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Getting Started With Hotelia and Going Live the Same Day

This article will tell you how to create your Hotelia account and onboard your hotel's room inventory.

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Written by Dan Maguire

Getting Started with Hotelia

Getting your hotel set up on Hotelia and accepting direct bookings is quick and easy. No coding experience is required, and you don't need an onboarding specialist to get started. Simply follow the steps below, and you'll have your property online and accepting bookings in no time.

1. Create your Hotelia Account

Create your account at Hotelia. If you already have an account, log in.

2. Create your hotel

Start by entering all of your hotel information. This information will appear in email templates and reservation emails that get sent to your guests when they book.

  1. From the menu on the left side of the screen, select Settings.
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  2. Under Account Settings, enter your property's information, including:

  • Property name

  • Address

  • Phone number

  • Email address

  • Website URL

3. You can also configure your hotel's policies on this page, including:

  • Check-in and check-out times

  • Cancellation policy

  • House rules

  • Any additional guest policies

Be sure to save your changes before continuing.

3. Uploading Your Rooms

Next, you'll import your room inventory into Hotelia. In a few simple steps, you can upload your entire room inventory.

  1. In Settings, select the Rooms tab.

  2. Download the sample CSV template.

  3. Open the CSV file and review the sample data. Use the same column structure and formatting when entering your own room information.

** On the CSV template, enter the following information for each room and separate by column:

  • Room Number

  • Room Type

  • Base Price

  • Room Name

  • Room Description

  • Capacity

  • Room Amenities

Important: When entering room amenities, separate each amenity with a comma without spaces.

Example:

WiFi,Mini Fridge,Coffee Maker,Ocean View

4. Once you've completed the spreadsheet, save the CSV file and upload it by attaching the document or simply drag and drop it.

4. Review Your Column Mapping

After uploading your CSV, Hotelia will prompt you to verify how your spreadsheet columns are mapped.

Review each column and confirm it matches the correct Hotelia field.

If there is a column you don't want to import, simply select Skip from the corresponding drop-down menu.

At the bottom of the page, you'll see a preview of your first three listings. Once everything looks correct, click Proceed to Preview.

5. Previewing your unit details

Review your room listings one final time before importing them into Hotelia.

If everything appears correct, click Upload to import your room inventory.

Your rooms will now be available on Hotelia.

Need to make changes to your units later?

You have two options to edit unit details:

  • You can re-upload an updated CSV file. Hotelia will only update rooms that contain changes. Unchanged rooms will remain exactly as they are.

  • You can also simply edit an individual unit by going to Unit Management from the left-hand menu, then edit.

5. Adding room photos

Photos help guests choose the right room, so this is an important step.

To upload room photos:

  1. Go to Settings.

  2. Select the Widget tab.

  3. Scroll to the Room Type Photos section.

You'll see each room type you've uploaded. For each room type:

  • Drag and drop 1–5 photos into the upload area.

  • Photos are saved automatically as soon as they're uploaded.

  • To remove a photo, click the red X in the upper-right corner of the image.

Photos for each room type will be the same across all units of that type, so you do not have to upload duplicate photos.

6. Connect Your Stripe Account

To accept online payments and complete bookings, you'll need to connect your Stripe account.

  1. Go to Settings.

  2. Select the Integrations tab.

  3. Choose Stripe.

  4. You'll be redirected to Stripe's secure onboarding page, where you can either connect an existing Stripe account or create a new one.

5. After connecting your account, configure your hotel's payment settings by entering:

  • Deposit Amount - The deposit amount you set will authorize Stripe to hold the amount at check-in and return it to the guest 24 hours after checkout unless deductions are made for purchases or incidentals. The deposit amount will be the same across every reservation and unit throughout your property.

  • Taxes - Tax rates are set in Stripe and can be selected through the drop-down menu under Hotel Configuration in Hotelia once configured.

  • Fees - These are additional fees outside of taxes (resort fees, etc.)

7. Add the Hotelia Booking Widget to Your Website

You're almost finished! Now you just need to embed your booking widget to your webpage so your guests can begin booking rooms.

  • Return to the Widget page and scroll to the bottom.

  • Below the Room Type Photos section, you'll find your unique Hotelia booking widget embed code.

Simply:

  • Copy the HTML code from the gray box in your embed settings.

  • Paste it into your website’s HTML wherever you'd like the booking widget to appear.

You're Live!

Congratulations! Your hotel is now live on Hotelia and ready to accept direct bookings.

When guests book through your website:

  • Reservations are automatically added to your Hotelia dashboard.

  • Payments are securely processed through Stripe.

  • Funds are deposited directly into your connected Stripe account.

Welcome to Hotelia. We're excited to help you grow your direct bookings.

Happy hotelling!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are my options when embedding the Hotelia booking engine to my website?

  • Hotelia offers flexible embedding options; you can embed the widget onto your booking page, create a pop-up experience, and create inline buttons that pull up the booking engine.

Can I use Hotelia without a Stripe account?

  • Hotelia partners with Stripe as a payment processor for all booking payments. A Stripe account is required before you go live.

What are the associated costs to use Stripe Connect?

  • Stripe Connect is free to sign up and use with Hotelia. Stripe charges a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee per transaction.

  • Hotelia does not take any commissions on your bookings.

Does Hotelia offer a free trial?

  • Yes, we offer a 30-day free trial at the time you sign up. After 30 days, your subscription begins.

Best Practices

  • We recommend creating a dedicated booking page to showcase your availability. Additionally, we recommend that you have CTA booking options throughout your website.
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  • To turn your website into your number one booking channel, ensure you have updated photography, a claimed and up-to-date Google Business profile, a way to take direct bookings with Hotelia, and that your website answers the FAQs travelers might ask.

  • It's important to list your website on all social channels available to increase discoverability and drive direct bookings.

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