The trade-offs
| Telegram | SMS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to send | Free | Per-conversation via Twilio | Credits per message | Free |
| Delivery | Instant, with read state | Instant, with delivery state | Carrier-dependent | Minutes |
| Setup for the cleaner | Open the bot, enter a connect code | Confirm consent once | Nothing | Nothing |
| Business rules | None | Meta-approved templates for outbound messages; consent recorded | Sender registration in some countries | None |
| Two-way | Yes — cleaners can reply and ask questions | Yes, within Meta's rules | Reply YES for reconfirmation | Reply by email |
How Lemon uses them
Every cleaner has a contact method. Job offers, confirmations, reminders, late-checkout updates and cancellations go out on that channel with the same content and the same link. If a channel fails, Lemon retries with backoff and falls back to another channel where one is configured; every send is logged with its delivery status.
- Telegram — Lemon's bot. A cleaner links once with a connect code. Messages are free and arrive in seconds; cleaners can reply and ask about their jobs. This is the default recommendation for a team you control.
- WhatsApp — through Twilio's WhatsApp Business API. Outbound messages use registered templates (job offer, reconfirmation, reminder, late checkout, assignment confirmation and others), and Lemon records the cleaner's messaging consent before sending. Best when cleaners refuse to install anything else.
- SMS — reaches any phone. Each SMS costs credits from the organisation's balance; Lemon warns at a low balance and stops at zero. In Cyprus, delivery runs through CYTA as well as Twilio.
- Email — free, slow, useful for company cleaners with an office.
What the numbers say
Of Lemon's 20 cleaners in production, 15 use Telegram, 3 WhatsApp, 1 SMS, 1 email. Source: feed integrity report.