7 Must-Have Website Chatbots for Bed & Breakfasts

Intercom is a comprehensive customer messaging platform that has grown into a staple for e‑commerce and service‑based businesses worldwide. While it is not specialized for the hospitality industry, its robust live‑chat, automated bot workflows, and knowledge base make it a strong contender for bed & breakfast owners seeking a unified customer communication hub. Intercom’s bots can handle common booking inquiries, provide instant room availability updates, and even offer personalized local recommendations based on guest data entered into the platform. One of its key strengths is the ability to create guided product tours and automated messages that can be triggered by user actions, such as clicking a booking button or abandoning a reservation form. Pricing for Intercom starts with a $39 monthly plan that supports up to 2,000 contacts, a $99 plan for 5,000 contacts, and a $199 plan for 15,000 contacts. Each plan includes live chat, basic bots, and a knowledge base. Higher tiers unlock advanced features such as conversation intelligence, AI chat, and multi‑agent collaboration. Intercom also offers a free tier for small teams but limits the number of active conversations. Intercom’s best‑for audience is medium‑sized B&Bs that want a full customer relationship management (CRM) experience combined with chat. It excels at routing conversations to the right staff member, automating follow‑up emails, and integrating with popular booking engines via Zapier. However, Intercom can be expensive as your contact list grows, and its user interface can feel cluttered for new users. Additionally, while it offers a knowledge base, it does not provide the advanced dual knowledge‑base architecture that AgentiveAIQ offers.

Drift is a conversational marketing platform that focuses on B2B lead generation, but its intelligent chatbots and meeting‑scheduling capabilities can be adapted for B&B owners who want to capture reservation leads directly through their website. Drift’s bots can answer FAQs about rates, amenities, and local attractions, and can route more complex inquiries to human staff. A standout feature is the ability to schedule appointments or book rooms through a conversational interface, reducing the friction of the booking process. Drift’s pricing starts at $400/month for the Agency plan, which includes unlimited chat sessions, custom branding, and access to the full suite of AI and automation features. Lower tiers are available for smaller teams but often lack the advanced AI and scheduling integrations. The platform’s strengths lie in its AI‑driven conversation design, which allows for guided booking flows and personalized offers based on visitor behavior. Drift also offers a robust integration ecosystem, including Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier, making it easy to sync reservation data with a B&B’s existing systems. Challenges include the higher cost barrier for small B&Bs and a primary focus on B2B interactions, which means certain features (e.g., meeting scheduling) may feel less relevant to a hospitality context. Additionally, Drift does not provide a no‑code visual editor for chat widgets, requiring some technical setup.

Tidio combines live chat and chatbot functionality in a single, lightweight solution that is especially popular among small and medium‑sized businesses. The platform offers a free tier with basic live chat and automatic bot responses, and paid plans that unlock advanced features such as email integration, marketing automation, and multi‑channel messaging. Tidio’s chat widgets can be embedded with a single line of code, and the visual builder allows for simple customization of colors and layouts. Pricing for Tidio includes a Basic plan at $18/month (billed annually), a Pro plan at $29/month, and a Premium plan at $49/month. Each tier adds features such as more simultaneous chats, email integration, and advanced bot templates. The free plan is limited to one agent and 1,000 chat transcripts per month. For bed & breakfast owners, Tidio’s strengths are its affordability and ease of use. The bot can answer standard questions about room rates, check‑in times, and local attractions. Additionally, Tidio’s email integration allows the bot to send automated booking confirmations or reminders. Limitations include the lack of a sophisticated knowledge base; the bot relies on predefined templates rather than dynamic content retrieval. Also, long‑term memory is not available, and the platform does not support voice or SMS channels. The visual editor, while helpful, is fairly basic compared to dedicated WYSIWYG solutions.

ManyChat is a marketing automation platform primarily designed for Facebook Messenger, but it also offers a web chat widget that can be embedded on any website. The platform specializes in creating conversational flows that can be used for lead generation, customer support, and e‑commerce. ManyChat’s visual drag‑and‑drop flow builder lets users design complex conversations without coding. Pricing tiers include a free plan, a Pro plan at $18/month (billed annually), and an Unlimited plan at $79/month. The Pro plan adds unlimited subscribers, automated sequences, and integration with third‑party services. ManyChat supports email marketing, SMS (paid add‑on), and integration with Zapier, making it possible to sync booking data with a B&B’s existing systems. For bed & breakfast owners, ManyChat’s strengths are its ability to create engaging, interactive booking flows that can be triggered when a visitor visits the reservation page. The platform also supports automated follow‑up messages and cross‑selling nearby attractions or special packages. However, ManyChat’s core focus is on social media messaging, so the web chat widget is less polished than dedicated website chat solutions. Additionally, the platform requires a separate Facebook page, which may not be ideal for all B&Bs. Without a built‑in knowledge base, the bot’s answers rely on pre‑defined flows.

Crisp is a customer messaging platform that offers live chat, help desk, and chatbot capabilities. Its interface is clean and intuitive, making it easy for small businesses to set up a chat widget in minutes. Crisp’s bots can be configured to answer FAQs, provide product recommendations, and trigger email notifications. The platform also offers a knowledge base feature that allows you to host help articles and let the bot pull answers from them. Crisp provides a free plan that supports up to 5 chat agents and 1,000 chat transcripts per month. Paid plans include a Plus plan at $20/month and a Pro plan at $40/month (annual billing). Additional features such as priority support, advanced integrations, and custom branding are available on paid tiers. B&B owners can benefit from Crisp’s ability to route conversations to staff, its email integration, and the knowledge base for self‑service. The platform also supports multi‑language chat, which can be useful for international guests. However, Crisp’s chatbot logic is rule‑based and does not include advanced AI or a dual knowledge base.

Chatbot.com (now rebranded as Chatbot) is a drag‑and‑drop chatbot builder that allows users to create conversational agents for websites, Facebook Messenger, and other platforms. The platform offers a visual flow designer, pre‑built templates, and integration with Zapier, allowing for data synchronization with booking engines or CRMs. Pricing tiers include a Starter plan at $29/month, a Standard plan at $49/month, and a Premium plan at $99/month (annual billing). Each tier adds features such as unlimited conversations, advanced chatbot actions, and priority support. The Starter plan supports up to 2,000 interactions per month, while the Standard plan allows 10,000 interactions. For bed & breakfast owners, Chatbot.com’s strengths are its ease of use and the ability to create custom flows that can handle booking inquiries, provide local recommendations, and trigger email notifications. The platform also supports embedding a chat widget with minimal code. Limitations include the lack of a sophisticated knowledge base; conversations rely on predefined scripts. Long‑term memory is not available, and the platform does not support voice or SMS channels. While the visual editor is intuitive, it is less advanced than dedicated WYSIWYG editors.