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WhatsApp

What it does

Section titled “What it does”

The WhatsApp page is one place to run WhatsApp for every hotel on Upstay. One account powers all hotels, so you connect it once. A health strip across the top answers “is WhatsApp working right now?” at a glance - the connection state, how many templates are approved, how many lifecycle messages are mapped, and how many messages went out today. A sub-menu on the left opens each area: Overview, Credentials, Templates, Message bindings, Manual send, and Delivery log.

Templates are the pre-written messages WhatsApp requires; each has to be approved before it can send. A Message binding connects one of Upstay’s automatic messages (for example, the booking confirmation) to an approved template and decides which detail fills each blank in it.

Who can use it

Section titled “Who can use it”

Upstay operators who can see the Guests & messages area.

Where to find it

Section titled “Where to find it”

WhatsApp under Guests & messages in the rail.

How to connect WhatsApp

Section titled “How to connect WhatsApp”
  1. Open Credentials.
  2. Enter the API key and the Business code for the WhatsApp account.
  3. Set the Default template language (for example, en).
  4. Switch on Sending enabled (allow the Bhash provider to send).
  5. Click Save. The banner at the top of the card turns green and reads Connected · live.
  6. Click Test connection to confirm the account answers. A toast reports Connected to BhashSMS or the exact error the provider returned.

How to add a template

Section titled “How to add a template”
  1. Open Templates and click New template.
  2. Fill in the Name, Category, Type, Language, the Body (use {{1}}, {{2}} where a detail should appear), an optional Footer (optional), and the Variable count.
  3. Click Submit for approval. The template is listed as Pending until Meta approves it; only an Approved template can be sent or bound.
  4. Click any template to see its details and a live preview of the message.

How to map an automatic message

Section titled “How to map an automatic message”
  1. Open Message bindings and pick a lifecycle message from the list on the left. A coloured dot shows whether it is bound, off, or falling back to the Outbox.
  2. Choose the Template (only approved ones are offered).
  3. For each blank ({{1}}, {{2}}, …) choose which detail fills it - for example Hotel name, Guest first name, Check-in date, or the stay link.
  4. Watch What the guest sees on the right update as you map.
  5. Tick Enabled and click Save binding.

An unbound or disabled message falls back to the front-desk Outbox instead of sending on WhatsApp.

How to send a one-off message

Section titled “How to send a one-off message”
  1. Open Manual send and pick an approved template under Send an approved template.
  2. Enter Recipient numbers (comma or new line between them).
  3. Fill in a value for each variable the template has.
  4. Check the preview, then click Send.

How to read the delivery log

Section titled “How to read the delivery log”
  1. Open Delivery log to see recent WhatsApp messages across every hotel, newest first.
  2. Filter by status: All, Sent, Delivered or Failed; a failed row shows the provider’s reason.
  3. Use Previous and Next to move through pages, or Refresh to reload.

When WhatsApp messages are sent

Section titled “When WhatsApp messages are sent”

These automatic messages go out on their own (each only once per stay unless noted), provided the message is bound to an approved template and WhatsApp / SMS & outbox is on for the hotel:

  • Booking confirmed: shortly after a booking is made. A prepaid online booking confirms once its payment is settled instead.
  • Pre-arrival, 48 h: before the guest’s arrival.
  • How is your stay, 3 h: a few hours after the guest checks in.
  • Thank you, 2 h after: a few hours after the guest checks out.
  • Order ready / Order not available: when a room-service order is marked prepared or unavailable (needs In-room dining ordering on for the hotel).
  • ID verified / ID sent back: when the desk approves or rejects a guest’s ID (needs ID verification console on for the hotel).

Other kinds, such as Payment link, Payment receipt, Desk message, Login code, Owner booking alert, the listing messages and the event messages, appear in the same list and send once they are bound.

Tips & good to know

Section titled “Tips & good to know”
  • Until WhatsApp auto-send is switched on for a hotel, every message waits in the front-desk Outbox for a person to send and mark as sent.
  • Only an Approved template can be bound or sent; a Pending one cannot.
  • The delivery log keeps the last 7 days; older rows are removed automatically.
  • The Credentials card never shows the full API key - only the last few characters and when it was last updated.
  • Leave the API key blank when saving to keep the one already stored.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”
  • “Could not send” → The reason follows it. Check the numbers and that the template is approved.
  • Test connection reports an error → The message is the provider’s own reply; re-check the API key and Business code.
  • A lifecycle message never arrives on WhatsApp → Open Message bindings and confirm it is bound to an approved template and Enabled; otherwise it falls back to the Outbox.
  • A row in the delivery log says failed → The reason is shown on the row; a number that is not on WhatsApp is the usual cause.
Section titled “Related features”