WhatsApp is today the most important channel for selling rooms. And, paradoxically, the channel where most bookings are lost. Not due to lack of demand. Not due to price. Not due to location. They're lost due to poor conversation management.
WhatsApp is not just a channel. It's the new decision point
For years, WhatsApp was seen as a support channel, a complement. Today it's something else. WhatsApp is where the guest compares, clarifies doubts, decides, and defines whether to book direct or not. Treating it as a secondary channel is operating blindly.
The false comfort of 'I'll respond later'
The most common mistake in small hotels is thinking: 'I'll respond later, they'll surely wait'. They don't wait. The guest messages 3 hotels, 2 hostels, 1 Airbnb. They book with the first one that responds well. Not the cheapest. The fastest and clearest.
How a booking is lost on WhatsApp
The guest writes asking about availability. The message goes unanswered for 15, 30, or 60 minutes. Reception responds with 'yes, we have availability'. Doesn't ask for details. Doesn't guide the conversation. The guest already booked elsewhere. The booking wasn't lost due to price. It was lost due to conversational disorder.
The hidden cost of poorly managed WhatsApp
Each lost conversation means one less direct booking, a future commission, a silent bad experience. And the worst part: the hotel doesn't know how many bookings it lost. There's no report of ignored messages. Just lower occupancy.
The solution: converse with intention
A conversation that sells must respond instantly, ask the right questions, deliver clear information, validate real availability, and guide the guest. That doesn't depend on individual talent. It depends on a conversational system.
Conclusion
The hotel that responds late, improvises, and doesn't guide the conversation, doesn't lose by bad luck. It loses by poor operation. WhatsApp is already the main channel. The question is whether your hotel is treating it as such. ChatBook exists to solve exactly that.