Overview
For hotels, resorts, and hospitality businesses, text messaging is an essential tool to manage reservations, coordinate check-ins, and share promotional offers. However, sending text messages to any end-user in the United States requires strict adherence to the wireless industry's A2P 10DLC registration and compliance requirements.
Meeting these carrier mandates from the start eliminates message filtering and ensures a reliable messaging experience for your guests.
Key Terms
A2P (Application-to-Person): U.S. mobile carriers classify all text message traffic sent from business platforms to mobile users as A2P - or application-to-person.
10DLC (10-Digit Long Code): Standard local, 10-digit phone numbers authorized to route commercial business messaging to mobile users.
Brand Registration: Brand registration allows US carriers to verify the identity of all business message senders, aiming to reduce spam and protect mobile subscribers. Organizations must submit detailed business information to comply with these requirements
Campaign Registration: A messaging campaign describes the types of messages a business will be sending to their customers or audience. Messaging campaigns are reviewed and vetted by the TCR for compliance.
The Campaign Registry (TCR): The central third-party data hub that reviews business messaging programs for compliance on behalf of major wireless networks. The TCR's 10DLC registration offers transparency into messaging origins and content, allowing mobile carriers to deliver safer, trustworthy and dependable service to mobile subscribers.
1. Brand and Data Consistency
Hospitality brands must ensure their messaging program aligns with their business identity and presence. Reviewers cross-reference business records to verify the brand footprint. To ensure approval, keep your program details unified:
Brand & Message Uniformity: The legal business entity you register must directly connect to the brand identity displayed in your messaging program. For example, registering under a corporate software or parent company name while texting guests under a localized resort brand may trigger a rejection.
Brand Footprint: Your brand or business website must be fully functional and clearly showcase your messaging use case, such as hospitality services.
2. Messaging Campaign: Opt-In & Consent Verification
A successful 10DLC campaign depends on a transparent opt-in flow (also known as 'call-to-action') that explicitly details how guests grant permission to be texted.
Hospitality programs must follow distinct consent rules based on message type:
Separated & Voluntary Web Consent: If guests subscribe online during a reservation booking, you must offer an explicit, unchecked SMS checkbox. Text messaging consent cannot be bundled into a general terms of service agreement or made mandatory to complete a reservation or booking.
Proof for Offline & Front-Desk Flows: If your hotel or property collects end-users phone numbers offline — such as physical check-in forms, digital signature tablets, or concierge QR codes — you must show a visual document, screenshot or photo of that consent experience.
Reviewers must be able to visually verify that the proper disclosures are shown at the exact time the end-user's phone number is captured.
Isolation of Campaign Permissions: Opt-in consent is strictly non-transferable. A guest providing their phone number for transactional check-in updates has not consented to marketing promotions;
Separate messaging programs or campaigns require independent opt-ins.
3. Mandatory Disclosures & Automated Response Rules
All customer-facing opt-in mechanisms and automated text responses must display safety and carrier disclosures:
Rate Disclosures: You must feature the exact statement "Message and data rates may apply" near your subscription check-boxes and inside your initial confirmation messages.
Clear Message Frequency and Context: Your opt-in flow must clearly outline the message frequency that guests can expect - e.g., "Message frequency varies" or "Two texts per stay" - and explicitly state your brand name so recipients immediately recognize the sender.
Opt-Out & Support Mechanics: Your opt-in flow must also clearly outline the process of how end-users can opt-out or receive assistance related to the messaging program.
HELP Message: Your HELP reply must include your brand name, a clear support option (such as a direct email or phone number), standard rate and frequency disclosures, and opt-out instructions
Example: [Brand Name] - For assistance, please call [phone number] or email [email address]. For more information, visit [brand website]. Message frequency may vary. Reply STOP at any time to unsubscribe.
STOP Requests: Your STOP reply must include your brand name, explicitly acknowledge the unsubscribe request, and confirm that all future text traffic to that number will be halted.
Example: [Brand Name] - You have been unsubscribed from all messages from [Brand Name]. You will not receive any more messages from this number. Reply START to reestablish 2 way text communication.
Concierge handles these responses by default. To learn more how to edit these responses:
4. Privacy Policy & Terms of Service Compliance
Every hospitality messaging program or campaign must bundle direct links to a transparent company Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. To pass carrier review, your policy must prominently include specific language protecting consumer messaging data:
The Third-Party Sharing Exclusion: Your Privacy Policy must explicitly state that mobile phone numbers, and text messaging opt-in consent will not be shared, sold, rented, or traded with third parties, affiliates, or partners for marketing or promotional purposes.
Terms of Service: Your terms of service or terms and conditions must include:
Messaging Program Brand Name
Program description
Rates disclosure - Message and data rates may apply
Message frequency disclosure - Message frequency may vary
Clear opt-out instructions (STOP keyword)
Customer support contact information (HELP keyword)
Link to the Privacy Policy
Carrier Disclosure: "Carriers are not liable for any delayed or undelivered messages"
Hospitality Tip: Because hospitality privacy policies and terms and conditions often contain boilerplate text about data sharing with regional partners or booking engines, we recommend adding a dedicated "SMS Messaging" clauses to both the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service pages that directly isolates text messaging program data from general data-sharing and handling practices.
Quick Reference Compliance Summary
Requirement Focus | Best Practice Checklist |
Brand Identity Alignment | Legal name matches your business and tax records and seamlessly connects to the brand name used in your text messages. |
Brand Footprint | Your website and online presence clearly provides business context and connects to your messaging program. |
Consent Transparency | Consent boxes are clearly visible in any booking forms, are unchecked by default, optional, and separate from general terms. Gated or physical forms must be shown via screenshots or documents |
Verbatim Compliance Copy | Message descriptions and auto-replies must contain explicit brand details, messaging use case, carrier rate notices, frequency disclosures, and clear STOP/HELP instructions. |