WhatsApp is where travellers abroad and hotel concierges write first. The free WhatsApp Business app suits a company where one person answers; the Business Platform connects WhatsApp to a booking system and is billed by Meta per delivered message, with utility messages such as confirmations priced far below marketing ones, 1,000 free service messages a month per number and charges for the rest since 1 October 2026. Use one business number, log every enquiry with its channel, send a price with a link to accept, and send marketing templates only with consent.
Why do travellers book chauffeurs on WhatsApp?
Because it is the app they already use to talk to the hotel, the tour guide and the family at home, and because a chauffeur booking is a conversation: a date, a flight, a number of bags, a price, a yes. A traveller abroad with no local SIM will write on WhatsApp before they call a foreign number, and a hotel concierge forwarding a guest's request does the same. For a chauffeur company the question is not whether to be on WhatsApp but how to run it so that enquiries there are quoted as fast, recorded as carefully and counted as honestly as enquiries from the website form.
WhatsApp Business app or the Business Platform?
Two different products. The free WhatsApp Business app runs on one phone, with a business profile, quick replies, labels and away messages; it is enough for a company where one person answers everything, and it costs nothing. The WhatsApp Business Platform, also called the API, connects WhatsApp to a booking system or an inbox shared by several people, sends automatic messages such as confirmations and reminders, and is billed by Meta per delivered message.
Meta's pricing page sets out the model: businesses are charged per delivered message, with separate rates for marketing, utility and authentication templates, and a 24-hour customer service window that opens whenever the customer writes to you. Each business number gets 1,000 free service messages a month inside that window; since 1 October 2026 Meta charges for service and utility messages beyond the allowance, at rates that depend on the customer's country code. A chauffeur company's confirmations and reminders are utility messages, which Meta prices far below marketing ones, so a hundred bookings a month costs a few euros in Meta fees plus whatever the connecting provider charges.
How should enquiries on WhatsApp be handled?
- One number for the business, shown on the website and the Google profile, never a driver's personal number, so the enquiry stays with the company when the driver leaves.
- Every enquiry entered in the booking system the moment it arrives, with the channel marked, so the median first reply and the won share include WhatsApp; the speed to lead guide covers why.
- A price in the first reply where possible, with a link to accept and pay, rather than a chat that runs for twenty messages. At Irish Transfer 73 percent of new bookings between 7 June and 31 August 2026 came from a quote accepted online, whichever channel the enquiry arrived on.
- Quick replies for the ten questions that come every day: luggage, child seats, waiting time, meeting point, payment.
- An away message outside hours that states when a price will come, and a morning routine that clears the night's messages before the first drive.
What may you send without being asked?
Inside the 24-hour window after the customer's last message, anything relevant to their request. Outside it, only approved template messages, and a marketing template needs the customer's opt-in. Confirmations, reminders with the driver's details and payment receipts are utility messages and are what customers want; a "book your summer transfer" broadcast to last year's passengers is marketing, needs consent and costs more per message. The rules are Meta's, and breaking them gets a number restricted, which for a chauffeur company means losing the channel its regulars use.
How does WhatsApp fit with the website form and the phone?
As one more door into the same room. The form collects the details a quote needs in one go; the phone catches the traveller who wants to hear a voice; WhatsApp catches the traveller abroad and the concierge in a hurry. All three should land in one list with the route, date and passengers, so nobody quotes the same trip twice or not at all, which the enquiry to booking guide and the limo booking software guide cover. Count bookings by channel each month; most companies find WhatsApp wins a higher share of its enquiries than the form, because the traveller is already talking to you.
What should you not do on WhatsApp?
Run the company from a driver's personal phone; quote from memory; leave the night's messages until after the first airport run; send broadcasts without consent; or treat it as a channel that does not count. The missed call text back guide covers the one automatic WhatsApp or SMS message that recovers the enquiry a missed call would have lost.
Questions owners ask
Should a chauffeur company use the WhatsApp Business app or the API?
The free app when one person answers everything; the Business Platform (API) when several people share the inbox or the booking system should send confirmations and reminders automatically.
What does WhatsApp Business Platform cost?
Meta charges per delivered message by category, with utility messages such as confirmations priced far below marketing ones. Each number gets 1,000 free service messages a month, and since 1 October 2026 service and utility messages beyond that are charged; rates depend on the customer’s country.
Can you send booking confirmations on WhatsApp without the customer asking?
Yes, as utility template messages. Marketing templates, such as a seasonal offer to past passengers, need the customer’s opt-in and cost more per message.
Should drivers use their own WhatsApp with customers?
No. One business number on the website and the Google profile keeps the enquiry with the company when the driver leaves, and lets every enquiry be logged and measured.
How do you measure WhatsApp enquiries?
Enter each one in the booking system with the channel marked, so the median first reply and the share won include WhatsApp, and count bookings by channel each month.
