over two hours in high season, it is where the money is leaking.
What not to do on WhatsApp
Never ask for card numbers or photos of documents in the chat: send a payment link or your bank details. Never confirm before looking at the calendar, because a double booking costs you a review. And never leave a conversation hanging: “let me know” is not an answer, it is an enquiry going cold.
- No card numbers and no photos of passports in the chat.
- Confirm only after checking the calendar.
- Close every conversation with one concrete step and a date.