WordPress plugin

The plugin is provided through a public Github repository where you can find a Readme file with instructions to download and set up the plugin:

https://github.com/Hostaway/wordpress-plugin 

Important: do not use cache on the pages "/hostaway-listing-details-page". This can break the correct calendar synchronization from Hostaway to WordPress.  This is an example from the WP-Optimize exception:

 

How to install and configure the plugin

1. Download the latest hostaway-wp-plugin.zip from Releases and install it: the easiest is to install the plugin through Plugins->Add New->Upload Plugins, or (advanced) upload the plugin files to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory on the web server.

1. On Plugins page for Hostaway choose Activate Plugin.
2. Use the Plugins->Hostaway->Settings page to configure the plugin:

Enter your Account ID and Secret code and press Get access token button (it will fetch JWT token used to access Hostaway API).
Find more information about Hostaway API key (Secret Code).

• `Google Maps API key` parameter allows using Google map on the search and listing pages, without that key the maps will not be shown. This key can be created in your own Google account, please refer to Using API keys for more information on this.
• `Google reCAPTCHA` protects you against spam and other types of automated abuse. To start using reCAPTCHA, you need to sign up for an API key pair for your own Google account. Please refer to Developer's Guide for more information on this.
• `Price markup` parameter defines the % mark up that will be added to the base rate. E.g. 1.1 = 10%; 1.2 = 20%
• `Debug mode` allows debugging twig templates. Please don't forget to set it to 1 then you want to change something in twig templates.
• `Clear cache` button allows clearing the cache of twig templates and API requests.

If you want to adjust CSS for your theme please go to Hostaway → Custom CSSand paste your styles there.

How to check if the connection works

After plugin activation, you can find several new pages in Pages → All pages

 

You can click `view` on `Vacation Rentals Search` page and it will show you a list of listings with enabled WordPress.

All these pages contain only shortcodes supported by the plugin. 

[hostaway_listing] shortcode allows displaying listing details. It takes a listingMapId parameter from the query parameters and displays details for that listing.

If listingMapId is not defined this shortcode can accept it from arguments. For example, you can use [hostaway_listing 123] construction to show listing details for listing 123.

If none of the possible parameters is defied this shortcode will get a list of listings and display information for the first of them.

Parameters for [hostaway_booking] shortcode works exactly the same.

How to upgrade

https://wordpress.org/support/article/managing-plugins/#plugin-updates

Since the installation process is manual, in order to upgrade the plugin you have to remove the previous version from WordPress website using the admin panel and install a new version manually.

How to uninstall if needed

https://wordpress.org/support/article/managing-plugins/#uninstalling-plugins

Use WordPress admin panel to uninstall the plugin. All of the plugin pages, configuration and files will be deleted.

How to activate listings

Go to Hostaway Dashboard > Settings > Integrations > Hostaway WordPress plugin > Select the listings you wish to show on your website.

 

 Note: Currently, we do not offer any customization (layout changes, language options etc) for the WordPress plugin. To customize your WordPress website, please contact WordPress team/your web developer. 

 

How to make a credit card payment mandatory?

To activate the option of mandatory credit card payment, please go to your WordPress admin account > Hostaway Settings > select accept credit cards and payment card is mandatory for guests:

 

 

How to create multiple WordPress sites with different listings?

The WordPress plugin now allows clients to decide which listings will be shown on their website by filtering by listing tags. This effectively allows you to show different sets of listings on different WP websites.

To activate this feature, please contact support@hostaway.com.

Once the feature is activated for your account, you can download and install the latest plugin version and enter the relevant tag in the plugin settings (under “Filter listings by tag”). Only one tag can be used per plugin.

How to set up the "Accept House Rules" tick box during checkout?

In order to achieve this make sure to fill the House rules section in the listing - This will automatically enable the tick box. 

Listing > Edit > Additional Info > House Rules 

 

Why limit your properties to the WordPress plugin only? Have a look at our other channels Marketplace.

Listings are not appearing on the WordPress website, why?

When a listing has been selected in Hostaway but not appearing in WordPress, there are 2 reasons:

1. Try to Clear Cache in Hostaway WP plugin - WordPress plugin. Once done, check your WP website in incognito to see if the listing is appearing or not
2. Update your WP plugin  - How to update WordPress plugin version?

Troubleshoot Google Maps API 

Google Maps API comes in different tiers which includes a free plan for for small scale business but depending on the tier and the amount of the credits allocated this may vary. You can find more about pricing from here 

Once the API key is setup in our WP plugin and if it does not work as intended, you can easily troubleshoot yourself by accessing the JavaScript console in your browser. 

Press Command+Option+J (Mac) or Control+Shift+J (Windows, Linux, Chrome OS) to open the Console in the webpage where Google Maps are not working. The error will be visible in red colour along with the action required. 
The most common error is not enabling billing on the Google cloud project. You can refer the guide on all the error messages and troubleshooting steps from here