Guest communication and bilingual charter documents

Most guests booking a charter are foreign, and nearly all communication runs over WhatsApp and similar messaging apps rather than a phone call. From the booking confirmation to the contract, from the handover form to the invoice, every message and document has to go out in the guest’s own language — even while the operator’s own panel stays in Turkish.

One message thread per guest

Every exchange with a guest — the booking confirmation, the check-in reminder, coordinating the handover day — sits in one message thread, so a different staff member picking up the conversation never has to ask the guest to repeat themselves. That thread is tied to the guest’s customer record, so a returning guest’s past charters and preferences — including which language they correspond in — show up on the new booking.

Booking messages and marketing messages follow different rules

A message tied to the guest’s own booking — a confirmation, a check-in reminder — isn’t governed by the same rule as a marketing message sent out at the start of the season, like “our new season rates are out.” Under Turkey’s İYS (İleti Yönetim Sistemi) regulation, run by the Ministry of Trade, a business cannot send a commercial electronic message for marketing purposes without prior consent recorded in İYS. Before a seasonal campaign message goes out to a guest, consent status is checked; consent and opt-out records are kept in the consent ledger.

Contracts, handover forms and invoices go out in both languages

The charter contract, the handover form and the invoice are produced on company letterhead in both Turkish and English. Which language goes out comes from the guest’s own record, so nobody has to pick it by hand each time. These documents come out of PDF output; a season’s worth of welcome pack, contract and handover templates are prepared once and simply filled with the guest’s and boat’s details on each booking.

What the crew sees carries only operational data

What the captain and crew need for the day’s guest list is a name, cabin assignment, arrival time, and any special request — an allergy, a dietary need, an occasion. The guest’s phone number and passport details don’t appear on that operational list; only the roles tied to the booking and contract record reach those fields. That separation cuts the risk that comes with a lost printout or a screenshot shared over a group chat.

A template pack built once at the start of the season

The Turkish/English template pair for guest-facing output — welcome message, contract, handover form, invoice — is built once at the start of the season. Templates aren’t rewritten for every new booking during the season; they’re simply filled with the guest’s and boat’s details. When a template needs a change — say, adding a new cancellation-policy clause — the update happens in one place and applies to every document generated after that.

Only the data the charter actually needs

A guest’s passport number, phone and communication preferences are kept only to the extent the charter needs them. KVKK’s principle that processing must be purpose-limited and proportionate is the reference point for deciding which field to collect — a field isn’t kept because it “might be useful later,” but because a live transaction (the booking, the contract, the invoice) actually needs it.

Flexibility outside the season

Charter operations typically run for part of the year. Because Rotenta’s plans are billed monthly, you can change or pause your plan as your needs shift outside the season, without being locked into a year-round commitment.

Example

A German guest corresponds in English and books a week ahead of time. The confirmation message, contract and handover form are all produced automatically in English; at check-in, the captain signs the handover form with the guest in English. At season end, before sending that same guest a “early-booking discount for next season” message, the system checks whether that guest has given marketing consent — if not, the message doesn’t go out.

How Rotenta does it

1. Every exchange with a guest runs through WhatsApp in one thread tied to the guest’s customer record.
2. Booking-related confirmation and reminder messages go out automatically in the guest’s recorded language.
3. Before a marketing message goes out, the consent ledger checks that guest’s consent status.
4. The contract and handover form are auto-filled from pre-built Turkish/English templates in PDF output with the guest’s and boat’s details.
5. Once turnaround day closes out, the check-in message and documents go out automatically in the guest’s language.

If you’d like to set up your guest messaging, consent records and document templates together, get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

Can the guest-facing documents be in English while the panel stays in Turkish?

Yes, the panel’s language and the guest-facing output’s language are independent; output is produced according to the language preference on the guest’s record.

Does a booking confirmation need the same consent as a marketing message?

No; a message tied to the booking itself goes out as part of that transaction, while a marketing message needs its own recorded consent, kept in the consent ledger.

Do I need to rebuild the contract template every season?

No, the template is built once and auto-filled with guest and boat details on every booking through the season; a needed change is made once and applies to every document generated afterward.

Why doesn’t the crew’s guest list show a phone number?

The operational list carries only what’s needed to run the day; fields like phone and passport are visible only to roles tied to the booking and contract record, which limits the exposure from a lost printout or a shared screenshot.

Do I keep paying for the software during the off-season?

Because plans are billed monthly, you can change or pause your plan as your needs shift outside the season; see pricing for details.