Welcome to Hostfully
onboarding.

We’re happy you’re here!

Please review this document carefully to understand expectations and timelines for us as we work together. We discuss how to best communicate with us and also include frequently asked questions to help you get up-to-speed quickly!

Need help?
We're here for you.

Onboarding team

The Onboarding Team has members available between 9AM through 5PM (EST), Monday to Friday. We do not have Onboarding team members available outside of these hours for onboarding calls.

After signing up, you can expect to receive an email from your assigned Onboarding Specialist directly within 2-3 business days. You will receive 3 calls and unlimited email support during your 45 days of onboarding.

Please note that you will receive tasks and homework from our team in order to complete your onboarding and your time to “Go Live” will be dependent on this homework completion time within your team. During your onboarding period, you can always email onboarding@hostfully.com with your questions and concerns.

We also have a comprehensive help desk.

24/7

Support from our
Customer Support team.

95%+

Average customer service rating.

Technical Support team

Our Technical Support Team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via in-product chat and support@hostfully.com. If you are onboarding and stuck during off hours or have a quick product question, we have highly trained Hostfully employees ready to assist you.

We also have a comprehensive help desk, with onboarding specific articles to guide you through the process.

Expectations
& timelines

It typically takes 45 days from signup to complete onboarding with Hostfully. This assumes all your homework is finished in a timely manner and there are no delays from channel/integration partners.

Hostfully Direct Booking Website
  • Here is the help documentation to get
    you started.
  • You can choose between ‘Instant Book’ or ‘Booking Requests’ on the main settings for each property.

Timeline: 1 business day

booking.com
  • Here is the help documentation for getting started.
  • You must use Instant Book.

Timeline: 1-10 days depending if you already host on Booking.com with a property management software

Vrbo
  • Here is the help documentation for getting started.
  • You can choose between ‘Instant Book’ or ‘Booking Requests’ on the main settings for each property.

Timeline: Dependent on Vrbo

Airbnb
  • Here is the help documentation for getting started.
  • You can choose between ‘Instant Book’ or ‘Booking Requests’ on the main settings for each property.

Timeline: 1 business day

You must set up an account with a payment processor to get started. We offer Stripe, Vacation Rent Payment and PayPal. We recommend you confer with your Onboarding Specialist before choosing a payment processor, to ensure that it meets your unique needs.

Please note, Hostfully charges 1% on all Stripe and Paypal transactions. Also, if you’re planning to integrate with Vrbo, we suggest using Stripe for full payment integration.

Hostfully can assist with the setup of your direct booking channel within the Hostfully PMP. Here is the help documentation to get you started.

Hostfully provides information to whitelabel your domain name, but you must manage all the DNS and other 3rd party tasks outside of Hostfully. This can be very technical and you may need to hire a technical resource as it is outside the scope of our support.

For assistance with setting up an external website, we recommend contacting our integrated website development partners.

Setting up your Hostfully Property Management Platform

A proper setup will save you hours of time and energy, and get you started off on the right foot. Here is a high level overview of what to expect. Timelines can vary slightly depending on certain circumstances.

Day 1-2

Review your setup and complete your first assignment

Walk through our help guide to update account information, add properties, enable a payment processor, and create accounts for your channel and integration partners.

Day 2-3

Schedule your onboarding call

Your onboarding specialist will email you within 3 business days to offer times for your first call.

Day 3-10

Pricing

Configure pricing directly in Hostfully or import pricing from a dynamic pricing provider.

Day 3-10

Central calendar

For all channels, except Airbnb and Booking.com, add your pre-existing future reservations and any outstanding blocks.

Day 10-21

Automate messaging

Create custom templates and triggers to automate communication between you, your guests, and your service providers.

Day 10-21

Add integrations

Add integrations such as home automation, turnover management, guest screening, etc.

Day 21-45

Enable channels

Go live on desired booking channels and start receiving new reservations and managing existing reservations in Hostfully. Each channel has separate requirements which we will discuss.

Keep an eye on your email.

You’ll receive a whole series of emails with detailed information and easy-to-follow instructions for each step. Of course, we’ll be there with you throughout.

Onboarding videos

Frequently asked
questions

  • Do not sync your Hostfully properties to the channels before completing pricing, fees, taxes and availability otherwise you may receive double bookings or bookings below the price you want.
  • Do not forget to do mock reservations up to the paywall after connecting to the channels to ensure prices and availability show as you expect.
After you adjust fees, taxes or pricing, we suggest selecting dates on your listing like a guest would and reviewing the order.

Once a property is toggled ON within a channel in Hostfully and you connect that property to an existing listing, the data in Hostfully completely overwrites your existing listing. This includes pricing, photos, descriptions and rental terms. Make sure your property is complete in Hostfully before syncing!

  • Airbnb – you can find more information here. They may collect and remit in your market otherwise you will need to manage them.
  • Vrbo, Booking.com, Direct Bookings – you are responsible for collecting and remitting your tourism taxes.
  • Importing them from Airbnb! You can do so easily by following this help article.
  • If you don’t have existing Airbnb listings, you can create properties in Hostfully manually using this help article.
  • Airbnb – we import airbnb reservations into Hosfully for 1 year in the past and 2 years in the future. No need to enter those manually. 
  • Vrbo and Direct – you will need to manually enter your Vrbo and Direct reservations as Vrbo does not have the ability to send them automatically. Here is a help article on how to do that.
  • Booking.com – we import Booking.com reservations into Hosfully for reservations with checkout dates in the future. No need to enter those manually.
  • While our onboarding specialists are well versed with our integration partners, they are Hostfully experts and we suggest speaking with the channel or integration partner directly to ask specific questions about their product/service. We’ve provided some links below to get you started:

Meet the Superstar
Onboarding Team

Rhiana Jones

Coarsegold, CA

Sarah Adams

Jacksonville, FL

Staci Patton

Lake Tahoe, CA

Kana Gordon

Charleston, South Carolina

Pablo Escarcega

Dallas, TX

Hannah Castillo

Menomonee Falls, WI

We’re all here to help.

Together we have a 95%+ average
customer service rating.

Contact info for Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com support for error handling