WhatsApp-first enquiries instead of in-app chat

When I planned BookMeDrive, in-app chat was on the list. It's what every big marketplace has. Then I looked at how people in Tricity actually reply to messages. It's WhatsApp, almost every time. So enquiries on BookMeDrive go straight to WhatsApp, and in-app chat is off the list.

Why not build chat?

• Building chat properly means real-time messaging, notifications, read states, spam handling and moderation. That's a product on its own.
• Owners don't want another app to check. They already live in WhatsApp.
• A message that lands in WhatsApp gets answered. A notification from an app they rarely open doesn't.

How a pre-filled WhatsApp link works

WhatsApp supports a simple link format: https://wa.me/<number>?text=<message>. The number is in international format with no plus sign, spaces or leading zero, so an Indian number looks like 919876543210. The text is URL-encoded and appears ready to send when the chat opens.

The trick is putting enough detail in that message that the owner knows exactly what's being asked, without the renter typing anything.

export function whatsappLink(phone: string, message: string) {
  const digits = phone.replace(/\D/g, "").replace(/^0+/, "");
  const number = digits.length === 10 ? `91${digits}` : digits; // assume India for 10-digit numbers
  return `https://wa.me/${number}?text=${encodeURIComponent(message)}`;
}

// Example: an enquiry for a specific car and dates
const text = [
  "Hi! I found your listing on BookMeDrive.",
  "Car: Swift Dzire (Mohali)",
  "Dates: 18 Oct to 20 Oct",
  "Is it available?",
].join("\n");

whatsappLink("98765 43210", text);

The button

<a
  href={whatsappLink(listing.phone, text)}
  target="_blank"
  rel="noopener noreferrer"
  onClick={() => window.gtag?.("event", "whatsapp_enquiry", { listing_id: listing.id })}
>
  Enquire on WhatsApp
</a>

That onClick matters. Once someone leaves for WhatsApp, you can't see the conversation, so the click is the only signal you get. Send it to GA4 as an event and you'll know which listings get enquiries and which don't.

The trade-offs

• You can't see what happens after the click, so you can't measure bookings directly. You only see enquiries.
• The owner's number is visible to anyone who enquires.
• You lose control of the experience once the chat opens.

For an early marketplace, those are fine trade-offs. The goal at the start is to get renters and owners talking with as little friction as possible. Payments and in-platform booking can come later, once there's enough activity to justify building them.

Don't build the feature people already have on their phone.