SMS Notifications via Africa's Talking
BnBFlows uses Africa's Talking to deliver automated SMS messages to guests and staff across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and 40+ other African markets. This guide covers setup, templates and troubleshooting.
Connecting Africa's Talking
Visit africastalking.com and register. Use the sandbox environment for testing — it's free and doesn't send real SMS messages.
In the Africa's Talking dashboard, go to Settings → API Key. Copy the key — you'll need this and your Africa's Talking username.
Go to Settings → Integrations → SMS (Africa's Talking). Enter your username, API key, and shortcode / sender ID (if you have a registered alphanumeric sender like "GRANDHOTEL").
Enter your own phone number and click Send Test. You should receive the test message within 10–30 seconds.
Once testing is successful, change the environment from Sandbox to Live and top up your Africa's Talking credits. SMS is now active.
Sender ID (Alphanumeric)
A registered sender ID displays your property name instead of a random number (e.g. "GRANDHOTEL" instead of "+254700000000"). Registration requirements vary by country:
- Kenya (Safaricom) — requires a letter of authorisation on company letterhead. Approval takes 5–10 business days.
- Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana — similar approval process. Africa's Talking handles the submission.
- Shared shortcode — available immediately if you don't want to register a dedicated sender ID. Messages arrive from a shared number.
While waiting for approval, use the sandbox or shared shortcode for live messages.
Automated SMS events
Configure which events trigger automatic SMS messages under Settings → Notifications → SMS. Toggle each event on or off:
| Event | Recipient | Default timing |
|---|---|---|
| Booking confirmed | Guest | Immediately |
| Booking modified | Guest | Immediately |
| Booking cancelled | Guest | Immediately |
| Pre-arrival reminder | Guest | 9:00 am on arrival day |
| Check-in complete | Guest | Immediately |
| Checkout reminder | Guest | 7:00 am on departure day |
| Payment received | Guest | Immediately |
| Housekeeping task assigned | Housekeeper | Immediately |
| Urgent maintenance request | Property Admin | Immediately |
| Invoice overdue (7-day) | Guest / Company | Day 7, Day 14, Day 30 |
Customising SMS templates
Go to Settings → Notifications → SMS → Templates. Each event has a default template you can edit. Use merge tags (double curly braces) to personalise messages:
Hi {{guest_first_name}}, your booking at {{property_name}} is confirmed!
Check-in: {{checkin_date}} at {{checkin_time}}
Room: {{room_type}}
Ref: {{booking_ref}}
Questions? Call us: {{property_phone}}
Available merge tags:
{{guest_first_name}},{{guest_full_name}}{{property_name}},{{property_phone}}{{booking_ref}},{{checkin_date}},{{checkout_date}},{{checkin_time}}{{room_type}},{{room_number}}{{total_amount}},{{currency}},{{balance_due}}{{portal_link}}— a link to the guest's online booking portal page
Sending a manual SMS
You can send a one-off SMS to any guest from their profile or from inside a booking:
- Open the booking or guest profile.
- Click Send SMS.
- Type your message (character counter shown).
- Click Send. The message and delivery status are logged in the booking's communications history.
SMS delivery reports
BnBFlows logs the delivery status of every outbound SMS. View the log at Settings → Integrations → SMS → Delivery Log. Statuses:
- Delivered — confirmed received by the handset.
- Sent — accepted by the carrier, delivery confirmation pending.
- Failed — delivery failed (invalid number, switched off, unreachable). Check the error code for details.
- Rejected — usually means the number is in a do-not-contact list or the carrier blocked the message.
Troubleshooting
- Test SMS not received — verify the API key is correct and that you are in Live mode (not Sandbox) for real numbers.
- Messages failing in Kenya — ensure your sender ID is registered with Safaricom. Unregistered sender IDs are blocked on the Safaricom network.
- Insufficient balance error — top up credits on the Africa's Talking dashboard. BnBFlows does not manage your AT credit balance.
- Wrong phone number format — BnBFlows automatically formats numbers to international format (e.g. 0712345678 → +254712345678). If you see formatting errors, ensure phone numbers in guest profiles have the country code prefix set correctly.