Manual / Communication

Setting up Telegram, step by step

Updated on 2026-08-17

This guide sets up Telegram notifications for your property, from zero to a working channel — no technical background needed. Allow about ten minutes.

Why Telegram?

BedFlow notifies you as soon as something happens with your property: a new booking, a received payment, or a guest requesting a deviating check-in time. That last one arrives with buttons: you approve or reject the request straight from Telegram, without logging in.

No Telegram set up? You won't miss anything: since 12 August 2026 the same notifications arrive by e-mail at your property's contact address. Telegram is not required — it is faster, though, and only there do you get the approval buttons.

What do you need?

  • The Telegram app on your phone (or Telegram on your computer)
  • Access to BedFlow as an administrator of your property

Step 1 — Create your own bot via @BotFather

A "bot" is the sender account BedFlow uses to send you messages. You create one for free with Telegram itself:

  1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather (Telegram's official bot, with a blue checkmark). Open the chat and press Start.
  2. Type /newbot and send it.
  3. BotFather first asks for a name — that is what you see in your chat list. Type e.g. Notifications My B&B.
  4. Then it asks for a username that must end in bot, e.g. mybnb_alerts_bot. If the name is taken, try a variant.
  5. BotFather replies with "Done! Congratulations on your new bot." and shows a token: a long code shaped like 1234567890:AAxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

Copy that token. Treat it like a password: whoever has the token can send messages on behalf of your bot. If it ever leaks, create a new token with /revoke at @BotFather.

Step 2 — Let BedFlow find your chat ID

The chat ID tells BedFlow which conversation the notifications should go to. BedFlow now looks it up for you — you only pick the conversation.

  1. First decide where you want the notifications:
    • Just you? In Telegram, look up your own bot by the username from step 1, open the chat and press Start (or type /start).
    • A group (handy with a team or partner)? Create a new group in Telegram, e.g. "Notifications — my B&B", add your bot as a member and type the message /start in the group. (A plain message does not always get through; a command with / is guaranteed to reach the bot.)
  2. In BedFlow, go to Settings → Connections and click the Telegram tile (under Communication) — or use the direct link: /connections?open=telegram.
  3. Paste the bot token from step 1 into the top field.
  4. Click Find my chat ID. BedFlow shows the conversations your bot knows about; if it found only one, the chat ID fills in immediately. If you see several conversations, pick the right one from the list — the chat ID fills in automatically.
  5. Save.

💡 Seeing "No conversations found yet"? Send a message first (for example /start) in the conversation or group your bot is in, and click Find my chat ID again.

Multiple properties? Repeat this per property. The same chat ID everywhere is fine (everything in one group), or give each property its own group.

Step 3 — Send a test message

In the same window, click Send test message. In Telegram you receive a short intro plus the three notifications as you will get them from now on: a new, a modified and a cancelled reservation — as examples, based on an existing booking of your property. Nothing happens to that booking.

Do all four messages arrive? Done — from now on every property event (booking, payment, approval request) lands in this conversation.

💡 No bookings in BedFlow yet? Then there is no example to show; BedFlow tells you so politely. The notifications themselves simply start working once your first booking comes in.

Nothing arriving?

Walk through this list — in this order:

  1. Test message fails? Check that the chat ID is right (use Find my chat ID again), that your bot is still a member of the group, and that the bot token was copied completely.
  2. Bot not (or no longer) in the group? The bot must be a member of the group. Add it again, send /start and click Find my chat ID once more.
  3. Chat ID changed? If Telegram converts your group into a "supergroup" (sometimes happens automatically when changing settings), it gets a new chat ID. Click Find my chat ID again and save.
  4. Test message works, but real notifications stay out? Check that token and chat ID are saved on the right property (/connections?open=telegram).
  5. Still nothing? E-mail support@bedflow.eu — we will take a look with you.

Frequently asked questions

Do I really need my own bot? The chat ID is required, the bot token is not: leave it empty and the general BedFlow bot sends your notifications. But Find my chat ID only works with your own bot — without your own token, support sets up the channel for you. With your own bot you do everything above yourself, test message included.

Who sees the notifications? Everyone in the conversation behind the chat ID. Sharing a group with your partner or team is fine — do note: notifications contain guest data (name, dates, amount).

Can I switch it off again? Yes — clear the fields in /connections?open=telegram and save. Notifications then arrive by e-mail again.

See also

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