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Touch Stay sending Guide Book URL back to Owner Rez

Status: Released 6 Votes
Shawn H
Sep 13, 2022 11:50 AM
OR Team Member Joined Aug, 2021 244 posts

Good news from our partner Touch Stay! Touch Stay can now push the guidebook links into OwnerRez field codes. This addition has been documented here: https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/Touch-Stay#how-to-send-guidebook-links-to-ownerrez-as-field-codes

So this request has been marked released! Enjoy, and thanks Touch Stay!

Docks -n- Dunes
Aug 17, 2021 9:08 AM
Joined Jun, 2021 3 posts

As a further build-out of the API integration, it would be HUGE to have Touch Stay send the Guide Book link back to OR and populate in the Booking record. Then we can integrate that into the Welcome message to the guest to confirm booking. Other benefits include:

• Alleviates concern of Touch Stay email going to junk mail. OR sends emails out masking them as coming directly from the owner.
• Could send the TS link with bundled with all our other customer communications. All we’d need TS to do is share the custom guest link via the API into the OR record.
• Use of Triggers to know once it's been received.
• Could even integrate TS link and messaging into a broader welcome message that contains other info for the guest instead of flooding them with separate messages.
• For OR users, it seems logical to manage this directly within the OR software instead of TS for added control.

Ken T
Aug 18, 2021 12:50 PM
Joined Aug, 2019 1707 posts

This is technically feasible - our open API, that TouchStay is using, includes access to Custom Fields. You could create a Custom Field to hold this URL, which TouchStay could then populate, and you could use it in your templates.

You'd need to reach out to TouchStay for them to build this capability, but there's nothing preventing it, and surely it would be useful to all their clients.

Mila M
Jul 9, 2022 6:33 AM
Joined May, 2022 7 posts

Hello,

I was looking for exactly what you were asking, did you find a solution? Did Touch Stay build the feature you were asking or if you found a solution, I will appreciate your help.

thank you

Mila

Paul H
Jul 11, 2022 5:05 PM
Joined Dec, 2020 1 post

Hi Mila,

Each of your guide books has a live website link that you can share with your guests. For a fast and easy way to download all those links simply click the button and choose the download format. (screenshots below) If you have a single property and don't want to use the download option, head to the Invite and Share tab of each guide to find the Quick Share link. Touch Stay does not currently send the guidebook links back into OwnerRez. You will need to create your own email templates/triggers inside OwnerRez and then add your guidebook link/links. I would suggest creating a custom field code for your guidebook links, then just add the field code to your email templates. Here is a doc on field codes:

https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/custom-fields

Docks -n- Dunes
Jul 11, 2022 5:33 PM
Joined Jun, 2021 3 posts

Thanks, Paul, for confirming the current functionality and laying out the best way to get this accomplished today.  I've been pinging Joe Jones, TouchStay's COO about this feature for the last year.  He's definitely aware that automating through thru the current API with OR would be VERY helpful.  Yes, we can copy/paste each time we get a new booking, but it just adds 1 more manual step whereas automating it through the API would be AWESOME.  Joe indicates that's still happening sometime in the future - just hope it's sooner than later.  :-). 

 

Mike

Le Touquet Holid
Jul 12, 2022 3:56 AM
Joined Nov, 2018 113 posts

The problem is the custom expiring  url for each guest guide book is still not being pulled into OR from touchstay. You can only use a generic unexpired link in OR messaging set as a fixed custom field in OR. All this makes the ability to pull OR fields into touchstay a bit pointless until this loop is closed. 

Great if you only want to use touchstay messaging but I would rather keep all messaging in OR as it just gets way to confusing. The OR inbox is not fully unified anyway without adding another place to check if messages have been sent.

 

 

Joel P
Jul 12, 2022 10:27 AM
OR Team Member Joined Oct, 2009 137 posts

Our recommendation is to put the unique TouchStay link in a custom field on the Booking, and the generic one in a custom field on the Property. This way you can embed a generic link in property descriptions and quote templates, and the unique link in booking templates.

To automate inserting the TouchStay link on a Booking custom field will require TouchStay to modify their integration. If you reach out to them and let them know that we have released a Fields API for setting custom field values, perhaps they'll be able to add that feature.

Beyond exposing the option in the API as we have done, there is nothing further we can do to achieve this feature.

Mila M
Jul 12, 2022 12:16 PM
Joined May, 2022 7 posts

In regards to the unique TouchStay links pushing to OR... I've been in touch with Andy. Here is what he said:

"About pushing the link back to OR, we are going to discuss with the OR team, there was some limitation on their side the last time we spoke but we'll be revisiting it. If we do it, this year for sure. But if/when I can't say for sure at this stage. Sorry!"

🤞 it will be rather sooner than later!

Elite Coastal
Jul 28, 2022 5:50 PM
Joined Oct, 2021 10 posts

Upvoting this feature has been disabled, but I would like to add my vote. Each Booking should be receiving a unique invitation link to the TouchStay Guide so that TouchStay can track which guests are opening the Guide. I am unaware of any OR "Field Codes" that would provide a unique link to the TouchStay Guide for each Booking, but I know it exists in TouchStay. Please help bridge that gap so that OR users can know which guests are opening the Guide.

Shawn H
Sep 13, 2022 11:50 AM
OR Team Member Joined Aug, 2021 244 posts

Good news from our partner Touch Stay! Touch Stay can now push the guidebook links into OwnerRez field codes. This addition has been documented here: https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/Touch-Stay#how-to-send-guidebook-links-to-ownerrez-as-field-codes

So this request has been marked released! Enjoy, and thanks Touch Stay!

Chris L
Sep 14, 2022 3:21 PM
Joined May, 2017 207 posts

Good news from our partner Touch Stay! Touch Stay can now push the guidebook links into OwnerRez field codes. This addition has been documented here: https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/Touch-Stay#how-to-send-guidebook-links-to-ownerrez-as-field-codes

So this request has been marked released! Enjoy, and thanks Touch Stay!

by Shawn H – Sep 13, 2022 3:50 PM (UTC)

Yep! I just enabled it a couple days ago and it works seamlessly (after a minor hiccup with updating invite links for already-booked reservations).

Also worth noting that OR supports syncing door codes back to TouchStay, so TouchStay can display the guest's door code right in the guest's guidebook, which may be nice. (Though it does allow guests to see their door code when they haven't met all my criteria for receiving the door code by email, such as signing RAs and setting up SecDeps, so I'm not 100% sure I'll keep using that feature, but I'm trialing it for now.)