Importing guest data from a file is how you bring an existing list into Bookboost: a mailing list from your old system, a spreadsheet of past guests, a set of contacts from an event. Once the file is in, you add those guests to a list and target them with a campaign.
The formatting decides whether it works. Most failed imports come down to how the file is formatted, which is why step one is the template. The importer also flags problems as you go. See If the importer shows a message and If some rows do not import.
One importer, two ways to use it
Profiles > Import is the Property Data Importer, and the screen is headed Data importer. There is no separate tool: the same screen takes a one-off guest list and a recurring feed of reservation, space, and rate plan data. What differs is what you map and how often you upload.
This article covers the one-off guest list. For the full field reference across all five data models (guests, reservations, properties, spaces, and rate plans), see Property Data Importer Fields Available.
Sequences, and why the screen is a list
Profiles > Import lists import sequences, not individual uploads. A sequence is created the first time you map a file, and it keeps the mapping you chose so the next file in the same shape can go through without redoing the work.
Each row shows the sequence's Name and Status (for example Not imported, Preparing, or Completed), and how many Uploads it has taken. It also shows how many Guests, Reservations, Properties, Spaces, and Rate plans it has brought in, followed by when the last upload happened and when the sequence was created.
Each count shows a plus icon for the records created and a pencil icon for the records updated.
For a one-off guest list you will create one sequence and upload once. For a recurring feed you upload into the same sequence each time.
Step 1: Prepare the file
Start from the import template, which carries the formatting rules for every field.
Make your own copy of the template before changing anything.
Fill in your data. The first column holds the formatting instructions for each field, so work through them as you go.
Delete the first column once your data is formatted. It is guidance, not data, and importing it will cause errors.
Save as CSV. Excel also works, but CSV is the safer choice.
Keep the column names in the first row exactly as they are in the template. Bookboost recognises them and fills in the mapping for you in Step 2.
Each guest row needs at least one identifier: an id from your own system (not a Bookboost id), an email address, or a phone number.
A CSV file has to be UTF-8. In Excel, save it as "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)". A file in any other encoding is refused before anything imports.
Each file imports into one property and can be up to 10 MB. The limit is on file size, not on the number of rows, so split a larger export into several files.
Step 2: Import the file
If you manage several properties, select the right one first. The property selector sits in the header of the Import screen. Importing into the wrong property means moving the guests afterwards, so check before you upload. The upload dialog repeats the property name, so you can check it once more before you continue.
Go to Profiles > Import and select Import file at the top right.
Choose your file, or drop it onto the dialog. It accepts CSV or Excel (.xlsx) files with one row per record. To swap the file, select Replace. The Before you import notice above the file box lists the limits: one property per import, up to 10 MB per file, and UTF-8 for CSV files.
Open Parsing options only if you need to. When you choose a file, Bookboost reads it and sets the options to match where it can, and tells you what it set, for example the semicolon delimiter. Change the Delimiter, Enclosure, Escape, or Header row only if the next step shows the wrong columns.
Select Continue. If the columns match a sequence you have already saved, Bookboost asks Reuse an existing sequence? Choose that sequence to import with the mapping you saved, which takes you straight to Check before importing. Choose Create a new sequence to map the columns again.
Give the sequence a Name. The name is required, so choose one you will recognise in the list.
Check the column mapping. Every column in your file is listed under Headers, with the Bookboost field it will be imported as under Options. Where Bookboost recognised a column name, the field is already filled in and marked Auto-filled. Check every one of them before you save. Where a column was not recognised, open the list: it starts with Bookboost's best guesses under Suggested. Set a column to Empty to leave it out.
Where several fields are marked Required, mapping any one of them is enough. For a guest, that means an id, an email address, or a phone number. If your file carries consent, check those columns closely: the consent code has to be mapped to the consent code field, and it is not always filled in for you.
Select Save & Import. To keep the mapping for later without importing anything, select Save without importing instead. If a message appears, see If the importer shows a message.
