Manual / Communication

Setting up Telegram, step by step

Updated on 2026-08-12

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

ℹ️ Rather not do it yourself? E-mail support@bedflow.eu — we set up your channel in a few minutes and send a test message. The steps below are for those who want to do it themselves.

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 and keep it somewhere for a moment (e.g. in your notes). 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 — Find your chat ID

The chat ID tells BedFlow which conversation the notifications should go to. Pick one of two variants:

Variant A — just you (simplest)

  1. In Telegram, look up your own bot by the username from step 1 and open the chat.

  2. Press Start (or type /start).

  3. Open in your browser (replace <YOUR-TOKEN> with the token from step 1, keep the word bot in front):

    https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR-TOKEN>/getUpdates

  4. You will see a wall of text. Look for "chat":{"id": — the number after it (e.g. 987654321) is your chat ID.

Variant B — a group (handy with a team or partner)

  1. Create a new group in Telegram, e.g. "Notifications — my B&B", and add your bot as a member.
  2. Type the message /start in the group and send it. (A plain message does not always get through; a command with / is guaranteed to reach the bot.)
  3. Open the same getUpdates link as in variant A.
  4. Look for "chat":{"id": next to the title of your group. Group IDs are negative and usually start with -100. Copy the minus sign as well.

💡 Only seeing {"ok":true,"result":[]}? Send /start again in the right conversation and reload the page — Telegram only shows recent messages.

Step 3 — Enter token and chat ID in BedFlow

  1. In BedFlow, go to Settings → Integrations, or use the direct link: /connections?open=telegram — it opens the right window immediately.
  2. Click the Telegram tile (under Communication) → Settings.
  3. Fill in:
    • Telegram chat ID — the number from step 2 (including the minus sign for a group);
    • Bot token — the token from step 1.
  4. Save.

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 4 — Test that it works

First verify that token and chat ID are correct, independent of BedFlow. Open in your browser (replace both placeholders):

https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR-TOKEN>/sendMessage?chat_id=<CHAT-ID>&text=Test

Does "Test" appear in your Telegram conversation? Then token and chat ID are correct — BedFlow uses them exactly like that. From now on every property event (booking, payment, approval request) arrives there. Want a test message from BedFlow itself, drop a line to support@bedflow.eu.

Nothing arriving?

Walk through this list — in this order:

  1. The sendMessage test from step 4 fails? Then the problem is in the token or chat ID: check for copy mistakes (spaces, cut-off parts) and whether the minus sign of a group ID was copied along.
  2. Bot not (or no longer) in the group? The bot must be a member of the group. Add it again and send /start.
  3. Chat ID changed? If Telegram converts your group into a "supergroup" (sometimes happens automatically when changing settings), it gets a new chat ID. Redo step 2 and enter the new ID.
  4. sendMessage test works, but BedFlow notifications stay out? Check that token and chat ID are saved on the right property (/connections?open=telegram), without extra spaces.
  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. That path is mainly meant for channels that support sets up for you — with your own bot you can do everything above yourself, including the tests.

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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