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Digital Guidebooks for Hostfully

One agency API key brings every Hostfully property and lead into BetterSTR, each with its own guide

BetterSTR
INTEGRATION
Property Management Platform

For agencies running on Hostfully

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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What syncs from Hostfully

Property content is fetched in the background right after each property first syncs, then refreshed daily. Leads update through webhooks.

DataSynced?Notes
PropertiesYesName, street address, map position, bedrooms, bathrooms, amenities, currency and timezone.
Reservations (leads)YesStay dates, new bookings, booking requests, modifications and cancellations. Owner blocks are kept apart from guest stays.
Guest nameYesCan arrive blank if guest personal details aren't shared through your Hostfully API access.
Guest phone and emailYesMobile or main phone, primary or secondary email, whichever Hostfully holds.
Party size and channelYesAdults plus children, pets recorded separately, and the channel (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com or direct).
Door or lock codesNoHostfully keeps PIN codes in a separate part of its API that BetterSTR doesn't read yet.
Check-in and check-out timesYesProperty default hours and each lead's own local arrival and departure times.
Listing photos and descriptionYesThe photo gallery plus your Hostfully description, access notes, house manual (used as house rules) and neighbourhood text, English preferred.
WiFi detailsNoAdd the network name and password in BetterSTR to get a scannable WiFi QR code.

How the Hostfully connection works

1

Check your plan

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.

2

Copy the agency key

At platform.hostfully.com open Agency Settings and scroll to the bottom. The API Key sits next to your Agency UID.

3

Connect in BetterSTR

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.

Webhooks first, hourly sync as backup

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.

Good to know

  • The key belongs to one Hostfully agency. If your login has access to more than one agency, use the key from the agency that holds your listings.
  • Hostfully API keys don't expire, so there's nothing to renew. Use Update API Key in BetterSTR if you rotate it.
  • Deactivating or deleting a property in Hostfully switches it off in BetterSTR too.

Hostfully shortcodes in your guide

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.

Connect your Hostfully agency

One agency key brings across every property and lead.

Free plan

Integration included

Webhooks

Plus an hourly backup sync

Unlimited

Properties

Start Your Free Guidebook See Pricing

No credit card required. SMS and other add-ons are optional.

Integration Partner

Visit Hostfully.com

Hostfully setup and reading

Hostfully questions

Which Hostfully plan do I need?

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.

Hostfully has its own guidebooks. Can I use BetterSTR instead?

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.

Why is the guest name blank on some reservations?

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.

I connected but no properties appeared. What now?

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.

How quickly do Hostfully bookings reach BetterSTR?

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.