vGuest DocsWhatsApp Business API integration
WhatsApp Business API
vGuest uses the official WhatsApp Business API (via Meta Cloud API) to send and receive messages. This ensures reliable delivery, verified business identity, and compliance with WhatsApp's policies.
Why WhatsApp?
- Where your guests already are — 2+ billion users worldwide
- Instant delivery — Messages arrive in seconds, anywhere in the world
- Rich media — Send images, documents, locations, and interactive buttons
- Verified identity — Guests see your hotel name and logo, building trust
- Multilingual — Supports every language automatically
How it works with vGuest
- Your hotel gets a dedicated WhatsApp Business number
- Guests message that number with questions or requests
- The AI concierge responds instantly using your knowledge base
- Your team can take over any conversation from the dashboard
- Automated workflows send scheduled messages (welcome, checkout, etc.)
Conversation windows
WhatsApp has rules about when businesses can message:
| Scenario | What you can send |
|---|---|
| Guest messages you first | Any free-form response for 24 hours (from 1 October 2026, charged per message after 1,000 free a month) |
| You reach out first | Must use an approved template |
| 24 hours since last guest message | Need a template to re-engage |
Costs
Meta charges per delivered message, at a rate set by the guest's country, and from 1 October 2026 that includes free-form replies inside the 24-hour window beyond a free tier of 1,000 per phone number each month (Meta's pricing page; estimate your own with the WhatsApp pricing calculator). Your vGuest plan covers a monthly number of conversations, listed on the pricing page; Meta's per-message charges are set by Meta, so ask your account manager how they appear on your invoice.
Getting the verified green badge
The green verification checkmark builds trust with guests:
- Complete Meta Business Verification
- Build consistent message volume
- Apply through Meta Business Manager
- Review takes 2-4 weeks
Your account manager can guide you through this process.
Initial setup
See Connect WhatsApp for step-by-step setup instructions.
A note on the free allowance, corrected 19 October 2026. A note added here on 5 October 2026 said Meta no longer stated the monthly allowance of 1,000 delivered service messages per business phone number. That note was wrong and it is withdrawn. Re-reading Meta's WhatsApp pricing page on 19 October 2026, the allowance is stated there plainly: every business phone number gets a free tier of 1,000 service messages a month, unused messages do not roll over, and charging starts at the 1,001st. The separate page on pricing for non-template messages does not repeat it, which is what the 5 October reading missed. The figures above stand. Your own billing in WhatsApp Manager is still the authority on what you are actually charged.