Take Direct Bookings on WhatsApp with Smoobu

This recipe answers “is it free, and how much?” in chat from Smoobu and turns a yes into a reservation in Smoobu. Part of connecting Smoobu to WhatsApp and AI chat.

What happens today

Most messages to a rental or small hotel are the same question with different dates. The person replying checks Smoobu, works out the price for the stay and types it out. Messages that arrive late at night or during a busy changeover wait for hours, and the guest books somewhere that answered.

The flow that works

AeroChat asks for the dates and number of guests.
It checks availability and price in Smoobu.
It replies with the price, or offers another room or property that is free.
When the guest wants to book, it collects their name, email and phone number.
It creates the reservation in Smoobu and tells the guest what happens next.

The recipe

Copy this into AeroChat

When a guest asks whether we have space, follow these steps.

Ask for their arrival date, departure date and number of guests, if they have not said.

Check availability and price in Smoobu for those dates and that number of guests.

If it is free, reply with the total price for the stay and the minimum stay. If it is not, offer our other options that are free on those dates.

Answer questions about the property from the knowledge base, such as parking, pets and check-in time.

When they want to book, ask for their full name, email and phone number.

Create a reservation in Smoobu for the apartment and dates they chose, on the direct channel, with their name, email, phone number, number of guests and the quoted price.

Tell them the reservation is created and our team will send payment details within two hours (example).

Never take payment yourself. Do not quote a price you have not checked. Reply in the customer’s language.

Change the payment follow-up time to your own before you paste it.

What to connect

Smoobu. Create an API key on the API keys page under Advanced in your Smoobu settings. Paste it in when AeroChat asks. AeroChat reads apartments, availability and rates and creates reservations.
Your knowledge base. Upload your property details, house rules and policies to AeroChat so it answers the questions that come before a booking.

After you paste the recipe, AeroChat builds the workflow as a draft and shows a checklist: connect Smoobu, add your knowledge base if the recipe uses one, then switch it on. If it built the connection from Smoobu’s public documentation, the checklist asks you to check it once against the current docs.

Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.

Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.

What you still decide

Which apartments AeroChat can book directly, and which need your team first.
Which properties or rooms it can offer as alternatives.
How quickly your team confirms and sends payment details.

The result to expect

Every date question gets a checked answer within a minute, at any hour, and the guests who want to book arrive in Smoobu with their details already filled in. Your team confirms instead of typing quotes.

Measure it with your own numbers: enquiries answered outside working hours, and direct bookings from chat, for a month before and after.

Next: handle date changes and cancellation requests.

Works on every chat channel

This workflow runs the same way on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, the chat on your website and email, with the same Smoobu connection behind it. See what each channel does on the Smoobu integration page.

Take your first booking enquiry in chat

Paste the recipe, add your Smoobu API key, and ask for a stay from your own phone.

Start your 7-day free trial. No credit card needed.

On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.