Conversations That Feel Human
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The Problem
Why Hotels Are Moving to an AI Answering Service
Guests calling about a room don't wait for a callback, they book somewhere else. A late night reservation call, a wifi question during the check in rush, or an overnight cancellation, if your front desk can't pick up, the caller books through an OTA or another property instead. A traditional answering service can help, but it charges per call, leaves callers on hold, and bills extra for overnight coverage. Retell answers on the first ring, every time, and you pay only for the minutes used.
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Comparison
Retell VS. A Traditional Hotel Answering Service
Hours
What You Pay For
Wait Time
Busy Periods
Consistency
Languages
Handing Off To You
Setup
Your Tools
Traditional Answering Service
Front desk hours, or a paid add-on for overnight and holiday coverage
Per minute and per call, with hold time and monthly retainers on top
Callers hold while the front desk handles a check in line
Limited by how many staff are on the desk; callers wait or hang up during check in rush
Varies with whoever picks up, or goes to voicemail overnight
Usually English, more languages cost extra
Takes a message or transfers with little context
Write scripts, brief staff, wait for training
Messages relayed by email or portal
Every call answered 24/7, including overnight, weekends and holidays
Usage-based from $0.07/min, $10 in free credits to start
Answered on the first ring, no queue
20 concurrent calls included, higher on Enterprise
The same answer quality on every call
More than one language handled the same way
Warm transfer with the full transcript and PMS record attached
Start from a template, sync your room and rate info, go live
Connects to your PMS and booking engine and acts during the call
Cost per minute
$0.07-$0.31/min
LLM: gpt-5
$0.040/min
TTS: platform
$0.015/min
Voice Engine
$0.055/min
Background speech removal
$0.005/min
Safety Guardrails
$0.005/min
Buyer’s Guide
How to Choose a Hotel Answering Service
$0.07-$0.31 Per Minute
You pay for real call time, nothing else.
$10 in Free Credits
Try it before you pay anything.
No Monthly Retainers
Nothing extra for nights, weekends or busy periods.
Lower Bills Overall
Routine calls clear on their own, so spend drops.
Capabilities
What Our Agent Does on a Call
Takes the Reservation or Sends the Caller to the Right Person:
It works out why someone is calling, whether it's a new reservation, a question about their stay, or a request for the front desk, and handles it or routes it accordingly.
Routing can follow your PMS, so callers reach the right department instead of a general voicemail.
When a person is needed, the agent warm-transfers them along with the full conversation and guest record.
Answers Guest Questions from Your Own Knowledge Base:
It stays in sync with your knowledge base, so callers hear current answers about rates, availability, wifi and amenities.
It can look up a caller's reservation mid-call and tailor what it says.
It can pull from your PMS, booking engine or CRM over secure webhooks while the call is live.
Setup
Live in Four Steps
Step 1
Build
Set the agent up in a no-code dashboard or with the API, and point it at your room types, rates and amenities.
Step 2
Test
Run it against the calls you really get and confirm it books correctly and hands off cleanly.
Step 3
Deploy
Connect your line over SIP trunking or take a new number, then go live on voice, SMS and chat.
Step 4
Monitor
Track booking and transfer rates and guest sentiment from the dashboard, and refine over time.
Value
Why Businesses Choose Retell
A Clean Handoff to Your Team
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Reporting You Can Act On
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Built for Sensitive Data
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Overview
Built to scale with you
From quick-start simplicity to enterprise-grade security, compliance, and support. Retell meets you wherever you are.
Put Your Business Answering Service to Work Today
Start from a template, sync your knowledge base, and connect your line or take a new number. Try it on your real calls, then go live on voice, SMS and chat.
FAQ
Common Questions
Can Retell take a hotel reservation over the phone?
Yes. The agent checks availability and rates from your PMS or booking engine, takes the guest's details, and confirms the reservation on the call. If the request needs a human, it warm transfers to your front desk with the details attached.
Can it answer questions about wifi, parking and amenities?
Yes. It's synced to your knowledge base, so it can answer guest questions about wifi passwords, parking, pool hours, breakfast times and other amenities without the guest waiting on hold.
What happens to calls when the front desk is busy with a check in rush?
The agent answers every call itself, so guests calling during check in or check out never hit a busy signal or voicemail. It handles the call directly or takes a message with full context for your team to follow up.
How much does Retell's hotel answering service cost?
Pricing is usage based, starting from $0.07 per minute, with $10 in free credits to start. You only pay for the minutes the agent actually spends on calls.
Does it handle guests who don't speak English?
Yes. The agent can handle calls in more than one language at the same quality, so international guests get the same experience as English speaking callers.
How fast can we get it live at our property?
Most properties start from a template, sync their room, rate and amenity information, and go live within days, not weeks of staff training.
Can guests still reach a real person?
Yes. Whenever a guest needs a person, the agent warm transfers the call to your front desk along with the full transcript and reservation details, so nothing gets repeated.
