Feature
Whoever asks about a place gets the centre's information and is recorded
Saturday, 11:20. A student who does not live at the centre writes to the number: "Do you have places for September? I'm going to study Nursing." Bedel replies with the message the centre left for when there are places, attaches the information PDF and, if the centre only admits women or only students of a particular university, tells her that before anything else. On Monday, the office finds the enquiry in the dashboard with the day, her profile name, her phone number, what she asked about and what she is going to study.
What someone looking for a place writes, and what happens to each thing
| What the applicant writes | What Bedel does |
|---|---|
| "Do you have places for next year?" | If the centre has places, it replies with the centre's message for when there are some and attaches the information PDF; if not, with its message for when there are none. How many are left is set by the centre in the dashboard |
| "I'm looking for a place for my son", at a women-only residence | The admission requirement the centre wrote goes ahead of the rest of the message. If the centre already put it inside, it is not repeated |
| "Do you have rooms available from September?" | They receive the same centre message translated into their language, with links and email addresses intact. If the translation fails, the assistant's answer has the centre's link and email added. More in languages |
| "How much is the deposit and what does it cover?" | It answers with what the centre has written in its information and house rules. If the exact condition is not written down, it does not assume it: it says it does not have it and refers them to the centre |
| "I'd like to speak to someone in admissions" | Someone writing from outside is not promised a person who is not there: the assistant helps them and the conversation stays in the dashboard. If the centre is on holiday, they are told it may take a while and their request is logged for the team |
| The office opens the dashboard on Monday | It sees each enquiry with the day, profile name, phone number, what they asked about and what they will study; adds a status and notes; filters by month and downloads the Excel file |
| "Please delete my details from your list" | The enquiry is deleted in full from the dashboard. Someone who never came to live there has no record, and the centre does not need to keep anything of theirs |
What the centre leaves written
In the admissions section of the dashboard, the centre switches on the automatic reply and writes down what people asking need to know. Bedel improvises none of it: what goes out on WhatsApp is what the centre wrote, and the dashboard preview shows exactly that text.
- How many places are left, which decides which of the two messages goes out.
- Two messages, one for when there are places and one for when there are none; if left empty, a default text goes out.
- An information PDF, one per centre, sent with a clean name ("Información" plus the centre's name) rather than the name of the uploaded file. It can be set not to attach.
- The admission requirement, that is, who the centre admits, which goes ahead of everything else.
How it answers whoever asks
There are two ways of knowing someone is asking about a place: a fixed list of expressions ("¿quedan plazas?", "admisión", "matrícula" in Spanish and, for people writing from outside, English ones such as "any places left?") and the AI itself, which flags the interest however it is phrased. Through the fixed list the centre's message goes out; through the AI, its own answer with the centre's link and email added if they were missing.
- The PDF is only attached when there are places and the centre has it switched on.
- Anyone who does not write in Spanish receives the centre's message translated, with links and email addresses intact. The PDF goes out as it was uploaded.
- If the person asking already lives at the centre or is a verified family member, they get the information but are not added to the list of applicants.
- A resident saying she will not be eating today does not get the places message: what has just been done for her comes first.
The record of enquiries
Each person from outside who asks about a place gets one row, one per phone number: the day of their first enquiry (which is the one that counts for the month), their WhatsApp profile name, their phone number, what they wrote the first time, a summary of what they asked about and what they will study. If they write again, the date is updated, but the original enquiry is not rewritten.
- The team gives it a status (new, waiting list, contacted, won or discarded) and notes.
- A filter by month and a monthly count of enquiries.
- An Excel file with two sheets, the enquiries and the count per month, with the phone number stored as text so the prefix is not lost.
- Enquiries about places also appear in the nightly summary email: see dashboard and metrics.
What it does not know and what it does not promise
Bedel only answers with what the centre has written. A condition that is not written down, about deposits, refunds or deadlines, is not assumed "because it sounds reasonable", because that would create a false commitment on the centre's behalf: it says it does not have it in writing and refers them to the centre. And someone writing from outside is not promised a person who is not there.
- An applicant does not open an alert with an owner for the team: the conversation stays in the dashboard to be picked up and, if the centre has the conversation copy to the front desk set up, it reaches the front desk as a copy.
- From the dashboard, the team can read the conversation and reply by hand, with the 24-hour window warning if more than a day has passed.
- With the centre in holiday mode, anyone asking for a person is told the reply may take a while and their request is logged for the team.
