Introduction to Multilingual Support
Previously, the only way to translate your Booking Website was through the Google Translate widget, which provided automatic translations but limited customization.
With our new Booking Website Localization feature, you can now configure specific languages for each Booking Website, giving you greater control over your guests' experience.
Currently Supported Languages
- English
- Spanish
- French
- Italian
- German
Translation Management System
Hostaway continues to leverage Google Translate for initial automatic translations. Once Google completes the translation process, you can manually refine the following key content:
- External listing name
- Property descriptions
- House rules
- Dynamic fields in the Booking Website pages section
This enhanced localization feature allows you to create a more personalized and accessible booking experience for international guests.
Where can I activate the languages I want to offer on my Booking Website?
You can choose the languages you want to offer in the Booking Website and guest portal to enhance the guest experience, following the next steps:
- Go to your Hostaway Dashboard > Settings > Language Settings
- Click the toggle near the language you want to translate
- Use the “Translate” button next to each active language to automatically translate all guest-facing content across your listings
- In individual listings, you can manually edit translations and preview how your content appears in different languages
- In each Booking Website, you can select which active languages to display and set a default language for guests.
Managing Your Translations
You can control your multilingual content from three convenient locations we explain below:
- Booking Website Settings - Configure language preferences
- Listing Edit Mode - Modify translated content for specific properties
- Booking Website Translations Tab - Centralized management of all translations
1. Booking Website settings
You will be able to add, hide, or remove languages for the Booking Website in the Language settings.
Please follow the next steps to manage Language settings:
- Go to your Hostaway Dashboard > Booking Website > Settings
- On the Translations tab > Language settings > Open Language settings
- Choose and manage languages between French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese
- Done
Every new language will be turned off by default when added. You need to turn the toggle on, next to the language, so it will be visible in the Booking Website.
At any moment, you can turn the toggle off next to each language, and it will not be visible in the Booking Website anymore. This will not delete saved translations, just hide them in the Booking Website.
The red cross next to the language is to delete it. By pressing it a warning message will be shown and you will need to confirm the deletion of the language. After that, all translations will be deleted with no possibility of retrieving them.
- The default language is the one that will be displayed to guests by default
- The first default language will always be English, but it is possible to change this to any other language that is visible in the Booking Website. This means the language toggle needs to be turned on to change it to the default language
- The default language can’t be hidden or deleted
- English language can’t be deleted
- In the cases when there are no languages added or only the default language is turned on, there won’t be a language selector in the Booking Website.
Notes
- Sometimes, actions involving adding or removing language can take a bit longer. During this time, these actions will be disabled. Side pop-ups can be closed, but no other similar actions will be allowed
- Hostaway does not detect automatically changes made after the language is added. So it is highly recommended to add languages as the last step, before publishing the Booking Website
- These settings are done at the Booking Website level, so it is possible to have multiple Booking Websites with different localization settings. This applies to dynamic fields where you enter your text. For static fields, such as amenities, any changes made after languages are added will be displayed correctly.
2. Listing Edit mode
You can manually adjust translations of some fields that belong to the listing.
In the translations tab, under listing, the language drop-down will show all possible languages through all Booking Websites.
For example, Booking Website 1 has the Spanish language, and Booking Website 2 has the Italian language. Under the listing, both languages, Spanish and Italian, will be displayed.
This tab is visible only in edit mode. It means that when you create a listing for the first time, this setting will not be visible.
If the value is empty in the original field, it will not be displayed in this tab either.
Here are all the fields that support manual editing of translations under the listing:
- External listing name
- Description
- House rules
These fields will automatically be translated when a new language is added, but you can edit translations if you see the need. After saving, it will be displayed on the Booking Website.
By changing the original text, new translations will not be provided. Any desired changes need to be done manually for each language.
When switching between languages, it pre-saves changes so it would not be lost. But final changes need to be saved before exiting the edit mode.
The value of the right (original) displays what is entered now, not what is saved. So the host can edit the original text, and it will be displayed on the right side instantly.
3. Booking Website Translations tab
You can manually adjust translations of fields that belong to Booking Website pages, like title, header, body text, etc.
Pre-made pages are displayed first, and custom pages are shown last.
Here we show the original values that are saved.
You can switch the language without saving and don’t lose the changes they made. But navigating between tabs, even in the same language, will delete changes, if they were not saved.
Additional Information
There are no limits on character or word count in translation fields. However, we recommend checking the appearance of the Booking Website, as different languages may require more or fewer words to convey the same idea.
These fields are translated at the moment:
-
Listing
External Listing Name
Description
Amenities
House rules, but only the ones that are selected from the list and not manually added to the field House Rules under listing settings
Cancelation policy
-
Booking Website pages
Title
Header
Sub-title
Body text
When no language is added for any of the booking Websites, an empty state will be displayed.
Limitations and Recommendations
- If you make manual corrections and auto-translate everything again, the manual changes will be lost. Therefore, we recommend that you make manual changes as the last step before launching the Booking Website
- The language settings will only be accessible from the Booking Website, not from the listings page
- Currently available languages are English, Italian, French, Spanish & Portuguese.