One agency API key brings every Hostfully property and lead into BetterSTR, each with its own guide
Hostfully's Property Management Platform is aimed at management companies and agencies looking after a portfolio of owners' homes, and it organises everything under an agency account. BetterSTR connects at that agency level with a single key, so every property in the agency comes across together. Hostfully keeps detailed listing content, including house manual and access notes, which means guides for Hostfully properties start out well filled in. In Hostfully a reservation is called a lead, and each lead becomes one personalised BetterSTR guide.
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Property content is fetched in the background right after each property first syncs, then refreshed daily. Leads update through webhooks.
| Data | Synced? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Properties | Yes | Name, street address, map position, bedrooms, bathrooms, amenities, currency and timezone. |
| Reservations (leads) | Yes | Stay dates, new bookings, booking requests, modifications and cancellations. Owner blocks are kept apart from guest stays. |
| Guest name | Yes | Can arrive blank if guest personal details aren't shared through your Hostfully API access. |
| Guest phone and email | Yes | Mobile or main phone, primary or secondary email, whichever Hostfully holds. |
| Party size and channel | Yes | Adults plus children, pets recorded separately, and the channel (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com or direct). |
| Door or lock codes | No | Hostfully keeps PIN codes in a separate part of its API that BetterSTR doesn't read yet. |
| Check-in and check-out times | Yes | Property default hours and each lead's own local arrival and departure times. |
| Listing photos and description | Yes | The photo gallery plus your Hostfully description, access notes, house manual (used as house rules) and neighbourhood text, English preferred. |
| WiFi details | No | Add the network name and password in BetterSTR to get a scannable WiFi QR code. |
Hostfully only issues API keys on its Premium plan or with the Open API add-on. If there's no API Key field in Agency Settings, ask Hostfully support to enable it.
At platform.hostfully.com open Agency Settings and scroll to the bottom. The API Key sits next to your Agency UID.
Paste it into the Agency API Key field on the Hostfully integration page. Once Hostfully accepts it, properties start loading and webhooks are registered for you.
When you connect, BetterSTR subscribes to Hostfully's webhooks for new bookings, booking requests, updates and cancellations, plus properties being added, edited, deactivated or deleted. Hostfully's webhooks only say what changed, so BetterSTR fetches the latest copy of that lead or property straight after. A new booking usually has its guide within a couple of minutes. Every hour BetterSTR also asks Hostfully for anything updated since the last check, which catches any webhook that didn't arrive.
Connecting adds Hostfully Fields and Hostfully Res menus to the guide builder. Some details only Hostfully provides:
{{hostfully_flight_number}} and {{hostfully_reason_for_trip}} when the guest has given them.{{hostfully_pets}}, {{hostfully_adults}} and {{hostfully_children}} for party details.{{hostfully_confirmation_id}} and {{hostfully_channel}} per lead.{{hostfully_listing_url}}, {{hostfully_minimum_stay}} and {{hostfully_max_guests}} at property level.The guide can also run on an Android TV display in each managed home, which helps when owners change but the TV stays put.
One agency key brings across every property and lead.
Integration included
Plus an hourly backup sync
Properties
No credit card required. SMS and other add-ons are optional.
See BetterSTR pricing (the Hostfully connection is free), how we compare as a free Hostfully Guidebooks alternative, or the integrations directory for other platforms.
Hostfully only provides API keys on its Premium plan or with the Open API add-on. If you can't see an API Key field in Agency Settings, contact Hostfully support and ask them to enable API access. The BetterSTR side is free.
Yes. BetterSTR works alongside Hostfully as a separate guidebook, so you can choose either. BetterSTR guides are personalised per lead, can run on an in-property Android TV, and the guidebook and integration are on the free plan.
Hostfully only shares guest personal details when your API access allows it. If names come through empty, check the API settings on your Hostfully account with Hostfully support.
Make sure the key belongs to the Hostfully agency that holds your listings, as a login can have more than one agency. Then click Sync Properties on the Hostfully page in BetterSTR to pull them again.
Usually within a couple of minutes, because Hostfully sends a webhook as soon as a lead is created or changed. An hourly sync picks up anything a webhook missed, and Sync Reservations fetches changes on demand.