WhatsApp on your own number

Kamra talks to guests over WhatsApp through Meta's official Cloud API, on a number you own. Nothing sits in between: no gateway markup, no per-message fee to Kamra — Meta bills you directly at their per-conversation rates (marketing/utility conversations are a few cents; most hotel traffic falls in the cheaper utility bucket, and guest-initiated service conversations are free).

What you get once connected:

• Booking confirmation + self check-in link sent automatically on every confirmed booking
• Payment requests from the desk
• Guest replies land in Operations → WhatsApp as chat threads, and messages from in-house guests also raise a Service Ticket
• Housekeeping SLA escalations to managers on WhatsApp

Step 1 — get a WhatsApp Business number from Meta

You need a Meta developer app with the WhatsApp product. About 20 minutes, free:

1. Go to developers.facebook.com → My Apps → Create App → type Business.
2. In the new app, click Add product → WhatsApp → Set up. Meta attaches a test number immediately — fine for trying things out.
3. To use your own number: WhatsApp → API Setup → Add phone number. The number must not be registered on the WhatsApp app (a fresh SIM or a landline that can receive a verification call works well). Complete business verification in Meta Business Manager — this is the step that takes a day or two of Meta's review.
4. From WhatsApp → API Setup, note two values:
   • Phone number ID (a long number under the phone dropdown)
   • a permanent access token: create a System User in Business settings → Users → System users, give it access to the app with the whatsapp_business_messaging permission, and Generate token with no expiry.

Step 2 — connect it in Kamra

Operations → Channels → New (you need the Hotel Admin role):

Field	Value
Channel	WhatsApp
Provider	Meta Business
Phone number (display)	your number, e.g. +91 98…
Meta phone number ID	from API Setup
Access token	the permanent System User token
Webhook verify token	any string you invent — you'll paste the same one into Meta
Template language code	en (or the language your templates are approved in)
Active	✓

Step 3 — point Meta's webhook at Kamra

This is what makes incoming guest messages appear.

1. In the Meta app: WhatsApp → Configuration → Webhook → Edit.
2. Callback URL: https://YOUR-SITE/api/method/kamra.whatsapp.webhook
3. Verify token: the same string you entered on the Channels screen. Click Verify and save — Kamra answers Meta's challenge.
4. Under Webhook fields, subscribe to messages.

From now on, anything a guest writes to your number shows up in Operations → WhatsApp as a conversation thread, and — if the sender matches an in-house guest — raises a Service Ticket on the desk queue.

Step 4 — register your message templates

WhatsApp only lets a business start a conversation with a pre-approved template (guests writing to you first need no template — that opens a free-form 24-hour session). Create these in Meta Business Manager → WhatsApp Manager → Message templates, category Utility, then put their names on the Channels screen.

kamra_booking_confirmation — variables are guest, property, check-in, check-out:

Hello 1! Your booking at 2 is confirmed — arriving 3, departing 4. We look forward to hosting you. Reply to this message any time; a person answers.

kamra_precheckin_link — guest, link:

1, skip the front-desk queue: complete your check-in online before you arrive — 2

kamra_payment_request — guest, amount, note:

Hello 1, a payment of 2 is due for your stay (3). You can pay online or at the front desk.

Approval usually takes minutes for Utility templates. Once approved, type each template's exact name into the matching field on the Channels connection.

Designing more templates

The community frappe_whatsapp app has a visual, drag-and-drop template builder with a live compliance checklist (PR #247) — useful for prototyping template copy before you register it with Meta.

Step 5 — send and receive

Nothing else to configure:

• Automatic: every new confirmed booking sends the confirmation and, if the template is set, the self check-in link. Housekeeping escalations go to the manager's number.
• Conversations: Operations → WhatsApp is the inbox — threads on the left, chat on the right, reply box at the bottom. Replies deliver free-form while the guest's 24-hour session window is open (any guest message reopens it); outside the window, WhatsApp only accepts templates, and the screen tells you so.
• Payment requests: from the stay, send_payment_request posts the amount with your payment template.
• Every message in both directions is stored as a WhatsApp Message record, so the history is queryable and auditable.

Campaigns and marketing broadcasts

Kamra's built-in integration is deliberately transactional — the messages a stay generates. For marketing broadcasts (offers to past guests, campaign blasts), install the community frappe_whatsapp app alongside Kamra on the same bench:

bench get-app https://github.com/shridarpatil/frappe_whatsapp
bench --site yoursite install-app frappe_whatsapp

It uses the same Meta credentials, adds template syncing from Frappe, notification-on-doctype-event rules, and bulk sends. Keep marketing lists consented — WhatsApp bans numbers that message people who didn't opt in.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause
Webhook verification fails	Verify token on the Channels screen doesn't match what you typed in Meta, or the connection isn't Active
Outbound shows Failed with (#132001)	Template name or language doesn't match an approved template
Outbound Failed with Re-engagement message	The 24-hour session closed — use a template, or wait for the guest to write
Messages send but nothing arrives inbound	Webhook fields not subscribed to messages
401 from Meta	Token expired — use a System User token, not the 24-hour test token