At a small hotel, WhatsApp is often the front desk. Guests ask for prices late at night, send a voice note from the bus, and book with whoever answers first. An AI assistant can answer all of that, but vendors differ in ways a demo rarely shows: whose number it runs on, where the booking lands, and what the contract says.
This guide gives you ten questions to ask any vendor, us included. Then it gives Anfigo's own answers, so you can see what a full answer looks like and hold every vendor to the same.
The 10-point checklist
- Can you keep your number? Your hotel's WhatsApp number is on your website, your booking confirmations and your guests' phones. Ask whether the assistant answers on that same number, or on a new one.
- Does your WhatsApp app keep working? Meta lets a number that is already on the WhatsApp Business app also run through its API, so both work at once; vendors call it coexistence. Ask whether your team can still read and reply from the phone, and see how coexistence works.
- Real bookings, or a lead form? Some assistants quote live rates and write the booking into your PMS; others send the guest a booking-engine link or pass a request to your team. Ask to watch a booking made in the chat appear in your own PMS.
- How long is the contract? Ask whether it is month to month or annual, how much notice you must give, and whether it renews on its own. A guarantee or a free period should be written in the terms, with its conditions.
- How is the price built? A fixed monthly fee, a fee by number of rooms, AI credits, a cut of each booking or sale, a setup fee: each grows differently with your hotel. Ask for the total at your size in a busy month, and see what it really costs.
- How does it hand a chat to your team? A good handoff is quiet: the guest gets no robotic “transferring you” line, and a person picks up the same chat with a short summary. Ask too whether you can switch the AI off for one chat.
- Which languages does it really speak? Guests write in their own language, with slang and typos. Ask whether it answers in any language or from a fixed list, and test it in two languages you did not mention.
- Can it take payment in the chat? A booking held without a deposit is easy to lose. Ask which payment provider it uses, whether the money goes straight to your account, and whether the payment is recorded on the booking.
- What happens when you leave? Ask in writing what stays yours (the number, the chat history, your guests' data) and how you would take it with you.
- Who pays Meta? Meta charges for messages a business sends through its WhatsApp platform, and since 1 October 2026 that includes replies to guests beyond 1,000 free service messages a month per number. Ask whether that bill comes to your card or sits inside the vendor's price.
Anfigo's answers
Here is how Anfigo answers the ten questions, from its own pages. Ask every vendor you speak to for the same: an answer in writing, with a link to its page or contract.
| The check | Anfigo |
|---|---|
| Same number, and the app keeps working | Yes: your number, and your app keeps working |
| Bookings written into your PMS | Yes, in Cloudbeds |
| Contract | Month to month; first 30 days free, once per property (card at start) |
| How the price is built | From US$120 a month per property, by products and size; no booking commission, no setup fee |
| Handoff to your team | Silent, with a brief; the chat is flagged for your team |
| Languages | Any language |
| Payment in the chat | A link on your own Recurrente account, recorded on the booking |
| When you leave | Cancel in Stripe's portal; your number never left your app |
| Who pays Meta's WhatsApp fees | Anfigo, inside the price; no card on Meta |
Before you sign
Pick two or three vendors and send them the ten questions by e-mail. Then ask for a demo on your own rooms and rates, in the languages your guests use, and watch one booking go from the chat into your PMS. The answers you get in writing are the ones you can hold a vendor to.
Questions
What should I ask before I choose an AI assistant for my hotel?
Ask whether it keeps your number and your app, writes bookings into your PMS, how its price is built, how it hands chats to your team and what happens when you leave.
What is WhatsApp coexistence?
It is Meta's way of letting a number that is already on the WhatsApp Business app also work through its API, so an AI assistant can answer while your team keeps using the app.
Does my hotel have to pay Meta for WhatsApp messages?
Meta charges for messages a business sends through its WhatsApp platform beyond a monthly free tier for service messages, so ask each vendor whether that bill comes to you or sits inside its price.
Can an AI assistant write bookings straight into my PMS?
Some can, depending on the vendor and on your PMS, so ask to watch a booking made in the chat appear in your own PMS before you sign.
Does Anfigo work on my hotel's existing WhatsApp number?
Yes, if the number is on the WhatsApp Business app: Anfigo answers on the number your hotel already has, and the app keeps working on your phone.
Read next
Sources
- Meta for Developers — WhatsApp Business Platform pricing — retrieved 28 October 2026
- Meta for Developers — Onboard WhatsApp Business app users (coexistence) — retrieved 28 October 2026
- Anfigo — Pricing — retrieved 28 October 2026
- Anfigo — Customer Service — retrieved 28 October 2026
- Anfigo — Integrations — retrieved 28 October 2026
General information, checked on the date shown; not legal, tax or financial advice. Product names belong to their owners, and Anfigo is independent of Meta.
