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Resorts and homestays · WhatsApp marketing

The guest asks about the road, the dog and the food before the rate, so answer all of it.

WhatsApp marketing for a resort or homestay is using a WhatsApp Business number for enquiries, booking confirmations, directions and offers to past guests who agreed to receive them. GullySales sets up the number, the quick replies and the opt-in, so an enquiry gets a full answer even when the host is out on the estate.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.

Editorial illustration for WhatsApp marketing and automation

What WhatsApp marketing means

WhatsApp marketing is sending updates, offers and reminders to customers on the app most Indian buyers already check daily. GullySales sets up business WhatsApp, writes the message templates and keeps the list consented and current.

Also for resorts and homestays

Sales and marketing for resorts and homestays, the overview.

Last updated 6 Oct 2026.

For resorts and homestays

Where it usually goes wrong, and what we would do.

  • “The enquiry number is the owner's personal phone”

    Guest enquiries, family chats and supplier messages share one phone. When the owner is driving or out of signal on the estate, the guest waits.

  • “A rate sent, and nothing else”

    A guest asks for the rate and gets a number. They also wanted to know about the road, the meal plan and the dog, so they ask the next property.

  • “Location pins that lead to the wrong gate”

    A map pin for a rural property can point to the village centre or a back road. Guests arrive at night, lost and annoyed, and say so in the review.

What we do

What we deliver for resorts and homestays.

Every deliverable, what it covers for you, and the result it is there to produce. Nothing here is an extra.

  1. A business number for the property

    A WhatsApp Business number separate from the owner's own, shown on the listings, the website and the gate board, with a greeting and an away message.

    Result: Guest chats stop getting lost among family messages.

  2. A first reply that covers the usual questions

    Rate for the dates, meal plan, road and car advice, pets and check-in time in one message, with photographs of the room asked about.

    Result: The guest has enough to decide in one read.

  3. Booking confirmation and arrival message

    Advance received, cancellation terms, the pin of the actual gate, the last fuel stop and what to pack for the season.

    Result: Guests reach the right gate, prepared for the weather.

  4. Opt-in for offers, kept apart from stay messages

    Permission for offers asked separately and recorded, with past guests split into families, couples and groups.

    Result: Offers reach only the people who said yes.

  5. Cover for when the host is away

    Who handles the chat when the owner is on the estate or travelling, using the linked-device feature on a second phone or laptop.

    Result: No enquiry waits because one phone is out of signal.

How the result is measured

  • Messages delivered
  • Reply rate
  • Enquiries from WhatsApp

Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.

Read the full WhatsApp marketing and automation page

What must be in place first

Settle these before the property's WhatsApp number goes on the listings and the gate.

Opt-in recorded for offers
Ask at booking or check-in whether the guest wants offers on WhatsApp, separately from stay messages. Note yes or no, with the date, in the guest register.
A business profile guests can trust
Set the property name, a photograph of the main building, the full address, the map link and the hours someone replies. A blank profile looks like a fake listing.
Templates for messages you start
Messages you start after the chat has gone quiet, such as a next-season offer, need approved templates on the API. Check WhatsApp's current business policy first.
Who pays for what
The Business app and the API are priced differently, and the API charges for some messages a business starts. Check WhatsApp's current pricing before planning a send to every past guest.
An easy way to stop
End each offer with a line telling the guest how to stop offers, and take that number off the offers list the same day they ask.
A person behind the auto-reply
If you use automatic replies, name who takes over. A guest asking whether the ghat road is safe after heavy rain needs a person, not a menu.

Who it is for

This is written for these resorts and homestays.

  • Coffee and tea estate homestays
  • Jungle lodges near tiger reserves and national parks
  • Hill-station resorts and cottages
  • Beach cottages and villas in Goa, Gokarna and the Konkan coast
  • Heritage havelis and farm stays
  • Private villas rented as a whole
  • Backwater and lakeside stays
  • Wellness and ayurveda retreats

Not for

It is not the right fit if.

