Communication
Everything on WhatsApp in one place. Chat button (Starter): a button on your website that opens a WhatsApp chat with you, with the tour already mentioned, office hours and click tracking. Notifications (Growth): booking confirmations, trip and pickup reminders with a map pin, balance and details reminders, waitlist offers and review requests from your own WhatsApp Business number.
Who it's for
Why operators use WhatsApp
Operators whose travellers live on WhatsApp: to ask a question before they book, and to get their updates after.
Highlights
- A chat button on your website that starts with the tour the visitor is looking at, with office hours
- Booking confirmations, trip and pickup reminders with a map pin, from your own WhatsApp Business number
- Balance and traveller-details reminders, waitlist offers and review requests
- Replies arrive in the Inbox when that plugin is on
Meet travellers where they already message
In many markets, travellers would rather send a WhatsApp message than fill in a form or write an email. The WhatsApp plugin covers both sides of that: a chat button that lets visitors ask a question before they book, and booking messages sent from your own WhatsApp Business number after they book.
The two parts are separate features. The chat button only needs your WhatsApp number. Notifications need a WhatsApp Business connection through Meta’s WhatsApp Cloud API, with message templates Meta has approved.
The chat button
A floating button on your website opens a WhatsApp chat with you, with a message already typed. On tour pages it names the tour and includes its link, for example “I’d like to ask about Everest Base Camp Trek” followed by the page’s link, so you know what the visitor is looking at without asking. Choose the button text, colour, which side it sits on and which pages it appears on; leaving it off booking pages keeps the payment step free of distractions.
With office hours on, visitors outside your hours see an away message, such as “We’re away right now. Leave a message and we’ll reply from 09:00”, or you can hide the button until you open. Clicks are reported to Google Analytics and Meta Pixel when those plugins are on and the visitor accepted cookies.
Booking messages from your own number
Messages go only to travellers who ticked “Send me updates on WhatsApp”. You choose which to send: booking confirmed, trip reminder, pickup reminder with a map pin, balance reminder, traveller details reminder, waitlist seats free, review request and booking cancelled. Each uses a template you create and get approved in WhatsApp Manager, and the plugin shows the variables each template needs, in order.
The pickup reminder is the message travellers value most on the day. Set a default pickup place with its address and coordinates, give tours their own pickup points, and choose when it goes: 2, 6, 12 or 24 hours before departure. A traveller on a 05:00 sunrise tour gets a pin they can open in their maps app the evening before. Because that message has no email of its own, it is emailed instead if the traveller isn’t on WhatsApp or the send fails.
Your team can also message travellers directly. With the Inbox plugin on, replies arrive there; Meta allows free text only within 24 hours of the traveller’s last message, after which an approved template reopens the conversation.
Setting up WhatsApp
- 1Add your WhatsApp number. Switch on WhatsApp and enter the number in international format, digits only.
- 2Set up the chat button. Write the pre-filled messages, choose the look and pages, and set office hours if you keep them.
- 3Connect WhatsApp Business (for notifications). Paste the phone number ID, WhatsApp Business Account ID and a permanent access token from WhatsApp Manager.
- 4Create and approve templates. Create a template for each message in WhatsApp Manager, wait for Meta’s approval, and enter the names and language.
- 5Set pickup points. Add your default pickup place and coordinates, and give tours their own where needed.
- 6Add the Meta app secret for replies. With the Inbox on, paste the app secret so replies are checked and received.
Features
What's included, plan by plan
Switch on WhatsApp once. Each part below turns on with the plan that includes it, and you choose which ones to use.
-
Enquiries inbox
All plans -
Verified reviews
All plans -
Booking emails
All plans -
Shared inbox
All plans
Settings
What you can set up
WhatsApp works out of the box with sensible defaults. These are the choices you can make, straight from your console.
Chat button
- WhatsApp number
- International format, digits only, e.g. 9779801234567.
- Pre-filled message
- What the visitor’s message starts with on most pages.
- Pre-filled message on tour pages
- {tour} becomes the tour’s name and {url} the page’s link, so you know what they’re looking at.
Button look
- Button text
- Shown next to the icon on larger screens. Leave empty for the icon only.
- Position
- Bottom rightBottom left
- Colour
- A hex colour, e.g. #25D366 (WhatsApp green) or your brand colour.
Where the button shows
- Show on
- Leaving it off booking pages keeps the payment step distraction-free.
- Home pageTour lists, categories and destinationsTour pagesBlogOther pages (about, contact…)Booking, payment and thank-you pages
Office hours
- Use office hours
- Outside these hours the button shows your away message (visitors can still leave a message).
- Open on
- MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
- Opens at
- 24-hour time, e.g. 09:00
- Closes at
- 24-hour time, e.g. 18:00. Earlier than “opens” means overnight.