Read Check before importing. It shows how many rows were checked and lists any warnings by column and row, for example a phone number without a country code, which is dropped. When nothing would be refused, it says No row would be refused.
This is a pre-check, not a guarantee. A row can still be refused once it is written, for example when its guest clashes with one already on file. Select Import (or Import anyway when there are warnings), or select Cancel to stop, fix the file, and upload it again.
Wait for the import to finish. Rows process in batches of 1,000, so a large file takes several minutes, and the counts in the sequence fill in as it goes. If you split a large export into several files, you can start the next one without waiting for the previous one to finish.
When it finishes, the list shows the sequence as Completed, with how many guests were created and updated. Select the sequence name to open it, then open the Errors tab to see whether any rows were refused.
If the importer shows a message
The importer checks your mapping before it imports anything. When something would stop rows from importing, it says so on screen.
The "It seems like you want to import users" message. The importer calls guests "users" here. The message appears on the mapping screen when a guest field is mapped, such as a name, but none of the fields that identify a guest is. Map a column to one of these fields, whichever your file has: user id, email, or phone. If you do not want to import guests, set the guest columns to Empty.
The message has one paragraph for each kind of record that has a field mapped without its identifier. For reservations it asks for a reservation id or a booking reference, and for spaces a space id or a name. If you only want guests, set the reservation and space columns to Empty.
While a message shows, only Cancel is available. Fix the mapping and the save buttons return.
The "columns won't be imported" message. The message appears when you save a mapping that leaves some columns without a field. The heading starts with the number of columns, and each column is listed, with a suggested field where the importer has one. No field is chosen for these columns, so nothing in them is imported, now or the next time you use the sequence. A suggestion is not applied until you choose it.
To import them, select Back to mapping and choose a field for each column. To leave them out, select Save & Import anyway.
If some rows do not import
Open the sequence from Profiles > Import and select the Errors tab. It lists every row that was refused, with the Row number, the File it came from, the Error, and a Message that says what to fix. For example, a guest row without an id, an email address, or a phone number is refused with the message "Each guest row needs at least one identifier: id, email or phone."
This includes rows that passed Check before importing but were refused when they were written, for example when a guest clashes with one already on file.
Correct those rows in your file and upload it again into the same sequence. When every row was accepted, the tab says No rows were rejected.
Step 3: Add the guests to a list
Importing puts the guests into Bookboost. It does not group them, so if you plan to send them a campaign, put them on a list.
Go to Profiles > Lists and select the + in the top right.
Give the list a name. The category field is optional.
Go back to Profiles > Import and open the sequence you just created.
On the Uploads tab, tick the upload that holds your guests.
Select Add guests to list and choose your list. The number on the button is how many uploads you have ticked, and everyone imported from them is added. If the menu says No guest lists yet, create the list first.
Step 4: Use the list in a campaign
Go to Audiences and create a new audience.
Apply the Guest List filter and choose your list. The filter only appears once at least one list exists, so create the list first.
Add that audience to a Journey or Broadcast campaign.
Check consent before you send. An imported guest is not automatically marketable. If the file carries consent data, map it during the import; if it does not, the guests have no consent recorded and marketing campaigns will exclude them. See Consent management essentials.
What this does not do
It does not fix a badly formatted file. Rows the importer cannot accept are refused and listed on the Errors tab, and the template exists to prevent that.
It does not add guests to a list. That is a separate step after the import.
It does not grant consent. Importing an address is not permission to market to it. Consent has to be in the file and mapped, or collected separately.
It does not choose the property for you. Whichever property is selected is where the guests land.
It does not import anything until you confirm. Save without importing keeps the mapping for later, and selecting Cancel at Check before importing stops the import. Either way the sequence stays in the list and no guests are created.
What to do next
For the full field list, including consent fields and historical consent dates, see Property Data Importer Fields Available.
Getting help
Open Help at the bottom of the left menu and choose Talk to us, or email [email protected]. Tell us the name of the sequence, and attach a screenshot of the message or the Errors tab.