WhatsApp is harder to budget for than SMS because Meta charges a different amount depending on two things you do not fully control: what kind of template the message uses, and which country the guest's phone number belongs to.
The market is the guest's country code, not your hotel's location. A German hotel messaging a guest with a Polish number is charged at the Polish rate.
What you are charged for
Messages you start. When the hotel initiates the conversation, Meta charges for that first message. Replies inside the 24-hour window a guest opens are a different matter.
Utility templates. Automated guest journey messages, for example check-in details or a feedback request. These are the cheaper category.
Marketing templates. Promotions, newsletters, and Broadcasts. These cost more.
Meta decides which category a template falls into when you submit it, so check the classification you were given rather than assuming.
How much more Marketing costs than Utility
Approximate multipliers, Marketing against Utility, by the guest's market:
2.4x for Germany, the UK, and Italy.
3.2x for Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the rest of Western Europe.
4x for Central and Eastern Europe.
For the actual rates rather than the ratios, use Meta's own page: WhatsApp platform pricing. Set the currency to EUR.
Estimating cost per room
Read the caveat before the numbers. These are averages from Bookboost clients between July 2024 and June 2025, per room per month. They are a starting point for a budget conversation, not a quote. Your figure depends on your occupancy, how much of the journey runs over WhatsApp, how often you Broadcast, and where your guests' phone numbers are from. Meta also changes its own rates independently of us.
Western Europe
€0.15 to €0.18, limited use, WhatsApp is not the preferred channel.
€0.37 to €0.52, half the journey on WhatsApp, plus a monthly Broadcast.
€0.60 to €0.75, the full mobile journey on WhatsApp, preferred but not exclusive.
€0.80 to €0.90, WhatsApp used exclusively.
€2.10 to €2.50, heavy campaign use on top of the journey.
Central and Eastern Europe
€1.10 to €1.50, full mobile journey plus heavy campaign use.
Keeping the cost down
Use Utility templates where the content allows it. The multipliers above are what you pay for choosing Marketing instead.
Let guests start conversations. A guest who messages you first opens a 24-hour window, and QR codes in the rooms are the cheapest way to encourage that.
Segment before you Broadcast. Sending a Marketing template to your whole database at 4x costs real money. Narrowing the audience is the single biggest lever.
What this does not do
You do not choose the template category. Meta classifies templates on approval. Around 90% of journey templates come back as Utility and Broadcasts as Marketing, but it is not guaranteed.
Guest origin is unpredictable. A property with an international mix cannot forecast precisely, because the cost of each message depends on where that guest's number is registered.
Bookboost does not set these rates. Meta does, and it can change them. Always check their pricing page for current figures.
Per-room figures are averages, not commitments. They describe what other properties spent in a past 12-month period.
What to do next
For the SMS side, see Estimating SMS costs. For how the 24-hour window works in practice, see WhatsApp across the guest journey.
Getting help
Open Help at the bottom of the left menu and choose Talk to Us, or email the Bookboost Finance team at finance@bookboost.io.