Most hotel website chats happen before a booking, not during the stay. A guest has your page open next to an OTA listing and wants one more answer: is parking free, can they check in at 11 pm, is the pool open in October. If they can’t find it on your site, they go back to the OTA and book there. A chatbot for hotels does one job: answers that question in seconds, from your real policies, and keeps the guest on your direct booking path.
Feedbot is the tool we make. It is a fit for independent hotels, inns, B&Bs and small groups that want pre-booking answers and a front desk handoff. It is not a PMS, a booking engine or an in-stay guest messaging platform. If you need room-service ordering or upsells tied to reservations, a hospitality-specific product is a better choice.
What do hotel guests ask in chat?
These are the questions hotel sites get most, and where each answer should come from.
| Guest question | What the bot does | Knowledge source |
|---|---|---|
| “What time is check-in? Can I check in early?” | Gives standard times, explains early check-in is subject to availability, offers to note the request | Policies page |
| “Is parking free? Is there EV charging?” | Quotes the parking fee, location, height limits, charger count | Business profile |
| “Can I bring my dog?” | Explains pet rules, weight limits, fee, which room types allow pets | Pet policy text |
| “What’s your cancellation policy?” | States the deadline and penalty, notes that rate-specific terms apply at booking | Policies page |
| “Is there a resort fee?” | Lists every mandatory fee and what it covers | Business profile |
| “Is it cheaper to book with you or on Booking.com?” | Explains direct-booking perks (free breakfast, flexible cancellation) and shows a Book direct button | FAQ |
| “Do you have a room with two queen beds and a crib?” | Describes room types and crib availability, sends to the booking engine for live availability | Rooms pages |
| “How far is the airport? Do you have a shuttle?” | Gives distance, shuttle times, taxi estimate | Location page |
| “Is breakfast included?” | Explains which rates include it, hours, price for walk-ins | Dining page |
| “Can we book 12 rooms for a wedding?” | Collects group details and hands off to sales | Handoff |
| “Is the room wheelchair accessible?” | Gives the facts you published; offers a person for specific needs | Accessibility page, handoff |
| “I left my charger in room 214” | Takes contact details and creates a ticket for the front desk | Handoff |
Put facts the bot needs in almost every conversation (address, check-in and check-out times, parking, phone, front desk hours) in the business profile in Bot → Behavior. The bot sees it in every reply. Longer policies go in the knowledge base.
Direct bookings: how the bot competes with OTAs
You can’t beat an OTA on inventory display, but you can beat it on answers. OTA listings answer standard questions with standard fields. Your chat can answer “is the quiet side of the building away from the bar?” Write a short FAQ entry for each direct-booking perk you offer, then add a custom instruction like: “When a guest compares prices with an OTA, list our direct-booking perks and show the Book direct button.” The bot shows buttons in the chat, and clicks are counted in your stats.
Don’t let the bot invent rates. Rates change daily and differ by channel. Have it describe room types and fees, then link to the booking engine for the live price.
Which guest details should the bot collect?
Most chats are anonymous questions. Collect details only when the guest needs a follow-up:
- Group or event requests (weddings, sports teams, corporate blocks): name, email or phone, dates, number of rooms, purpose. Feedbot saves these as leads and alerts you about hot leads.
- Special requests the bot can’t confirm (connecting rooms, late arrival after the desk closes, accessibility needs): name, email, booking confirmation number, the request. The bot hands off to a person.
- Lost and found and complaints: name, email, room or stay dates, description. These become tickets for the team.
Leads go to a CSV export or a signed lead.created webhook (Pro and up), which you can route to your sales tool through Zapier or Make. There is no native PMS or CRM integration.
What not to automate at a hotel
- Card numbers. Never ask for or accept a card number in chat. The PCI Security Standards Council says unprotected card numbers must not be sent over chat, email or SMS, and any channel that receives them comes into PCI DSS scope. Add a custom instruction: “Never ask for card details. If a guest sends one, tell them not to and direct them to the booking page.” Payment belongs on your booking engine.
- Prices without fees. In the US, the FTC’s rule on unfair or deceptive fees, in effect since May 12, 2025, requires short-term lodging to show the total price including mandatory fees. If the bot mentions a nightly price, it must include resort or destination fees. The simplest rule: the bot names fees, the booking engine quotes totals.
- Confirmations. The bot can’t see your PMS, so it must not confirm availability, upgrades or early check-in. It records the request and the front desk confirms.
- Accessibility promises. Publish exact details (door widths, roll-in shower, visual alarms) and let the bot quote them. For anything not written down, hand off.
- Guest privacy. Never put guest lists, room numbers or reservation exports in the knowledge base. Anyone who opens the chat could get answers from them.
Sample conversation
Guest: Hi, we arrive Friday around midnight. Will someone be at the desk?
Bot: Yes, the front desk is staffed 24 hours, so you can check in any time after 3 pm. If your flight is delayed, your room is held for the whole night on a guaranteed booking.
Guest: Great. Is parking extra? And we have a small dog.
Bot: Self-parking is $18 per night in the garage on Pine Street, clearance 6’8”. Dogs under 40 lb are welcome in pet-friendly rooms for $35 per stay. When you book, pick a room marked “pet-friendly”. [Book direct]
Guest: Can you put us on a high floor away from the elevator?
Bot: I can’t promise a room assignment, but I’ll pass the request to the front desk. What name and email is the booking under?
Metrics to watch
| Metric | Where to find it | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Book direct button clicks | Stats (CTA clicks) | How often chat sends guests to your booking engine |
| Unanswered questions | Insight reports, conversation analysis | Policies missing from your site |
| Human-needed rate | Inbox filter, notifications | Whether the bot hands off too much or too little |
| Group leads per month | Leads | Revenue from chat beyond single rooms |
| Languages guests write in | Reading the inbox | Which translations of your site to prioritize |
Set up a hotel chatbot in 3 steps
- Create the bot from your site. Sign up, add your website and import the rooms, policies, dining and location pages (website import starts on Starter, see pricing). Paste parking, check-in times, fees and front desk hours into the business profile.
- Add the widget. Paste one script tag before
</body>, or add it through your site builder’s custom-code setting or Google Tag Manager. See install. If your booking engine allows custom scripts, you can add it there too. - Connect the front desk. In Settings → Notifications, connect a Telegram group for the desk, then turn on live handoff in Bot → Behavior. Desk staff reply to the card in Telegram, and the guest gets the answer in the chat or by email.
Running a restaurant at the property? See the chatbot for restaurants page. For a broader view of what a support bot can take off your team, read customer service automation.