Booking accommodation - email or WhatsApp best?

[imac]

If an accommodation doesn't have an online booking option do people find an email or a WhatsApp enquiry/confirmation
most reliable - my gut feeling is that email is more reliable but would be interested to know peoples thoughts

Thanks

 

[trecile]

I prefer to use WhatsApp, because people seem to reply to it more quickly than email.
But if the place doesn't have a number on WhatsApp I email.
Third choice is phone call.

 

[imac]

I prefer to use WhatsApp, because people seem to reply to it more quickly than email.
But if the place doesn't have a number on WhatsApp I email.
Third choice is phone call.

Yes Whatsapp for short notice bookings for sure....

 

[peregrina2000]

If an accommodation doesn't have an online booking option do people find an email or a WhatsApp enquiry/confirmation

No question but that if we had kept our “best answer” annotation for forum questions, the answer would indisputably be “WhatsApp.”

A lot of people may not like it because it is owned by Meta, but more than 95% of Spanish cell phones use it. In those rare cases where there is no WhatApp connection, I would try a phone call first, with email last on the list.

 

[trecile]

Since we are talking about booking and WhatsApp, here's a post a made yesterday about a cool feature in the Wise Pilgrim app:

The Wise Pilgrim app has a feature that will compose a message for you in Spanish (or Portuguese or French, depending on the route), that makes it really easy.

You just long press on WhatsApp number.

View attachment 165850

Then you choose the date, number of people, and type of accommodation you are inquiring about.

View attachment 165851

And the message is created for you.

At this point I save the number to my contacts.

View attachment 165852

Which is really easy because all the information is already filled out.

View attachment 165853

 

[Jeff B]

If an accommodation doesn't have an online booking option do people find an email or a WhatsApp enquiry/confirmation
most reliable - my gut feeling is that email is more reliable but would be interested to know peoples thoughts

Thanks

I've used both, depending on the situation, and both have worked.

 

[Jodean]

I have used both. If it isn't what they prefer, they tell you to use the other method. I too like emails better, but if they want Whatsapp, I use it without any problem.

 

[lt56ny]

I think the easiest way to communicate is to call. You really don't need to know that much Spanish. But I walk in the colder months and caminos with usually very few pilgrims so I am only calling to see if an albergue is open. Everybody is on whatsapp so you can add them on your phone and use your translator to send a message.

 

[peregrina2000]

I think the easiest way to communicate is to call.

There are exceptions to every generalization, so I’ll just say that I remember when @jpflavin1was on the Camino de Madrid. He had emailed and called Ray and Rosa a number of times to see about staying in their place outside Manzanares, no luck. He WhatsApped me in the US to ask if I had any ideas. I told him to send a WhatsApp, and he had a response in minutes.

I believe that Susana of Torre Vilariño on the Invierno also has the policy of not responding to calls, but will respond to whatsapp messages.

Not to say that calling is a bad idea, and it’s what you will have to do if the accommodation has a land line, but the other advantage of using WhatsApp is that you have an actual record of your communication in case there’s a mix-up.

Everybody is on whatsapp so you can add them on your phone and use your translator to send a message.

I always add as many contacts as I can before I go, so when I’m actually there, I can just pull up the contact (I always include location in their name, so I can pull up all of the places in Quiroga, for example) and send a message. Adding them to your contacts is a bit of a pain, but I find it much easier to arrive in Spain with the numbers all there and ready for me to use.

 

[lt56ny]

There are exceptions to every generalization, so I’ll just say that I remember when @jpflavin1was on the Camino de Madrid. He had emailed and called Ray and Rosa a number of times to see about staying in their place outside Manzanares, no luck. He WhatsApped me in the US to ask if I had any ideas. I told him to send a WhatsApp, and he had a response in minutes.

I believe that Susana of Torre Vilariño on the Invierno also has the policy of not responding to calls, but will respond to whatsapp messages.

Not to say that calling is a bad idea, and it’s what you will have to do if the accommodation has a land line, but the other advantage of using WhatsApp is that you have an actual record of your communication in case there’s a mix-up.


I always add as many contacts as I can before I go, so when I’m actually there, I can just pull up the contact (I always include location in their name, so I can pull up all of the places in Quiroga, for example) and send a message. Adding them to your contacts is a bit of a pain, but I find it much easier to arrive in Spain with the numbers all there and ready for me to use.

I wish we could walk together then I would be able to do even less thinking than I normally do on the camino. Which is very little to begin with!!!! You are correct for sure and I can tell you I would never have the patience or the forethought to add albergues to my whatsapp list.
I have decided to do my original camino this year and not the Mozarabe because I would have to start too early in October from Almeria. So I will do the Aragones/Madrid/Porto coastal to Santiago. Based on your vast knowledge I will be putting one whatsapp number in my phone. Ray and Rosa. Thanks!

 

[trecile]

the other advantage of using WhatsApp is that you have an actual record of your communication in case there’s a mix-up.

Yes, this is one of the major advantage of using WhatsApp or email!

 

[t2andreo]

I loath What'sApp because of its Meta association. But, I accept that, at least while on Camino, using it might be a necessary evil.

This said, I have been reading that the EU and other authorities are trying to compel Apple to develop the capability to contact and receive messages from What'sApp using the Apple-native iMessage application.

If this does happen, great. If it does not happen, many of us may be forced to use What'sApp, at least for the duration of our Caminos.

Just sayin...

Tom

 

[trecile]

I think the easiest way to communicate is to call.

This really isn't the easiest way for the recipients of the calls. WhatsApp or email works better for their work schedule as they aren't interrupted with phone calls. Just ask any young person (or some old people like me) - we would rather respond to a text than a phone call in most cases.

 

[lt56ny]

This really isn't the easiest way for the recipients of the calls. WhatsApp or email works better for their work schedule as they aren't interrupted with phone calls. Just ask any young person (or some old people like me) - we would rather respond to a text than a phone call in most cases.

I know you are right but just ask any really old person like me and most would want to get a telephone call

 

[trecile]

I know you are right but just ask any really old person like me and most would want to get a telephone call

Even if you are in the shower or otherwise indisposed?

 

[Jodean]

I am older and I always prefer a message on Whatsapp to a phone call. Not every senior is the same.