How to build a WhatsApp chatbot for your yoga studio

Start from what customers actually send. Students ask about the schedule, which class suits a beginner, drop-in versus package pricing, and whether a class is full.

Then look at what goes wrong today:

• Class slots go unfilled due to cancellations. Students cancel the morning of class. You have an empty mat and no system to fill it from the waitlist.
• Package expiry not communicated in advance. Students don't realise their 10-session package expires in 3 days. It lapses. They feel disappointed and don't return.
• Morning reminders increase class attendance. A morning WhatsApp reminder — "Your 7 AM Vinyasa class is in 2 hours" — dramatically improves attendance.

Each of these is a conversation with a predictable shape — a question, a lookup, a confirmation. That shape is what a chatbot handles well.

1. New or returning? New students are asked about their experience and guided to beginner or gentle classes.
2. Which day? Today, tomorrow, or the week.
3. Which class? A list of classes with style, level, teacher and spots left.
4. Pay or use a pack — a drop-in link, or the class is deducted from their pack.
5. Confirm with what to bring and when to arrive.

Notice what the business side does: it answers with the specific detail (time, reference, next step), it asks for one thing at a time, and it gives the customer a one-word way to reply. Those three habits matter more than how clever the bot is.

"I've never done yoga, which class should I take?" is the question that decides whether a new student has a good first experience. The bot asks two or three things — any experience, what they are hoping for (flexibility, strength, calm), any injuries — and suggests beginner-friendly classes. If they mention an injury or pregnancy, it recommends a word with a teacher first and passes the chat on.

Reputoo supports both, and most yoga studios end up using both:

• Keyword flows — a fixed menu or trigger word ("MENU", "BOOK", "STATUS") leads down a set path. Predictable, easy to audit, right for anything with a fixed answer.
• AI chatbot — reads the customer's own words and answers from your knowledge base (website, price list, policies). Right for the long tail of questions nobody wrote a menu item for.

A sensible start for a yoga studio: keyword flows for the top two or three tasks, AI for everything else, and a person behind both.

"How many classes do I have left?" and "when does my pack expire?" are answered from the student's record with a renewal link. The bot can also tell a student how many classes they attended this month — a small, motivating detail.

Popular early-morning and evening classes fill. Students join the waitlist from the class list; when someone cancels, the next person is messaged with [Take the spot] [Pass] and a short deadline, then the next. Students who cancel late are handled by your policy, applied consistently.

• Complaints, refunds and anything where the customer is upset.
• Anything involving money the bot cannot see — a disputed bill, a custom quote.
• Health, safety or legal questions.
• Any customer who asks for a human. Do not make them ask twice.

For yoga studios specifically: injuries and health conditions, teacher-training enquiries and refund requests go to the studio owner.

Handover on Reputoo moves the chat into the shared inbox with the conversation so far, so staff never ask the customer to repeat themselves.

1. Connect your WhatsApp number to Reputoo (official API; takes minutes).
2. Add your website and documents to the knowledge base so the AI answers in your yoga studio's own terms.
3. Build keyword flows for the top tasks above. What to connect: A class booking app or a spreadsheet of packages; attendance history tells you who has gone quiet.
4. Choose who gets handed-over chats, and during which hours.
5. Test from a personal phone, then share the number or a QR code with customers.

The bot does not advise on poses or suitability for injuries, conditions or pregnancy. It says a teacher will reply, suggests checking with a doctor where relevant, and books the student into a class the teacher approves. Prenatal classes, if you run them, can be offered once a teacher has confirmed.

The bot explains upcoming workshops and retreats — dates, content, price, level — takes registrations with a deposit link, and sends joining details closer to the date. Questions about suitability for advanced workshops go to the teacher.

For private sessions and corporate yoga, the bot collects the location or online preference, the number of people, the goals and the preferred times, and hands to the owner with everything attached.

Students write in many languages and styles. Keyword flows cover common words — "class", "schedule", "timing", "batch" — and the AI chatbot handles the rest in the student's language.

• Book as a new student and check the guidance.
• Book a full class, join the waitlist and cancel from another number.
• Check a pack balance after a class.
• Mention an injury and check it goes to a teacher.
• Register for a workshop with a deposit.

Studios that run prenatal or postnatal classes can let the bot explain what they are and when they run, but booking should follow a teacher's confirmation — and the bot should suggest checking with a doctor. It collects the due date or time since birth and any concerns for the teacher, never advising on poses itself.

Not every student wants an asana class. The bot lists meditation, pranayama and restorative sessions with their times and what to expect, and books them like any class. These sessions often attract new students who later try asana classes.

Students who join online get the link with their confirmation and again shortly before class. The bot can tell them which classes are streamed, and whether recordings are available afterwards for those who booked.

Health questions, prenatal bookings, teacher-training enquiries and complaints go to the right person with the student's details and words. The bot tells the student who will reply and when — teachers often reply between classes, not during them.

Watch bookings made without the owner, waitlist spots filled, pack renewals and new students who come back for a second class. Read handovers weekly and add missing answers.

Popular classes lose spots to students who book and do not come. The bot applies your policy consistently — a class deducted from the pack for a late cancellation, a warning after repeated no-shows — and explains it in the confirmation so nobody is surprised. Exceptions go to the owner.

"Do I need my own mat? Can I rent one? Are there blocks?" — the bot answers from the studio's practical details. First-timers who arrive prepared settle into class more easily.

Holiday schedules change classes. Update them in one place and the bot shows only the classes running, tells booked students about changes, and answers "is the studio open on Diwali?" correctly.

Class packs make good gifts. The bot sells a pack or an amount as a gift card, takes the recipient's name and a message, sends the payment link and delivers the card to forward.

Drop-ins pay by link at booking, packs and memberships renew by link, and workshop deposits are collected the same way. The bot confirms payments and sends receipts; refunds go to the owner.

New students who do not return after the first class often felt lost or sore. A short message the next day — "How are you feeling after your first class?" with a suggestion for the next beginner session — brings many back. Mentions of pain go to a teacher.

Students wanting one-to-one sessions give their goals, preferred teacher, times and location; the bot hands to the owner, who confirms the fee and schedule.

New students ask how early to arrive, whether they can enter late, and where to leave shoes and phones. The bot answers from your studio's etiquette notes, so first-timers walk in feeling they know the rules rather than breaking them by accident.

Students who plan their week can ask for the week's schedule and get it as a readable list with booking buttons, or opt in to receive it every Sunday evening.

Reminders a few hours before class carry [Coming] [Cancel]. Cancelling in time returns the class to the pack and opens the spot for the waitlist, so a class that would have had an empty mat fills instead.