- An emergency escalates all the same, whoever it comes from.
No payments through the chat
Bedel does not take payments, through any of its channels. Amounts the centre has written down can be discussed, but a payment instrument (an account number, a number for a mobile payment, a payment link or a card) never goes out through the centre's WhatsApp, neither in an answer nor in an announcement.
- The deposit and enrolment are paid through whatever route the centre already uses, outside the chat.
- The filter looks at the text just before it goes out, so it holds even if someone signs in with another person's credentials.
- Only what is needed to answer and to count is kept about the person asking: day, profile name, phone number, enquiry, subject and studies.
- An enquiry is deleted in full, not anonymised. How each piece of data is handled, in data protection in a student residence.
What it does not do, said before the demo
- It does not allocate places or rank applicants: how many places are left and who gets one is decided by the centre.
- It does not take deposits, enrolment fees or security deposits, and it does not send payment instruments through the chat.
- It is not an admissions program: it keeps no files, documents, interviews or reminders; the list has the status and notes the team adds by hand.
- It does not turn every enquiry about a place into an alert with an owner for the team: the enquiry stays in the dashboard and in the nightly summary.
- It does not translate the centre's PDF: it goes out as it was uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
Does Bedel decide who gets in?
No. Bedel answers whoever asks with the message and PDF the centre left written, says first who the centre admits and records the enquiry. How many places are left is written by the centre in the dashboard, and who gets in is decided by the centre. Bedel does not rank applicants or score them.
What happens if there are no places left?
The message the centre wrote for when there are no places goes out, and the PDF is not attached. The enquiry is still added to the list, and moving it to the waiting list is a status the team sets. Bedel does not tell anyone on its own when a place becomes available: that is done by the centre.
Can the deposit be collected over WhatsApp?
No. A payment instrument never goes out through the centre's WhatsApp: no account number, no number for a mobile payment, no payment link and no card. Amounts the centre has written down can be discussed, but payment is made through whatever route the centre already has, outside the chat.
How is it different from an admissions program?
Bedel is the first answer and the record of who asked. The list has the day, profile name, phone number, what they asked about, what they will study, a status and notes, and it downloads to Excel. There are no files, documents, interviews, automatic reminders or payments: those stay wherever the centre handles them today.
What does someone asking in English receive?
The same message the centre wrote, translated into their language with links and email addresses intact and with the admission requirement first. If the translation fails, they get the assistant's answer with the centre's link and email added at the end. The information PDF goes out as it was uploaded, untranslated.
Does a mother asking about a place for her daughter go on the list?
If she writes from a number the centre does not have, yes: to the system it is an enquiry from outside and it is recorded like any other. If she is an already verified family member, or a resident asking for a friend, she gets the same information but is not added to the list of applicants.
Related features
- LanguagesIt answers in the language of the last message, leaves links, times and names untouched, and if a translation fails the original text goes out.
- Escalation to peopleAnything about money, health, exceptions or conflicts goes to one specific phone by org chart and shift, and emergencies go to the crisis posts.
- Dashboard and metricsConversation history and search, metrics that come from counting rows, team roles and shifts, and data protection rights carried out from the dashboard.
For each type of centre
- Colegios mayoresFor colegios mayores: the dining hall with its cancellations, packed lunches and allergens; activities with their call and their survey; families and applicants; and what belongs to management, to management.
- University residencesFor residences owned by or affiliated with a university: support in each resident's language, repairs and cleaning with outside contractors, the arrivals of each semester and enquiries about places.
- Student residencesFor student residences and PBSA operators: WhatsApp support in the resident's language, repairs with an owner and a deadline, arrivals, presence and parcels.
- ColivingFor coliving and flex living: support in each resident's language, repairs with an owner and a deadline, common-room bookings, parcels and announcements without groups.
- Researcher residencesFor researcher, graduate and visiting-faculty residences: arrivals any week of the year, replies in each person's language, contracted maintenance and cleaning, and the end of every stay.
- Hostels and alberguesFor hostels, albergues and pilgrim hostels: house questions answered in each guest's language, repairs with an owner and a deadline, and the night covered with nobody at the desk.
- Holiday apartmentsFor holiday apartments, aparthotels and mid-stay lets: replies in the guest's language, repairs with a technician and a deadline, housekeeping requests between stays and house rules.
- Build to rentFor build-to-rent and flex living buildings: repairs with an owner and a deadline even when maintenance is outsourced, parcels with a notice, shared-space bookings, building notices and house rules answered.