Reducing time to value
using Hostfully Open API to import / export essential onboarding data via csv upload
About:
During customer onboarding, getting core data into a PMS quickly matters as much as the features themselves. I built a lightweight web tool that uses the Hostfully OpenAPI to import and export onboarding critical data through simple CSV and Excel workflows.
The problem: unreliable results
Our existing import experience was not reliable enough for onboarding at scale and it did not leverage the Hostfully API in a way that ensured accuracy and repeatability. Customers were spending too much time doing manual setup, working around formatting issues, or re entering the same information across properties and reservations. The outcome was longer onboarding cycles, more friction, and slower time to first value.
The principles: use a common tool
Reduce time to value by meeting customers where their data already lives, usually spreadsheets.
Make imports auditable and repeatable, not a one time black box.
Use the API as the source of truth to reduce inconsistencies and manual steps.
Keep the workflow safe by validating credentials up front and tracking progress and results per session.
Support both directions, import and export, so customers can round trip their data.
The insight: map and validate
For most teams, CSV is the real onboarding interface. If you can provide a clean template, validate inputs early, and translate rows into deterministic API calls, you can drastically reduce onboarding effort without waiting on a complex native importer rewrite. The API already encodes the rules of the system, so the importer should focus on mapping, validation, and orchestration.
The solution: simple and transparent
I built a Flask based web application that provides a secure upload interface, validated credentials, and orchestrated import pipelines with real time progress tracking.
Authentication and validation: Every API call uses standard headers including the API key and agency UID. Before any import or export runs, the tool validates permissions by calling the agency endpoint to confirm the credentials are correct and scoped properly.
What the tool imports: The tool supports multiple CSV driven workflows, each aligned to real onboarding needs.
Reservations import
A multi phase flow that can optionally cache property fees when fees are disabled in the CSV, create a lead with embedded financial overrides, post transactions when payment data exists, and optionally update VRBO attribution.
Past reservations import
A workflow designed for historical data constraints. It creates a temporary property and a temporary reservation in the future, then patches the reservation to the historical dates and the real property, posts transactions if needed, and finally deletes the temporary property. This keeps the system consistent while still allowing accurate history.Property import and update
Creates new properties or patches existing properties based on CSV inputs, including key identifiers such as Airbnb listing IDs when required.Airbnb import
Updates Airbnb specific property fields, uploads photos by URL, and writes rich property descriptions through the descriptions endpoint.Amenities import and delete
Creates amenities per property from CSV rows and supports bulk deletion by amenity UID.Property descriptions import and update
Imports localized long form descriptions in a single structured template so customers can update content at scale.
What the tool exports: Export is a first class feature to support round tripping and bulk edits.
Export properties
Pulls all properties for an agency, then fetches details per property and produces an Excel output.
Export amenities
Exports amenities per property into a CSV that includes amenity UID and descriptive fields.Export descriptions
Exports full description fields into a CSV so customers can edit copy in bulk and re upload.
UX and operational features
Real time progress tracking per session, plus results pages that summarize successes and failures. Template downloads for each workflow so customers start with the correct format. A consistent set of utility endpoints to test API connectivity, confirm permission levels, and manage credentials within a session.
Traceability
All imported reservations are tagged with metadata indicating they were imported from CSV. This makes it easy to audit what was created by the tool versus what was created manually.
The outcome: Reduction in onboarding friction
This tool reduced onboarding friction by letting customers move essential data in and out of Hostfully using the system they already use, spreadsheets. It also created a more reliable and auditable import process by using the API as the source of truth and tracking progress and results end to end. Most importantly, it is already being used by a handful of customers in early testing, proving demand while we continue to refine templates, validation, and edge case handling.
