If text messages aren’t going out, are failing to deliver, or guests say they aren’t receiving them, work through the checks below. Most SMS issues come down to 10DLC registration, carrier filtering, or phone number problems.
This is the #1 reason messages fail for new accounts. US carriers require 10DLC registration before you can send SMS from a 10-digit phone number. If your registration isn’t complete, messages will be blocked.
Go to Settings → Messaging Compliance in Hello Hotel
Check the status of both your Brand Registration and Campaign Registration
Both must show as Approved before you can send messages
If either shows as Pending, the carrier review is still in progress — this can take 1–7 business days
If either shows as Rejected, you’ll need to resubmit with corrected information
See Setting Up 10DLC Messaging Compliance for the full registration walkthrough.
Not all phone numbers have SMS capabilities by default:
Go to Settings → Phone Numbers
Confirm the number you’re sending from shows SMS as enabled
If SMS is not enabled, contact Hello Hotel support to have it activated
Carriers cap a single text at 10 segments. If your message is over that, Hello Hotel stops it when you press send: nothing goes out, your draft stays in the composer, and a warning tells you how long the message is against the limit. The warning clears as soon as the draft fits.
The cap works out to roughly 1,530 characters — but only about 670 as soon as you include an emoji or another special character, because that switches the message to a different encoding. This is why the same-looking message can be fine one time and too long the next.
Watch the segment count in the composer as you type. It shows the real count with variables filled in, so you know before sending whether a message will split.
Photos and group threads are exempt. Attaching a photo sends the message as MMS, which isn't capped this way, and group threads aren't capped either. A PDF is different — it goes out as a link on a normal text, so it still counts.
Split long messages yourself rather than trimming them to fit, if the content genuinely needs the length.
Some other message content can trigger sending failures:
Messages with URLs may be filtered more aggressively by carriers (see delivery issues below)
Empty messages or messages with only special characters won't send
Texting a contact with no phone number on file is refused before anything is added to the conversation
This is a delivery issue — the message left Hello Hotel but didn’t arrive at the guest’s phone. Carrier filtering is the most common cause.
US carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) actively filter business SMS. Messages can be silently dropped if:
Your 10DLC trust score is low (new registrations start with lower throughput limits)
The message content looks like spam — avoid ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation (!!!), or phrases like “act now” or “limited time”
The message contains a URL that the carrier flags — shortened URLs (bit.ly, tinyurl) are filtered more aggressively than full domain URLs
You’re sending a high volume of identical messages in a short period
Confirm the phone number in the guest’s contact profile is correct and includes the country code
Check for typos — a single wrong digit means the message goes to someone else (or nowhere)
If the number was imported from Mews, verify it in Mews Commander as well
If a guest has previously replied STOP to your number, the carrier blocks all further messages to that number from you. This is a carrier-level block — Hello Hotel can’t override it.
The guest can opt back in by texting START to your Hello Hotel number
There’s no way to force messages through to a number that has opted out
Messages to phones that are powered off, in airplane mode, or out of service area will be queued by the carrier and delivered when the phone reconnects
If the phone has been disconnected or the number reassigned, the message won’t deliver
Some delay is normal — SMS is not guaranteed to be instant. But if messages are consistently arriving minutes or hours late:
Check your 10DLC throughput limits. New registrations have lower sending limits (typically a few messages per second). If you’re sending many messages at once, they’ll queue and send gradually.
Check carrier status. Occasionally carriers experience delays on their end. This affects all SMS traffic, not just Hello Hotel. These usually resolve within a few hours.
Avoid sending bursts. If you’re messaging many guests at once, spread the sends over a few minutes rather than blasting them all simultaneously.
If a message in the conversation thread shows a failed status, it names the specific reason rather than showing a generic error. Common reasons:
Not registered for 10DLC — the message says so directly and points you at your compliance settings. Retrying won't help until registration clears, so finish registration first
Invalid destination — the guest's phone number is invalid or disconnected
Content filtered — the carrier rejected the message content
Rate limited — you've exceeded your sending rate for the current period
If you’ve checked everything above and messages still aren’t getting through:
Note the specific phone number you’re trying to reach
Note the time you sent the message and the content of the message
Check whether the issue affects all recipients or just one specific number
Reach out to our support team at [email protected] or use the chat widget in the app — we can trace the message through our delivery logs and see exactly where it stopped.
