Importing Bookings from CSV

🌱Growth5 minutes

Importing Bookings from CSV

Tier: Growth 🌱 | Business 💼
Time: 10-15 minutes
Prerequisites: At least one property, booking data from your PMS

Overview

The booking import feature allows you to bulk-upload your reservation data from Lodgify, Booking.com, Airbnb, or any booking platform. This automatically creates unique booking URLs for each guest, pre-loads their information, and prepares everything for automated SMS delivery and email capture.

Booking Import Page

Why Import Bookings?

Benefits

✅ Build Your Guest Database - Import past guests to start your email list
✅ Save Time - Bulk upload instead of manual entry
✅ Enable Email Capture - Create unique booking URLs automatically
✅ Prepare for SMS - Guest data ready for automated messaging
✅ Track Repeat Guests - System identifies returning guests
✅ Avoid Duplicates - Automatic duplicate detection and skipping

What Happens After Import

Once you import bookings:

  1. Unique Booking URLs Created - Each booking gets a URL like /b/abc123xyz
  2. Guest Names Pre-Loaded - Extracted from your CSV
  3. Ready for SMS Sending - Send guidebook links before check-in
  4. Email Capture Enabled - When guests visit their booking URL, they can provide their email
  5. CRM Population - Guests automatically added to your database
  6. Duplicate Prevention - System skips bookings already in the system

Supported Platforms

GuestLoop supports CSV imports from:

🏠 Lodgify (Recommended)

  • Most common PMS for vacation rentals
  • Best data format compatibility
  • Clearest export instructions

🏨 Booking.com

  • Export bookings report
  • Supports all standard fields

🏡 Airbnb

  • Use iCal export or third-party tools
  • Convert to CSV format first

📄 Other Platforms

  • Any PMS that exports to CSV
  • Must match required column format

Step 1: Export from Lodgify

How to Export Bookings from Lodgify

  1. Log into your Lodgify account
    Visit: https://www.lodgify.com/login

  2. Navigate to Bookings
    Go to: Bookings → Export or Reports → Booking Report

  3. Select Date Range
    Choose the period you want to export:

    • Past Bookings: To build your email list
    • Upcoming Bookings: For current/future guests
    • All Time: Complete historical data (recommended first time)

  4. Choose Export Format
    Select CSV (not Excel or PDF)

  5. Download the File
    Save to your computer in an easy-to-find location

Required CSV Columns

Your CSV file must include these columns:

Essential Columns

Column Name Format Example Notes
Guest Name First Last John Smith Full name or first name
Guest Phone +1234567890 +16145551234 International format preferred
Property Name Text Beach House Must exactly match your GuestLoop property name
Check-in Date YYYY-MM-DD 2025-05-15 ISO format or DD/MM/YYYY
Check-out Date YYYY-MM-DD 2025-05-18 ISO format or DD/MM/YYYY

Optional Columns

Column Name Format Example Benefits
Guest Email email@example.com john@email.com Pre-populates email field
Lodgify Booking ID Text/Number LOD-12345 Prevents duplicates
Total Price Number 450.00 Future revenue tracking
Number of Guests Number 4 Analytics insights

Step 2: Prepare Your CSV

Before Uploading

1. Check Property Names

⚠️ CRITICAL: Property names in your CSV must exactly match your GuestLoop property names.

Example:

  • ❌ CSV: "Beach house", GuestLoop: "Beach House" (capitalization different)
  • ❌ CSV: "Beachhouse", GuestLoop: "Beach House" (spacing different)
  • ✅ CSV: "Beach House", GuestLoop: "Beach House" (exact match)

How to Check:

  1. Go to Properties page in GuestLoop
  2. Note exact spelling and capitalization
  3. Update CSV if needed

2. Clean Phone Numbers

Make sure phone numbers include country code:

  • ✅ Good: +16145551234
  • ❌ Bad: 6145551234 (missing country code)
  • ❌ Bad: (614) 555-1234 (has formatting characters)

3. Verify Date Format

Acceptable formats:

  • YYYY-MM-DD (2025-05-15) ✅ Preferred
  • DD/MM/YYYY (15/05/2025) ✅ Acceptable
  • MM/DD/YYYY (05/15/2025) ⚠️ Can be ambiguous

