Group bookings and corporate enquiries on WhatsApp: a fixed intake that collects everything a quote needs, the hand-over to a person, and the confirmation flow
Group enquiries are the most valuable messages a venue gets and the most badly handled: a vague question, a vague reply, five rounds of back-and-forth, and a quote that arrives after the organiser has booked elsewhere. A fixed intake asks everything once; the quote then takes a person ten minutes.
Quick answer
Run a fixed intake for every group or corporate enquiry: date and time (with alternatives), headcount and ages, purpose, budget per head or total, food, drink and dietary needs, space or activity preference, special requests, and the organiser's name, company and contact. An AI agent collects all of it in conversation, explains packages from your note, and hands over a complete brief; a person quotes, holds the date for a fixed time, takes the deposit and confirms with terms. ReplyKit captures the brief and the lead; the quote stays human.
The eight questions
- Date and time, and whether they are flexible.
- Headcount, and children or special needs if relevant.
- Purpose: birthday, corporate dinner, team building, wedding, conference.
- Budget per head or total, or the package they are looking at.
- Food and drink: set menu, buffet, drinks package, dietary requirements.
- Space or activity: private room, terrace, which activity, AV needs.
- Special requests: cake, decorations, speeches, accessibility.
- Organiser: name, company, phone, email, and whether they decide or recommend.
The agent asks these conversationally, one or two at a time, after answering the opening question. Packages and minimum spends come from a note; the agent presents options but does not quote a custom total.
Hand-over and quote
The brief lands in the inbox and CRM with every answer. A person quotes once, in writing, in the same chat, within the time you promise ("a quote within 24 hours"). The quote states the package, the price, what is included, the deposit, the hold period and the final-headcount deadline. The quoting pattern is in handling quotation requests, and the wording in the quotation templates.
Hold, deposit, confirm
- Hold. "We can hold {date} for 48 hours." Released if no deposit, with a message.
- Deposit. A percentage or per-head amount, with terms; see bookings with deposits.
- Final headcount. A deadline (typically 72 hours before) after which the number is charged.
- Confirmation message. Everything in one message the organiser can forward to their group.
- Reminder. The week before to confirm details, the day before with arrival instructions, both sent by the agent as reminders.
During and after
The agent answers the group's logistics questions the week before (parking, dress code, arrival time) from the confirmation and your venue notes, and handles organiser changes by logging them and handing over. After the event, a thank-you and a review ask go out by hand; corporate organisers book again, so the lead stays in the CRM with a follow-up date. Templates for the whole sequence are in the event planner templates.
One honest note before the setup. ReplyKit connects to your number by QR pairing, the same linked-device mechanism as WhatsApp Web. It is live in minutes and needs no Meta approval, but Meta does not sanction automation this way, so a number can be restricted. We enforce limits of 30 replies an hour and 200 a day per number with a warm-up ramp for new numbers, reply to inbound messages only, and recommend a dedicated number rather than your main line. The full picture is in our ban guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can an AI agent quote a group booking?
It collects the full brief and presents packages from your note; a person quotes the custom total.
What should I ask a group enquiry?
Date, headcount, purpose, budget, food and drink, space or activity, special requests, and organiser details, in one intake.
How long should I hold a date?
24 to 72 hours pending deposit, stated in the quote, with a message when the hold expires.
How do I handle headcount changes?
A final-headcount deadline in the terms, after which the confirmed number is charged.
Does the agent send reminders to the organiser?
Yes, the week before and the day before, with arrival instructions.
One intake, one quote, one confirmation
Group briefs collected completely; the quote stays with you. 7-day free trial, no card.
Sources and further reading
- Harvard Business Review, The Short Life of Online Sales Leads (Oldroyd, McElheran, Elkington, 2011) · firms that responded within an hour were about seven times more likely to qualify the lead
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy · opt-in, opt-out and prohibited-use rules every business must follow
ReplyKit is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta or WhatsApp. This article is general guidance for running a small business, not legal, financial or regulatory advice.