AI guest messaging for Hostaway
TravelPal answers your guests through Hostaway and sells paid extras, like a late checkout, at your prices. It connects with codes from Hostaway: your account ID and API key.
One Hostaway connection works in both directions. Each item is explained below.
What TravelPal reads from Hostaway
Most property management companies with 20 to 2,000 units use Hostaway when they do not use Guesty.
Listings become properties
TravelPal reads each listing's name, address, photos, amenities, house rules, and your check-in and check-out times. The AI answers guests from these facts, so you do not type them again. A listing edit in Hostaway arrives in TravelPal by itself.
Reservations arrive as they happen
Hostaway tells TravelPal as soon as a reservation is made or changed. TravelPal also checks Hostaway for anything that was missed. Each reservation shows where the guest booked: on Airbnb, for example, or directly with you. So TravelPal treats those guests differently from the first message.
The whole chat, not only the newest message
Chats already in Hostaway arrive with their history. So TravelPal joins a chat in the middle. It does not ask a guest what your team already answered.
The language the guest writes in
Hostaway keeps the guest's language on the reservation. So the first reply is already in that language, not in English.
What TravelPal writes back to Hostaway
Every message goes out through Hostaway, never around it. So your Hostaway inbox shows exactly what each guest was told.
Replies where the guest wrote
Hostaway sends messages four ways: the booking site's inbox, email, SMS, and WhatsApp. TravelPal answers the same way the guest wrote. A guest from Airbnb stays inside Airbnb. A direct guest keeps their own chat.
Sold time changes, on the reservation
A guest pays for a late checkout or early check-in. TravelPal then changes the planned departure or arrival time on the Hostaway reservation itself. So your cleaning schedule gets the real time, not a note somebody must notice. To compare the two tools, read the TravelPal and Hostaway AI comparison.
Extra nights on direct bookings
An extra night on a direct Hostaway booking is a real date change. TravelPal checks your Hostaway calendar first. It refuses date changes on bookings from Airbnb or another booking site. It sends the guest there to change the dates.
Calendar blocks you can see
Some sales need dates held on the calendar. TravelPal writes that block into Hostaway, where your team can see it.
Connected in four steps
You create the access details yourself, inside Hostaway. TravelPal does the rest itself.
Create the key in Hostaway
Open Settings, then Hostaway API. You get a numeric account ID and an API key. You make the key yourself, right now: no wait for approval and no partner form.
Paste both into TravelPal
A wrong account ID or key is rejected right away. Hostaway has no daily limit on sign-ins, unlike Guesty. So a typing mistake costs only one more try.
TravelPal sets up the updates itself
Hostaway then sends TravelPal new reservations and new guest messages. You set up nothing else inside Hostaway.
Listings import by themselves
Your listings become properties. After that, every Hostaway reservation gets its own private guest link.
TravelPal shows the connection at every step: connected, last update, and any error in plain words. To see the other setup steps, read what onboarding involves.
What the Hostaway connection will not do
Know the limits of Hostaway before you turn anything on. Every property management system has its own limits. TravelPal works inside them, not around them.
No team-only note inside the guest chat
The guest can see every message type Hostaway offers. So the chat has no place for a team-only note. TravelPal does not invent one there. Sale notes and anything held for a person go to your team by message and email.
Hostaway does not report your team's replies
Hostaway sends TravelPal a guest's message right away. It sends nothing when someone on your team answers in the Hostaway inbox. So TravelPal does not notice when your team is answering a guest. A double reply is prevented on purpose, by your quiet hours and passing a chat to a person. Systems that do report team replies, like Hospitable and Uplisting, let TravelPal notice by itself.
A reservation update replaces the whole reservation
A Hostaway update needs the whole reservation, not only the part that changed. So TravelPal writes only what a guest really bought. It refuses any change to a part it was not asked to change.
Returning guests are recognized by the stay, not by a guest ID
Hostaway gives guests numbers per account. No single ID follows a person across bookings. So TravelPal matches a returning guest from their own details and history.
When TravelPal's AI is not sure, it stops and asks your team instead of guessing. This rule is the same on every system: see the safety guardrails.
Hostaway integration FAQ
Do I need Hostaway's permission to connect TravelPal?
No. You create the API key yourself in your Hostaway account, under Settings, then Hostaway API. You paste the account ID and key into TravelPal. You do not need a partner application or anyone's approval.
Will my team still see everything in the Hostaway inbox?
Yes, TravelPal sends every message through Hostaway, never around it. So the chat in your own inbox shows exactly what each guest was told. Hostaway has no team-only message type. Your team gets sale notes and held questions as a message and an email instead.
Which channels does the Hostaway connection cover?
It covers every channel, or booking site, you run in Hostaway. Reservations from Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, and direct bookings all arrive in TravelPal. TravelPal answers each guest where they wrote: the booking site's inbox, email, SMS, or WhatsApp.
Can TravelPal change a Hostaway reservation?
Yes, for what a guest bought. A paid late checkout or early check-in changes the planned time on the reservation. An extra night on a direct booking changes the dates after TravelPal checks your calendar. TravelPal refuses a date change when the guest booked on a booking site like Airbnb.
Not the system you use?
TravelPal connects to 33 property management systems. Below are the systems closest to Hostaway in how widely they are used.
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