Notes for owners · Industry playbooks
How serviced apartments quote a one-month stay
A one-month stay enquiry is won by a written total that says what is included, what the deposit covers and what happens if the guest leaves early. This is how to write it.
The GullySales team · Updated 6 Oct 2026 · 5 min read
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A guest who asks for the rate for a month is not asking for a number. They are asking whether the number includes everything. Send one written total for the stay, with what is covered, what the deposit is for, how they pay and what happens if they leave early. Say it in the first reply, on WhatsApp, with the apartment's own photographs. The owner who sends a nightly rate and "call us for monthly" has given the guest a reason to try the next listing.
Who actually sends a monthly enquiry
Four kinds of people, and they want different things from the same reply.
A manager who has been transferred to Bengaluru needs a place for six weeks while the family looks for a flat. An HR or admin executive is booking for someone else and wants an invoice she can forward. A family is staying near a hospital for treatment and does not know the end date. A project engineer on a client site wants something near the plant. Walking distance, ideally.
Only one of them is price-led. The relocating manager cares about the house-hunting weeks being free of problems. The admin executive cares about paperwork. The hospital family cares that nobody will ask them to leave when treatment runs long.
What the written quote must contain
Guests compare serviced apartments by reading quotes side by side, usually on a phone, usually late. If your quote is the clearest one, it is the one that gets answered.
| Line in the quote | What to write | The question it closes |
|---|---|---|
| Stay dates and apartment | The exact unit type and floor, with the check-in and check-out dates | "Is this the same flat as the photos?" |
| Total for the stay | One figure, with the tax shown as a separate line | "What will I really pay?" |
| Included | Housekeeping days, linen change, Wi-Fi, power and water, kitchen utensils, parking | "Are there extras?" |
| Charged separately | Laundry, extra guests, LPG or induction use above a stated limit, if you charge them | "What will surprise me at checkout?" |
| Deposit | The amount, what it covers and when it is returned | "Will I get it back?" |
| Early exit and extension | The notice you need and what happens to the unused days | "What if the plan changes?" |
| How to pay | Bank transfer, UPI or company invoice | "Can my office pay directly?" |
Write the table as plain text on WhatsApp if the guest is on a phone. The point is that each line is there, not that it looks like a form.
The extension question decides more bookings than the rate
Most monthly guests do not know how long they will stay. A transfer gets confirmed late, a house falls through, a surgery is rescheduled. They will not book a place that makes extension difficult.
So say, in the quote, that the stay can be extended in the same apartment if it is free, and what the rate is for the extra days. Say what you do if another booking is waiting: offer a second unit in the building, or move them on a stated day. A guest reads that sentence as proof you have thought about their situation.
For example, a company in Whitefield books a ten-week stay for a team lead whose family joins later. Week six is when the family arrives, and a second bedroom is needed. If your reply to the first enquiry already mentioned a two-bedroom unit and how a swap works, that company books with you again for the next transferee.
Reply the way the guest enquired
A guest who messaged on WhatsApp should not receive an email with a PDF attached. A guest who filled the website form with a company email expects the invoice details first. Look at where the enquiry came from and answer there, then move to a phone call only if the guest asks.
Two things get skipped in almost every property. Missed calls from people who found you on Google Maps are never returned, and the enquiry sheet has no column for "asked about a month". Add the column. After a month you will know how many monthly enquiries you receive and how many became stays, which is the number your Google Business Profile and your listing spend should be judged against. Rules on guest registration and tax treatment differ by state and body and change, so check them with your own adviser.
Keep the repeat booker
A company that stayed one employee with you is a client until you lose the admin executive's number. Save her name against the company. Send her a short message when a stay ends, asking whether the guest was comfortable and whether another is expected. She will remember the property that asked.
The same goes for the guest. A transferred manager who liked the place recommends it to the next person moving into the city, and that recommendation arrives on WhatsApp with your number in it.
What to do next
Open the last ten monthly enquiries you received. Mark which ones got a written total in the first reply, which got an invitation to see the apartment, and which were never answered a second time. Then write the quote template above once, with your own inclusions, and paste it each time.
The topic pages on WhatsApp marketing for serviced apartments and referral marketing for serviced apartments cover the follow-up and the repeat bookings. If you want the enquiry flow read with you, tell us what you need and we will talk through how enquiries reach you and what happens to them. The wider picture for the trade is on the serviced apartments page.