4. Remove Empty Rows

Delete any blank rows at the bottom of your CSV

Step 3: Upload to GuestLoop

Booking Import Interface

Import Process

1. Navigate to Import Page

  • Go to Bookings in left sidebar
  • Click "📤 Import CSV" button (top right)
  • Or visit: /dashboard/bookings/import

2. Select Property

  • Click the dropdown: "Select a property..."
  • Choose which property these bookings are for
  • If importing for multiple properties, do separate imports

3. Select Booking Platform

Click the platform button:

  • 🏠 Lodgify - For Lodgify exports
  • 🏨 Booking.com - For Booking.com exports
  • 🏡 Airbnb - For Airbnb exports
  • 📄 Other - For any other platform

4. Upload CSV File

  • Click "Choose file" button
  • Select your CSV file from your computer
  • Wait for file to upload (shows "File selected: filename.csv")

5. Start Import

  • Click "📤 Start Import" button
  • Import begins processing in the background
  • You can navigate away - it continues running!

Step 4: Monitor Import Progress

Background Processing

✨ Great News: The import runs in the background!

You can:

  • Navigate to other pages
  • Continue working on other tasks
  • Even close the browser (import continues on server)

Checking Status

Method 1: Bookings Page

  1. Go to Bookings page
  2. Refresh to see new bookings appear
  3. Count increases as import progresses

Method 2: Dashboard Stats

  1. Return to Dashboard
  2. Check the "Bookings" count
  3. Number updates when import completes

Import Speed

  • Small CSV (10-50 bookings): 30 seconds - 2 minutes
  • Medium CSV (50-200 bookings): 2-5 minutes
  • Large CSV (200+ bookings): 5-15 minutes

Understanding Import Results

What Gets Created

For each booking in your CSV:

1. Booking Record

  • Stored in your bookings database
  • Visible on Bookings page
  • Includes all guest information

2. Unique Booking URL Created automatically:

https://yoursite.com/b/abc123xyz
  • Unique ID for each booking
  • Links to your property's guidebook
  • Pre-fills guest name when they visit
  • Captures their email on first visit

3. Guest Record (if email provided)

  • Added to Guests database
  • Ready for email campaigns
  • Tracks total stays

4. SMS Ready

  • Booking prepared for SMS sending
  • Guest phone number validated
  • Ready for automated delivery

Duplicate Prevention

GuestLoop automatically skips duplicates to prevent re-importing the same bookings.

How Duplicates Are Detected

A booking is considered a duplicate if all match:

  • Same guest name
  • Same property
  • Same check-in date
  • Same check-out date

OR if you provide:

  • Same Lodgify Booking ID

What Happens with Duplicates

  • Skipped automatically during import
  • Not re-created in the system
  • Counted in import summary
  • Original data preserved (not overwritten)

Import Summary

After import completes:

Import Complete!
✅ 45 new bookings imported
⏭️ 5 duplicates skipped
❌ 2 errors (check format)

Common Import Issues

Issue 1: "Property Not Found"

Error Message: "Property 'Beach House' not found in your account"

Causes:

  • Property name in CSV doesn't match GuestLoop exactly
  • Typo or spacing difference
  • Property was deleted

Solutions:

  1. Check exact property name in GuestLoop
  2. Update CSV to match exactly
  3. Re-upload corrected CSV

Issue 2: "Invalid Date Format"

Error Message: "Check-in date format invalid for row 15"

Causes:

  • Date not in YYYY-MM-DD or DD/MM/YYYY format
  • Extra spaces or characters
  • Missing date value

Solutions:

  1. Open CSV in Excel or Google Sheets
  2. Find row with invalid date
  3. Correct format to: 2025-05-15
  4. Save and re-upload

Issue 3: "Missing Required Columns"

Error Message: "CSV missing required column: Guest Phone"

Causes:

  • Column header spelled incorrectly
  • Column missing entirely
  • Extra spaces in header name

Solutions:

