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Reviews

Key concepts​

  • HostReview: Host reviews the guest. it may have one of two states:
    • draft - either empty shell or review that was filled partially. It has little validation and can be modified any number of times. Identified by: null value of a submitted_at attribute
    • submitted - final version of a review, it can no longer be modified. Identified by: non-null value of a submitted_at attribute
  • Review: Guest reviews the host.
  • ReviewReply - response from reviewee to reviewer's comment.

Restrictions​

  • Both HostReview and Review may have only one reply.
  • Each Booking can have only one HostReview. HostReview must have the same source as the Booking.
  • Each Booking can have multiple Reviews (one per source).
  • Review left via BookingSync website (called direct) will be associated with a source named Smily.
  • Accounts on the old pricing plan have no access to new features. If that's the case you'll receive a 403 response with a "Feature not available - insufficient account subscription plan" message.
  • Whenever booking has the shareable attribute set to false - it means it's not permitted to display it on any publicly accessible page.

Integration​

Application managing reviews coming from other sources​

Possibilities depend on:

  • Installed applications
  • Account subscription

Some OTAs support only Guest Reviews (Booking.com), while others allow both host and guest to leave the review (for example, Airbnb).

1. Applications supporting only guest reviews.​

Once the booking finishes, the guest is asked to leave a review. Then the application will create the guest review on BookingSync. Depending on other installed applications and settings - guests may also be asked to leave a review directly on BookingSync, or any installed applications. That can result in a booking having multiple reviews, each having a different source.

Guest reviews can be retrieved using reviews endpoint

Once Review is created it's possible to reply to it by sending POST request to review replies endpoint. Note that currently, only one reply per review is allowed.

2. Applications supporting reviews from both parties​

Usually associated OTAs support double-blind reviews - which means both parties cannot see each other review until either:

  • both parties fill out their reviews
  • one party will not finish their review in time (it expires)

To comply with this flow, once booking finishes OTA creates an empty shell for a host to fill out. The application will then create a host review on BookingSync in a draft mode (meaning modifications are allowed), with a bare minimum of data filled out. Depending on integration it may have the expires_at attribute filled out, indicating the deadline for submission.

In order to submit host review, a request to submit draft action has to be made. To satisfy any application requirements, we require all attributes (including all criteria) to be filled out. Once Host Review is submitted, it is no longer possible to modify it.

Then, submission is handled by the application, and a corresponding guest review will be created (if already left by the guest).