🛡️ WhatsApp Error: “This message was not delivered to maintain a healthy ecosystem”
Introduction
When sending WhatsApp template messages through Bookboost, you may occasionally encounter the error:
"This message was not delivered to maintain a healthy ecosystem."
This article explains what this message means, why it happens, and what you can do to avoid it when creating campaigns in the Bookboost CRM.
Main Concept or Feature Explanation
This error is triggered by WhatsApp's internal rate-limiting mechanism to protect users from message fatigue, particularly from marketing content.
- Recipient-based limit: The restriction is applied per individual recipient, not per sender or WABA (WhatsApp Business Account).
- Marketing message threshold: If a person receives too many marketing messages from any business, WhatsApp may block further marketing messages to that user.
- Template type matters: Only marketing templates are affected. Utility templates are not subject to the same limitations.
Use Cases
This error may occur in the following situations:
- Sending frequent marketing broadcasts to the same guest via WhatsApp
- Sending campaigns to guests who have already received marketing messages from other businesses
- Running high-volume WhatsApp campaigns without considering message frequency per recipient
Configuration and Setup
To reduce the risk of hitting this error:
- Understand your message type
- Most broadcasts are set up as marketing campaigns, while most journeys are configured as utility campaigns. We send campaigns according to this rule—broadcasts as marketing and journeys as utility—but WhatsApp may change the template classification at its discretion.
- Limit message frequency
- Space out marketing campaigns to avoid overloading the same recipients
- Segment your audience to target guests who haven’t recently received Marketing WhatsApp campaigns
- Monitor WhatsApp delivery reports
- Keep an eye on delivery and failure rates to identify patterns early
Advanced Setup (If Applicable)
If you need to manage message frequency dynamically:
- Use guest tags and filters to exclude recipients who recently received WhatsApp campaigns
- Create automation rules to trigger WhatsApp messages only when certain guest marketing conditions are met (e.g., not messaged in X days)
Known Issues or Limitations
- This is a WhatsApp platform-wide limitation, not specific to Bookboost or your WABA.
- Even if the guest has not received many messages from your hotel, they may still be restricted if they've received messages from other businesses.
- There is no official counter or visibility into how many marketing messages a guest has received across WhatsApp globally.
Conclusion
The error “This message was not delivered to maintain a healthy ecosystem” is WhatsApp’s way of protecting users from spammy behavior. By classifying templates correctly and managing the frequency of marketing messages, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of encountering this issue and ensure your campaigns reach your guests effectively.
Please contact us through the ‘Talk to Us’ on the left Menu in the platform or through the Bookboost Support email at support@bookboost.io if you have questions or need additional support.