What can be automated in a small hotel
In a hotel with few rooms, or a handful of apartments, the same person answers the phone, runs reception and handles incidents. So what matters is less how much you automate and more what stops interrupting you. A task makes the list if it repeats, follows a rule you can write down, and any mistake can be checked before it reaches the guest.
- Questions before booking: parking, pets, check-in times, distance to the beach.
- Collecting guest data before arrival.
- Arrival instructions, wifi and house rules.
- Supplier invoices: laundry, cleaning, maintenance.
1. Pre-booking questions, in several languages
Most of those messages are the same and arrive at any hour, many from abroad. An assistant on your website or WhatsApp answers with the property's real information, in Spanish, English, Ukrainian or Russian, and passes on what it does not know. If the question is "do you have a room on the 12th", it should only answer if it is connected to real availability. If not, it takes the request and leaves it for the team: a late answer beats an invented booking.
2. Guest data, before they arrive
In Spain, since December 2024, Royal Decree 933/2021 requires hotels and holiday rentals to report each guest's details to the Interior Ministry. Typing them in at reception with a queue behind is one of the heaviest jobs of the day. The sensible approach is to send a form link before arrival, so the data reaches you already organised. The system collects and prepares it, but the owner stays responsible for reporting it and for handling it carefully: it is personal data, including that of minors.
3. Arrival and the stay
Arrival instructions, the door code, the wifi password and the house rules can go out by themselves the day before, on the channel the guest uses. That saves midnight calls and suits apartments without reception in particular. A check-out reminder with the time and where to leave the keys also avoids a lot of messages.
4. Supplier invoices
Laundry, cleaning, food and maintenance produce paper every month. From a photo, the system reads the invoice, records it and leaves anything doubtful for someone to check before it goes to the accountant.
The order, in a table
| Order | What gets automated | Piece | Zerolagia price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Website questions, in four languages | Website assistant that switches language on its own | €590 + €49/month |
| 2 | WhatsApp questions | WhatsApp receptionist with AI | €990 + €79/month |
| 3 | Guest data and arrival instructions | Custom, depending on your booking software | Quoted separately |
| 4 | Supplier invoices | The invoice, read from a photo | €690 + €49/month |
Prices are setup plus monthly maintenance, fixed, with no minimum term and VAT on top. What third parties charge, such as WhatsApp messages billed by Meta, is invoiced by them.
What is better not to automate in a hotel
- Welcoming the guest. It is what they remember about the stay.
- Complaints. The system can flag them and pass them on, but a person replies.
- Price changes. A badly published rate costs money: the owner decides.
- Replies to reviews. They read as copied, and they speak in your name.
Where to start
With whatever interrupts you most today. If you are unsure, start with the free diagnosis of your website. The website assistant and the WhatsApp receptionist are the same pieces Dartel Solutions uses every day, and the rest of the sector's cases are in automation for hospitality.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to change my booking software to automate a hotel?
No. Automations are built on top of what you already use. If your software cannot be connected, we say so before charging and look for another way, such as the assistant taking the request and passing it to the team.
Can the assistant confirm a booking?
Only if it is connected to real availability. If not, it takes the details and leaves confirmation to a person, so it never promises a room that does not exist.
Does it work for holiday apartments with no reception?
Yes, and that is where you notice it most: arrival instructions, the door code and the house rules go out by themselves and save calls at odd hours.
Who is responsible for reporting guest data?
The owner of the accommodation. The system helps collect and organise the data, but the obligation under Royal Decree 933/2021 stays with them.
Is it worth it for a hotel with few rooms?
It depends on the messages, not the rooms. If you reply on time without leaving reception, you do not need it. It pays off when bookings are lost through slow replies or paperwork piles up.
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