SMS + WhatsApp feature expands Breezeway’s existing Messaging capabilities for SMS users, by enabling you to add WhatsApp as an additional communication channel, one of the world’s most widely used messaging platforms.
This multi-channel approach ensures messages are more likely to be received and read, especially by international travelers from much of South America and Europe who may not be used to receiving SMS or have access to SMS networks/carrier abilities while abroad.
Once the Breezeway team has configured this feature, follow the steps outlined HERE to onboard WhatsApp. Once these steps have been completed, let the Breezeway team know so they can continue the process.
Configuring Communication Channels
Once all onboarding steps have been completed, you will configure your default communication channels. Navigate to your initials/avatar in the bottom left, and select Messaging, then Default Communication Channels.
Domestic vs. international is based on the phone number that is configured in Breezeway. For example, if you are based in the U.S., you’ll have a U.S. area code number. You will want to default domestic regional communications to SMS, meaning that by default you'll always try to use SMS for U.S. based numbers, while International would be set to WhatsApp, so we’d always know to use that channel for guests with numbers outside of the U.S.
Domestic: Phone number of a guest matches the country code of client’s messaging phone number used in Breezeway.
International: Phone number of a guest differs from the country code of the client’s messaging phone number used in Breezeway
WhatsApp Templates
WhatsApp requires businesses to use approved templates to begin communication with a guest. Templates are important because approved templates allow you to send messages to guests outside the 24-hour window.
When creating templates, if you want to use tags, such as First Name, in your template, you will need to be mindful of extra spaces. There will be a formatting error when a message contains four consecutive spaces. Breezeway automatically adds a space after a tag, so be sure to remove any unnecessary spaces to prevent errors. For best results, use the fewest spaces possible in the message.
Auto-Message Configurations
With SMS + WhatsApp, you are able to set auto-messages to go out to both domestic and international guests. These will abide by the “Domestic vs. International” settings you configured in your Messaging settings.
You’ll now notice when SMS and WhatsApp are enabled, that there are two different fields for auto-messages. This is because SMS communications are more free form and you can have full customization, while WhatsApp requires you to use templates. For WhatsApp only approved templates can be used here.
Channel Indications and Switching
When SMS + WhatsApp is setup and configured, you’ll see a channel switcher drop-down. This allows you to change from SMS to WhatsApp or vice versa on the fly.
Inbound Message Indicators
When SMS + WhatsApp is enabled, you’ll be able to see if a message was received from a guest via SMS or via WhatsApp. If you receive a message in a different channel from the guest, it’ll automatically change the default channel. You may need to refresh if you received the message live while you were on the page.
