Hotels, safaris & travel · Kenya

SMS for hotels, safari operators and travel firms in Kenya

From a Diani beach resort to a Maasai Mara camp or a Nairobi to Mombasa bus, Kenyan travel depends on guests turning up at the right time and place. eSMS Africa sends booking confirmations, transfer pick-ups and check-in details to local and international numbers, so plans hold even when guests are offline.

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Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom Delivery reports From KES 1.08 per SMS

SAVANNATRLTransactional

Pwani Sands Resort: Booking PS-7712 confirmed, 12-15 Dec, 2 adults. Balance KES 32,000 due at check-in. Directions: pwanisands.co.ke/go

135 chars · 1 segment · GSM-7

Kenya context

What makes hotels, safaris & travel messaging different in Kenya

Hospitality and transport are both mandatory ODPC registration sectors in Kenya, so hotels, lodges, tour operators and bus companies must register as data controllers whatever their size.
Tourism businesses are licensed by the Tourism Regulatory Authority. Many guests book through agents abroad and only share a mobile number at check-in or for transfers.
Long-distance buses and shuttles sell tickets by M-Pesa and send the seat and departure details by SMS, which travellers show at the booking office.
Safari camps often have patchy data coverage, so SMS is the fallback that still gets through for pick-up times and itinerary changes.

What to send

Messages hotels, safaris & travel teams in Kenya send

Booking confirmation

Confirm room, dates, number of guests and balance due as soon as a deposit is paid, with a link to the booking and the property's phone number.

Transfers and pick-ups

Send the driver's name, vehicle and meeting point for airport, SGR station and park transfers, with an update if the flight or train is delayed.

Pre-arrival and check-in

A day before arrival, share check-in time, directions, park entry requirements and what to pack, which reduces calls to reception. Add the property's phone number for late arrivals.

Bus and shuttle tickets

Send seat number, departure time and boarding point after payment, plus a reminder an hour before departure and notice of any delay. Passengers can show the SMS at the booking office.

Post-stay feedback

Thank guests after checkout with a short survey link. Keep offers for returning guests to those who agreed to marketing, and send them from your promotional sender ID.

Sample messages

Copy-ready templates for Kenya

Character counts and segments are calculated with the same GSM-7 and Unicode rules used for billing. Replace the example brand and values with your own.

Booking confirmed Transactional

Pwani Sands Resort: Booking PS-7712 confirmed, 12-15 Dec, 2 adults. Balance KES 32,000 due at check-in. Directions: pwanisands.co.ke/go

135 chars · 1 segment · GSM-7

Transfer pick-up Transactional

Savanna Trails: Driver Joseph will meet you at JKIA Terminal 1A, 06:40 tomorrow, white Land Cruiser KCX 456Y. Tel 0710 000 777.

127 chars · 1 segment · GSM-7

Bus departure (Kiswahili) Transactional Kiswahili

Safari Coach: Kiti 14, basi la Nairobi - Mombasa, linaondoka saa 2 usiku kutoka ofisi ya River Rd. Fika dakika 30 mapema.

121 chars · 1 segment · GSM-7

Returning guest offer Promotional

Pwani Sands Resort: Book a March stay by 31 Jan and get the third night free. Terms at pwanisands.co.ke. Opt out: pwanisands.co.ke/stop

135 chars · 1 segment · GSM-7

Rules that apply

Compliance for hotels, safaris & travel SMS in Kenya

A practical summary with sources, not legal advice. Check the regulator's current text for edge cases.

Hospitality and transport businesses must register with the ODPC regardless of turnover. Include SMS in the privacy notice guests see at booking.
Confirmations, transfers and check-in details are transactional. Seasonal offers and newsletters are promotional on Safaricom: use a promotional sender ID, an opt-out and the 08:00 to 18:00 window.
International guests are protected by their home country's rules as well. Ask for marketing consent separately from the booking and honour opt-outs across every channel.
Do not include passport numbers, full card details or room numbers in SMS. Give the room number at the front desk.

Across Kenya

Telecom regulator: Communications Authority of Kenya (CA)
Data protection: Data Protection Act, 2019, Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC)
Languages: English, Kiswahili
Payments: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, T-Kash

The Kenya Information and Communications (Consumer Protection) Regulations, 2010 require automated direct-marketing schemes to be opt-in and to give a working way to stop messages.
The Data Protection (General) Regulations, 2021 treat electronic messages as direct marketing: offer a free, simple opt-out in every promotional SMS and honour objections. The ODPC has made awards against firms over unsolicited messages.
Safaricom separates promotional and transactional sender IDs. Its operator notice requires promotional traffic to carry an opt-out and to be sent between 08:00 and 18:00; OTPs and alerts are not time-restricted.
Political bulk SMS follows the CA guidelines on political messages (vetting before sending, English or Kiswahili only).

Sender ID registration in Kenya

Send it

From your system to Safaricom and Airtel in one call

1Create an account and copy a test key (esms_test_...) to try the integration without spending credit.
2Request your sender ID for Kenya. Until it is approved you can send from the eSMS default sender.
3Call the send endpoint from your app, or upload a CSV in the dashboard with merge fields like {{name}}. Delivery reports arrive by webhook.

Need one-time codes? eSMS Verify generates, sends and checks them in two calls. Full reference in the API docs.

curl -X POST https://sms.esmsafrica.io/api/messages/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ESMS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "to": "+254712345678",
    "text": "Savanna Trails: Driver Joseph will meet you at JKIA Terminal 1A, 06:40 tomorrow. Tel 0710 000 777.",
    "sender_id": "SAVANNATRL"
  }'

Live pricing

SMS pricing in Kenya

Per-SMS rates for one segment, updated live. Pay as you go with no monthly minimum; volume rates apply automatically by monthly spend.

Basic

KES1.08

per SMS· USD 0.0083

Monthly spend USD 1 - USD 1,000

Business

KES0.9

per SMS· USD 0.0069

Monthly spend USD 1,001 - USD 4,999

Enterprise

KES0.15

per SMS· USD 0.0012

Monthly spend USD 5,000+

Estimate a campaign with the SMS cost calculator or compare all countries in the Africa SMS pricing index.

FAQ

Hotels, safaris & travel SMS in Kenya: common questions

Can we text guests on foreign numbers?

Yes. eSMS Africa sends to international numbers as well as Kenyan ones, with delivery reports for each. Store numbers in international format, for example +44 or +49, and expect international rates to differ from Kenyan ones. For guests on roaming, send the essentials only, since some switch roaming off and read messages later.

Should a safari camp send transfer details by SMS or WhatsApp?

Many operators use both. SMS reaches a phone that has signal but no data, which is common on the road to the parks. Send the essential details, time, place and driver contact, by SMS so they arrive regardless. A longer itinerary or map can follow on WhatsApp or email once the guest is back in coverage.

Can a bus company send tickets by SMS?

Yes. After the M-Pesa payment clears, send the seat number, departure time, boarding point and a ticket reference. Staff can check the reference against the booking system when passengers board. Send a delay notice from the same sender ID so passengers recognise it.