We’re excited to announce yet another new feature for our Host Tools users: webhooks! A webhooks integration allows you to connect your short-term rental listing within Host Tools to a third-party software provider like Zapier or IFTTT. This will allow you to receive and export real-time updates on your reservations. This blog post will tell you more about what webhooks are and how they can benefit your business. Plus, we’ll also provide instructions on setting them up within your Host Tools account. So keep reading to learn more!
Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!
What is a Webhook?
A webhook is an API concept that allows you to get data from another application in real time as it happens. This differs from traditional APIs, where you must regularly poll for data.
Webhooks are helpful because they allow you to get information immediately without constantly requesting it or waiting for updates. Webhooks allow Host Tools to instantly send reservation data to third-party software providers like Zapier, IFTTT, and others.
For example, for short-term rental hosts, this means that the data regarding your booking calendars will be updated in real time as guests book or make changes to their reservations.Webhooks notify you of the following changes in real time:
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Pending reservations
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Accepted reservations
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New bookings
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Changes to current stays
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Pending payments
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Cancellations
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Check-in or check-out change
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Change in the number of guests
How Does a Webhooks Integration Work with Host Tools?
Webhooks are a way for one website to automatically send information to another website. They’re often used to keep data in sync between two systems or to trigger events when something changes.
You want to be notified whenever a new reservation is made so you can take action. Typically, you would have to wait for the data to transfer between all of the third parties.
But with webhooks, the moment a new reservation comes in, your Host Tools account will be automatically notified so you can take action right away. With our automated messaging tool, when you are creating a message rule, you can now choose to send it to a webhook in addition to “guest,” “SMS,” or “email.”
Host Tools uses webhooks to keep hosts informed about changes to their reservations. That way, you can stay up-to-date on what’s happening with your listing and automate your actions accordingly.
To use webhooks, you’ll need to set up a URL to receive the webhook information. Once you’ve done that, you can specify which events you want to be notified about. For example, you could choose to only be notified about new reservations or only about changes to existing reservations.
A Use Case for Using WebHooks
If you want to keep track of all the data associated with each reservation, you can use a service like IFTT or Zapier to receive a webhook from Host Tools. This way, every time a new reservation is made, the data will be automatically sent to a spreadsheet for easy tracking.
This is especially useful if you manage many reservations or need to keep track of specific data points. It is an efficient way to transfer your guest data to an Excel sheet for simple data-keeping if you need to update your HOA with any guest information.
How to Create a Webhook in Your Host Tools Account
Creating a webhook is just like creating an automated messaging rule:
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Click the “Messaging” menu at the top of your Host Tools dashboard.
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Select a listing or a listing group that you would like to add the message rule to. You can select the “All Listings” group if you would like to create a message rule that will work with all your listings.
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Click the “+ Add Rule” button on the right side of the screen.
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Select a template from the drop-down “message templates” menu.
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Make any modifications you would like.
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Under the “Send To” drop-down, select Webhook.
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Copy and paste the Webhook URL into the box that appears
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Click the “Save,” and you’re done!
Final Thoughts
You can now use webhooks to stay up-to-date on what’s happening with your reservations and automate your actions accordingly. This is a helpful tool for managing a lot of reservations or if you need to keep track of specific data points.
Creating a webhook is just like making an automated messaging rule in your Host Tools account. With our automated messaging tool, when you are creating a message rule, you can now choose to send it to a webhook in addition to “guest,” “SMS,” or “email.” Stay up-to-date on your reservations and make hosting easier with the Host Tools webhooks feature!
Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!