  • You want a guaranteed Google ranking or a guaranteed number of leads. Nobody honest can promise either.
  • You need enquiries by next week and have nobody to answer them.
  • You want posts and reach reported, not enquiries and orders.

How it works

From your first message to the first report.

No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.

  1. First

    Your brief

    You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.

  2. After the brief

    A conversation and a written scope

    We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.

  3. Before work starts

    Baseline recorded

    Enquiries by source, reply time, conversion and cost per order, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.

  4. After the baseline

    The first fix goes live

    The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is reply time, a follow-up sequence, the page buyers land on or the handover between marketing and sales.

  5. As agreed

    Report against the baseline

    What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.

  6. At renewal

    Renew on the numbers

    The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.

How the whatsapp marketing work runs

  1. 1

    Understand current WhatsApp use

    We review how customers currently message you and how consistently, if at all, it is answered.

  2. 2

    Audit common questions

    We identify the questions that come up repeatedly, which decide what should be automated first.

  3. 3

    Set up automation and templates

    An automated first response and quick reply templates are built for the most common needs.

  4. 4

    Connect to the CRM

    Conversations are linked to customer records so context carries over between team members.

  5. 5

    Measure and optimise

    We track response time and conversion, refining automated responses based on what customers actually ask.

Why us

Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.

  • Marketing and sales, as one job

    Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.

  • The person on the first call does the work

    No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.

  • A baseline before anything starts

    Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.

  • The fee in writing, split three ways

    Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.

  • No guarantees we cannot keep

    The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.

  • One office, and we say so

    Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.

#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.

Your brief

Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

FAQ

Questions owners ask before they call.

Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.

Tell us what you need
Should we use broadcast lists or the WhatsApp API?
A homestay with a few rooms manages with broadcast lists in the Business app, which reach only people who saved your number. A resort sending confirmations from a booking system, or offers to a long past-guest list, needs the API through a provider.
Can we make a WhatsApp group of past guests?
Avoid it. Everyone in a group sees everyone else's number, which past guests never agreed to. Use a broadcast list or a WhatsApp Channel for news instead.
Our caretaker answers guests from his own phone. Is that a problem?
Yes. If he leaves, the chats and the guest numbers leave with him. Put the business number on a property phone or link his phone as a device, and keep guest records in your own register.
Should we list our cottages in the WhatsApp catalogue?
Yes, for room types and packages, with photographs and what each includes. Leave the price off where it changes by date, and quote the rate in the chat once you know the dates.
Ours is a family homestay, not a resort. Is this worth it for us?
Yes, if you want more direct bookings and fuller weekdays. A small property needs fewer pieces: a clean listing, a proper WhatsApp reply and a past-guest list. We can show which of those is missing before you spend anything.
Should we come off Airbnb and Booking.com?
No. The apps bring guests who would never find you otherwise. The aim is that a guest who already knows you books direct the second time, and that the apps fill the dates you cannot fill yourself.
How much does it cost?
There is no price list, because the work differs by business. The fee is scoped after we have read your brief and spoken to you, and put in writing before anything starts, split into our time, your media spend and production.
How long is the contract?
The term is agreed in writing after we have spoken, along with the fee and the reporting. It is never a default twelve months, and renewal is decided on the numbers against the baseline recorded at the start.
How soon will we see results?
It depends on the trade, the channel and what is already in place. After we have read your brief and spoken to you, we say what we would expect to move first and how it will be measured against the baseline. Nothing here is guaranteed.
Who will actually do the work?
The person you speak to before anything starts. We work from one office in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, with no account managers in between.

From the blog

Further reading for resorts and homestays.

All articles

More for resorts and homestays

Everything else we would do for you.

Closest to this: messaging and automation

Also for resorts and homestays

Or start from the overview: sales and marketing for resorts and homestays.

Your next practical step

Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.

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