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Importing external reservations through CSV

Florian
  • Updated

How to import external reservations through CSV?

What is this feature about?

If you wish to import other Channel Manager reservations or from an OTA, then this feature is for you. By doing so, you can easily keep track of all your reservations in one place. Please note that this function is not activated by default, so you will need to submit a request to use it.

 

Introduction

  • Only Admin or users with admin-level access can use this feature
  • We highly advise importing only reservations that are not already in Hostaway
  • Reservations will be imported as Hostaway direct reservations. We will indicate the origin channel (mandatory field) in the reservation. Note that you will be able to cancel these reservations if needed
  • You can find the CSV template here
  • If there is one error, the full import will be aborted

How to import your CSV reservation file?

Prepare your CSV file

Some general criteria

  • All mandatory fields must be filled. Mandatory fields are marked with a * symbol
  • Columns must have the same names as the template, but the column order can be different. The only exception is the * symbol, which can be removed if needed
  • Any other conditions such as formats or length limits must be respected
  • The maximum amount of reservations for one upload is 500. Additional uploads can be done

The fields are the following

  • guestEmail *: It must be a valid email. Max length is 255 characters
  • guestFirstName * // guestLastName *: Max length is 127
  • guestName: If missing, it will be composed of the guest's first name and guest's last name. Max length is 255
  • numberOfGuests*: It must be a positive integer number. We do not validate that the sum of adults + children + infants differs from the amount in this field
  • numberOfAdults // numberOfChildren // numberOfInfants // numberOfPets: They can only be a non-negative integer number
  • arrivalDate */departureDate *: Different formats are accepted. If the format is DD/MM/YYYY, it must be specifically chosen in the import process pop-up
  • totalPrice *: We can accept both dots and commas for decimals and up to 2 decimals. If commas were chosen, points could be used as thousand separators. It must be a positive number and a maximum of 19 digits
  • currency: It should be in ISO 4217 Code. If missing, it will be taken from the associated listing currency. Max 10 characters
  • status *: We only accept "new", "canceled" or "ownerStay". Read more about Owner Stays here
  • originChannel*: Free text to identify the channel of origin. Max 50 characters. We will add one field in reservations that will show the value introduced here
  • channel: Only for Vrbo, otherwise should be left blank. The column "originChannel" for identification purposes
  • externalReservationId*: Each reservation must have its individual and unique ID. It should be a reservation ID from the channel of origin. If we find another reservation with the same ID, we will delete that one and create a new one. Free text with a maximum of 255 characters
  • hostawayListingId*: Id of the listing at Hostaway. Normally comes after the listing name. It must be a positive integer number
  • phoneNumber: Any format is accepted. Max 32 characters
  • checkinTime // checkoutTime: It must be in 24h format and not AM/PM. Only integer numbers from 0 to 23 are accepted
    • If these fields are left blank, the system will use the check-in and check-out time from the listing
    • You should use a 24-hour format with a colon, for example 11:30, 12:30, 13:30, and so on
  • reservationDate: For the date, different formats are accepted. If the format is DD/MM/YYYY, it must be specifically chosen in the import process pop-up. For the times, we will identify common times. The exact time is not needed. It needs to be entered in UTC
  • totalPaid and paymentMethod: filling these 2 options will generate 1 paid charge to reflect how much was paid so far. This is a great tool to keep the payment status updated
    • For paymentMethod you can select from the following values on the template dropdown: credit_card, vcc, cash, paypal, venmo, bank_transfer, bank_check, ota, and other
  • Financial fields (baseRate, cleaningFee, etc.): It is also possible to enter financial data per reservation. The sum of the total price components should ideally match the total price in the reservation to correctly see the price breakdown in the reservation
  • reservationAgreement: Optional status of the rental agreement signature for the reservation. It can be either signed, not_signed, or not_required. If left empty it will be marked as not_required.

Import reservations

  1. Go to your Hostaway Dashboard > Reservations
  2. Click on the "Import Reservations" button in the top right-hand corner
  3. A pop-up will display the available formatting options

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Date format

  • Automatic: It will identify and correctly process (almost) all common formats
  • DD/MM/YYYY: This can be a common case in which the automatic option will not correctly process, so only in this case it should be chosen. It will also work if the date is D/M/YYYY

Decimals separator for prices

  • Decimal comma: Used to separate thousands
  • Decimal point: Used to separate thousands

After clicking on "Next", you will need to choose the features to be affected in the same way as you would if we got these reservations directly from the channels.

 

Select features

Imported reservations will block the calendar by default, blocking dates when needed and displaying the reservations. As an example, you might like to import a reservation but not create message automation. Options are:

  • Message Automation
  • Auto-tasks
  • Auto-payments

NOTE: Please consider that creating the auto-payments on a reservation will depend on the reservation creation date. For example, if the imported reservation creation date is before the auto-payment connection date to the listing, the system will not generate an auto-payment.

If the process goes well a success message will be displayed. Otherwise, a list of errors will be displayed, identifying the raws with issues, and the fields for these raws. Because of that, we recommend updating only CSVs containing reservations that have not yet been entered in Hostaway.

To avoid duplicating reservations when uploading multiple times this CSV, we will check the externalReservationId, meaning that each reservation must have its individual and unique ID. If we find a duplicate, we will delete that reservation and add it again, giving an option for updating data.

Please note that if a reservation has been made through a channel like Airbnb and the same reservation is present in the CSV file, using the same externalReservationId, we will not delete and create a new reservation. In such cases, a new reservation from the CSV will be added, which will result in a double booking.

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