Click-to-WhatsApp Ads for Hotels
Hotels run click-to-WhatsApp ads for staycation packages, weekend rates and long-stay offers. AeroChat answers the guest who clicks straight away, checks availability and rates for their dates in Cloudbeds, Mews or Oracle OPERA Cloud, and takes them to a direct booking or a deposit link. Special requests and group bookings go to your reservations team. It all runs inside Meta’s free window.
What happens today
A staycation ad brings in questions at night: is it available on these dates, is breakfast included, can we check in early. The reservations team replies in the morning.
Guests who asked at night have often booked through an online travel agency by then, and the hotel pays commission on a guest its own ad brought in.
How it runs on WhatsApp
- The ad opens WhatsApp with a prefilled message, such as “Hi, I’d like the weekend staycation package” (example).
- AeroChat replies straight away with what the package includes and the terms. This reply opens the free window.
- It asks for the dates, number of guests and room preference.
- It checks availability and the rate for those dates in your property management system.
- It sends your booking engine link for those dates, or creates the reservation and sends a deposit link, depending on how your hotel works.
- It records the guest with the ad as the source and notes any requests, such as early check-in or a high floor.
- It answers questions on parking, breakfast and facilities from your knowledge base.
- Group bookings, complaints and requests it cannot confirm go to your reservations team.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When someone messages us from a Facebook or Instagram ad, follow these steps.
- Read their first message to see which package they clicked. “Weekend staycation” means our Weekend Staycation with breakfast for two (example). If it is not clear, ask which offer they saw.
- Ask for their check-in and check-out dates and the number of guests.
- Check availability and the package rate for those dates in Cloudbeds. If the dates are full, offer the nearest available dates.
- Send our booking engine link with the dates and package filled in (example), or create the reservation and send a deposit link for the first night.
- Ask if they have requests such as early check-in or a cot, and add them to the reservation notes.
- Answer questions about parking, breakfast and facilities from our knowledge base.
- If they ask about more than 3 rooms (example), or have a complaint, hand the conversation to our reservations team.
Keep the first reply short and about the package in the ad. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the package, room limit and booking method to your own. For Mews or Oracle OPERA Cloud, name that system instead and keep the steps.
Connect the systems behind it
- Cloudbeds. AeroChat checks availability and rates for the guest’s dates and records the booking request.
- Mews. AeroChat reads availability and adds the guest’s requests for the front desk.
- Oracle OPERA Cloud. AeroChat checks availability for hotels running OPERA Cloud.
- Beds24. AeroChat checks availability across rooms for smaller properties.
- Stripe. AeroChat sends a deposit link for the first night and confirms when it is paid.
Airwallex payment links are built in on Growth and up.
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 it costs on WhatsApp
When someone messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad in the WhatsApp app on Android or iOS, and you reply within 24 hours, Meta opens a free window of up to 7 days. AeroChat replies within seconds, so the window opens on every ad chat from a phone. A package booking from an ad takes a few messages: the dates, the availability check and the booking link. Within 7 days of your first reply, all of them are free, and so are your team’s replies to the guest’s later questions in the same chat. Meta Business Agent messages are the only ones still charged in the window. After it closes, service replies are free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number and then charged per message, and templates are charged per message. Rates vary by country and are set in Meta’s rate cards. AeroChat passes Meta’s WhatsApp fees through at cost. The full window rules are on the click-to-WhatsApp ads page.
Also on Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and web chat
The same workflow runs on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (direct messages and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, web chat and email, with the same connections. Ads that open an Instagram or Messenger chat follow their own reply windows: see click-to-Instagram ads and click-to-Messenger ads.
More for hotels
See every workflow for hotels on the Hotels industry page, and how click-to-WhatsApp ads work for every business on the click-to-WhatsApp ads page.
Questions
Can AeroChat check room availability from a WhatsApp ad?
Yes. It reads availability and the rate for the guest’s dates from your property management system and offers other dates if those are full.
Does the booking stay direct?
Yes. AeroChat sends your own booking engine link or a deposit link, so the guest books with you.
Are replies to click-to-WhatsApp ad chats free?
Yes, if you reply within 24 hours of the customer’s first message and they messaged from WhatsApp on Android or iOS. That reply opens a free window of up to 7 days, in which service replies and marketing, utility and authentication templates are free. Meta Business Agent messages are still charged.
Turn your next package ad click into a direct booking
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.
Related: click-to-WhatsApp ads for every business and room availability questions.