  1. Check column headers match exactly:
    • "Guest Name" (not "Name" or "Guest")
    • "Guest Phone" (not "Phone" or "Guest_Phone")
    • "Property Name" (not "Property")
  2. Add missing columns
  3. Re-upload

Issue 4: "No Bookings Imported"

Symptoms: Import completes but 0 bookings added

Causes:

  • All bookings were duplicates
  • CSV file empty or only has headers
  • Format not recognized

Solutions:

  1. Check Bookings page to verify duplicates
  2. Open CSV and confirm data rows exist
  3. Try "Download sample CSV" and match format
  4. Contact support if issue persists

After Import: Next Steps

Immediate Actions

1. Verify Import Success

  • Go to Bookings page
  • Sort by newest first
  • Spot-check 3-5 random bookings
  • Verify guest names, dates, properties

2. Send SMS to Upcoming Guests (Optional)

  • Filter bookings by "Upcoming"
  • Select guests checking in soon
  • Send welcome SMS with guidebook link
  • See: Sending SMS Guide

3. Build Email List

Best Practices

1. Import Regularly

Recommended Schedule:

  • Monthly: Import last month's completed bookings
  • Weekly: Import upcoming bookings for SMS sending
  • As Needed: After major booking platform updates

2. Clean Your Data First

Before importing:

  • Remove cancelled bookings
  • Fix phone number formatting
  • Verify property names
  • Check for typos

3. Start with Recent Data

For your first import:

  • Import last 12 months of bookings (builds email list)
  • Import next 3 months (for SMS automation)
  • Skip very old data unless needed

4. Back Up Your CSV

Always keep a copy of your original CSV file in case you need to re-import or troubleshoot.

5. Test with Small File First

If importing 500+ bookings:

  1. Create a test CSV with just 10 bookings
  2. Import test file first
  3. Verify results
  4. Then import full file

Download Sample CSV

Need a reference? Download our sample CSV template:

Download Sample CSV

The sample includes:

  • All required columns
  • Correct formatting examples
  • Sample data for 5 bookings
  • Comments explaining each field

Bulk Operations After Import

Once bookings are imported, you can:

Send Bulk SMS

  1. Go to Bookings page
  2. Filter: "Upcoming" bookings
  3. Select multiple bookings (checkbox)
  4. Click "Send SMS to Selected"

Export to Excel

  1. Filter/search your bookings
  2. Click "Export" button
  3. Download as CSV
  4. Analyze in Excel or Google Sheets

Update Multiple Bookings

  1. Select bookings (checkbox)
  2. Choose "Bulk Edit"
  3. Update fields simultaneously
  4. Save changes

API Integration (Pro Only)

For advanced users on Pro plan:

Instead of manual CSV imports, you can:

  • Connect via API to auto-sync bookings
  • Real-time updates from your PMS
  • Eliminate manual exports

See: API Documentation

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I import bookings from multiple properties at once?

A: Not in a single import. Do separate imports for each property, or include a "Property Name" column that exactly matches each booking's property.

Q: What happens if I import the same booking twice?

A: The system automatically skips duplicates, so no duplicates are created.

Q: Can I update existing bookings by re-importing?

A: Currently no. Imports only create new bookings. To update, edit manually on the Bookings page.

Q: Do guests get notified when I import bookings?

A: No! Importing is silent. Guests are only notified if you manually send SMS or emails after import.

Q: Can I import past guests who already checked out?

A: Yes! This is recommended to build your email list and enable retargeting campaigns.

Q: Is there a limit to how many bookings I can import?

A: No hard limit, but imports over 1,000 bookings may take longer. Contact support for very large imports (5,000+).

Q: Can I undo an import?

A: Not automatically. You'd need to manually delete bookings. Best to test with a small file first!

What's Next?

After importing bookings:

  1. ✅ Managing Bookings - Edit and update booking details
  2. ✅ Sending SMS Messages - Welcome guests before check-in
  3. ✅ Guest Database Overview - Understanding your CRM
  4. ✅ Email Campaigns - Reach out to past guests

Need Help?

Bulk importing = Time saved + Database built + Email list ready! 📊✨

Need More Help?

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More Guides

Importing Bookings from CSV | GuestLoop Help Center