Send one-off message to all instay guests.
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Michael Reniers
Agree with Victor on this one. But for us even 3 cases I think.
- One to one: where we need to contact a guest again after xx time regarding lost & found etc. which happens after a 24h window closed.
- One to multiple: f.e. if an activity is not taking place, we would like to be able to send a template to x amount of telephone numbers to inform them it is not taking place. The current 24h window also blocks us to contact some guests manually this way to, but an adjustable template with a manual option to add multiple phone numbers would solve this even better and makes it more efficient.
- One to many: Fire alarm, power outage etc. (All current guests, all arriving guests, all departing guests etc.)
Victor Romijn
I think these are two slightly different use cases:
- one to one: a selection of templates/messages that can manually be triggered for a single guest. Like the "we found something you left", "thank you for staying", "we're sorry" - but also to re-trigger existing templates like the pre-checkin as mentioned by Ben.
- one to many: where a group needs to be defined to send a mass template to, like "all instay guests" or "all guests arriving on the 25th of december" or "all guests visiting in the week from 14-20 december" or maybe even "all guests with a non-dutch phone number" or "all guests staying in cottage types A, B and D"
S
Sam Shepherd
Agreed, same reasons as others have stated here.
- When we do a fire test is a big one so this would be very helpful.
- Also if for example the lift had to be out of service for maintenance for a few hours we could let the guests know via this.
- Or if there is a hotel wide issue like no hot water we can alert
- Or when the clocks change two times each year we can send a message out the day before to let them know.
To make this even better, if there was a filter this one off message to be able to message:
- All in house guests
- All guests arriving today
- Only guests departing today
Then for example we can direct a particular message to those that is important. For example, if we knew that there was a tube strike happening the next morning (happens a lot in London) we can let guests know in advance so they can plan their travels better. We might choose to only send this to guests arriving and / or departing. Or send a different one to those in house. Or if the road was closed, we might only want to send this to guests checking in that day as the entrance to the hotel might be different that time.
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teddy
We are a hotel without a front desk and centralize almost all communication via WhatsApp. That's why we sometimes need more manual flexibility than the current 24-hour window allows. I fully understand that WhatsApp wants to protect users from unwanted commercial messages, but our situation often involves practical or even urgent communication.
Sometimes we need to be able to reach guests quickly, for example to inform about demonstrations, airport delays, unexpected works in or around the building, or other situations that affect their stay. In addition, guests don't always respond to the pre-check-in message sent one day before arrival. If I send the same message again on the day of arrival (now forced to use test messaging), I usually get a quick response. That time of arrival is crucial for us to be able to welcome the guest correctly.
On Sunday, we have almost no check-ins but a lot of check-outs. On Monday, when we want to thank guests, ask questions, or report anything related to their stay, we often fall just outside the 24-hour window. Then we suddenly have to switch to e-mail, while the entire communication was already smooth via WhatsApp.
Even substantive questions that are answered later — for example a question about art in the room that I had to ask first — can then no longer be followed up via WhatsApp.
For us, it is mainly the combination of factors that makes manual flexibility necessary:
No history: with a reservation made months in advance, I don't know if messages have been sent or answered before.
Post-reservation messages are not sent automatically: especially on Sundays, I'm not always at the computer checking out guests via the channel manager.
The 24-hour window: When I can't respond in time for operational reasons, I sometimes lose the ability to reply via WhatsApp, which is the most natural and fast channel for the guest.
So it is not one specific situation, but an accumulation of practical reasons that means that we sometimes need to be able to work manually and more flexibly. Perhaps AI can help prevent abuse, while still leaving room for necessary communication after 24 hours.
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Marko Repo
There can be many uses:
- we want to tell you about the upcoming fire alarm test
- we want to tell you about the exception at breakfast time
- we want to offer a free sauna in severe frosts
- we want to tell you that the restaurant has a program tonight
- we want to let you know that the maintenance man is visiting all the rooms today
- and so on
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steven oliemans
Could I ask you all for some clarification? Will this feature solve problem:
(A): Re-open a conversation with a guest where the 24 hour window has closed and you can no longer talk to the guest.
or
(B): Send a one off initiated message to a guest. For instance, reminding them of a payment. Or asking them for their arrival time. Or simply sending a one off deal to everyone checking in tomorrow.
Please give us more information and specify what issue you are trying to solve.
Frank van den Berg
steven oliemans It will be to inform guets when for example the fire alarm goes off.
In the UK they have to test it every month. Or for example when a storm is coming so people need to stay inside / take their stuff inside the cottage.
So it is really to inform the guests. Obviously hotels will use it to promote services as well, so we might need to find a way to avoid this so guests don't mark it as spam.
Jacqueline Bencosme
Merged in a post:
blank initiated message
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Michael Reniers
In case of emergency or any other be able to trigger an initiated message with a custom text.
Jacqueline Bencosme
Merged in a post:
Create new template to re-open conversation
F
Ferry de Jong
Sometimes a front desk-employee is too late to re-open a conversation. Is it possible to make an extra Whatsapp template that can be sent to re-open the conversation?