- Time zone
- IANA name, e.g. Asia/Kathmandu. Set to your business’s time zone when you switch WhatsApp on.
- Away message
- {opens} becomes your next opening time.
- Hide the button outside office hours
WhatsApp Business connection
- Phone number ID
- WhatsApp Manager › API setup › Phone number ID. Needed to send messages; the chat button works without it.
- WhatsApp Business Account ID
- WhatsApp Manager › Account tools. Needed to check your templates’ approval status.
- Template language
- The language code your templates were approved in, e.g. en, en_US, es, hi.
Messages to travellers
- Messages to send
- Booking confirmedTrip reminderPickup reminder with map pinBalance reminderTraveller details reminderWaitlist: seats freeReview requestBooking cancelled
- Email it when WhatsApp can’t
- For messages WhatsApp-only (the pickup reminder): if the traveller isn’t on WhatsApp or the send fails, we email the same message.
Pickup reminder
- Send the pickup reminder
- 2 hours before departure6 hours before departure12 hours before departure24 hours before departure
- Default pickup place
- Used for tours without their own pickup point (set those on the WhatsApp page).
- Address
- Latitude
- e.g. 27.7154. In Google Maps: right-click the spot, click the numbers to copy them.
- Longitude
- e.g. 85.3123
Template names
- Booking confirmed
- Template name in WhatsApp Manager. Variables, in order: First name, Tour, Date, Booking reference, Link to the booking.
- Trip reminder
- Template name in WhatsApp Manager. Variables, in order: First name, Tour, Date, Link to the booking.
- Pickup reminder with map pin
- Template name in WhatsApp Manager. Variables, in order: First name, Tour, Pickup time, Pickup place.
- Balance reminder
- Template name in WhatsApp Manager. Variables, in order: First name, Amount due, Tour, Due date, Payment link.
- Traveller details reminder
- Template name in WhatsApp Manager. Variables, in order: First name, Tour, Date, Link to the form.
- Waitlist: seats free
- Template name in WhatsApp Manager. Variables, in order: First name, Tour, Date, Book by, Booking link.
- Review request
- Template name in WhatsApp Manager. Variables, in order: First name, Tour, Review link.
- Booking cancelled
- Template name in WhatsApp Manager. Variables, in order: First name, Booking reference, Tour, Date.
Communication
How communication plugins fit in
Communication plugins control how you talk to travellers: a shared inbox for email, WhatsApp, SMS and website chat, email from your own domain, campaigns, automated messages and text reminders.
- 1
Switch it on
Open Plugins in your console and turn it on. No code and nothing to install.
- 2
Make your choices
Adjust the settings to match how your business works, or keep the defaults.
- 3
It works everywhere it should
Your website, checkout, emails and console pick it up straight away.
Related
More communication integrations
Part of Enquiries inbox, Verified reviews, Booking emails, Shared inbox in Tourtify.
Own email server (SMTP)
Send booking emails from your own address, like bookings@yourbusiness.com, through your email provider (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho, Postmark, SendGrid, Mailgun…).
SMS notifications
Booking confirmations, trip and balance reminders, cancellations and after-trip review requests by text message, from your own Twilio or Sparrow SMS account, in your own words.
Inbox
Every customer conversation in one shared inbox: emails, WhatsApp messages, texts, website chat and enquiries, next to the customer’s bookings and balance. Assign, add internal notes, use saved replies and AI drafts, and see at a glance who is waiting too long for an answer.
FAQ
WhatsApp: questions
Do I need the WhatsApp Business API for the chat button?
No. The chat button only needs your WhatsApp number. The API connection is for notifications and replies.
Who receives WhatsApp messages?
Only travellers who ticked “Send me updates on WhatsApp” when they booked.
Why must templates be approved?
WhatsApp requires an approved template for business-initiated messages. Create them in WhatsApp Manager and enter their names here.
What if a traveller isn’t on WhatsApp?
Messages that also go by email arrive that way as usual. The pickup reminder is emailed instead, if that fallback is on.
Which plans include WhatsApp?
WhatsApp is available on All plans, at no extra cost. Notifications & templates is included on Growth & Scale.
How do I switch on WhatsApp?
In your Tourtify console, open Plugins, find it in the list and switch it on. Its settings open straight away, and you can switch it off again at any time.
Do I need a developer?
No. Plugins are built into Tourtify and set up from the console. Where an outside account is involved, such as a payment provider, you connect it by entering your account details.
Does WhatsApp work with my other plugins?
Yes. Every plugin is built and maintained by Tourtify, so they work together: discounts, deposits, vouchers and fees all add up correctly at checkout.
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