Guide-level data mapping allows you to automatically sync listing-level data from Hostaway into your Touch Stay guides.
This means you can store property information, such as Wi-Fi details, house rules or cleaning instructions, in Hostaway and have it automatically update in the relevant Touch Stay guide.
Depending on the type of information you'd like to sync, there are two ways to map your Hostaway data to Touch Stay.
Understanding Data Sources in Hostaway
When creating a new mapping, you see two mapping types.
User/Guest Custom Field
Use this mapping type for information that changes with every reservation.
Examples include:
Guest name
Arrival date
Departure date
Reservation number
Door code (if it's different for each booking)
This information is linked to the reservation and is displayed using Invitation link Data only
Guide Custom Field
Use this mapping type for information that belongs to the property and stays the same for every reservation.
Examples include:
Wi-Fi details
Parking information
House rules
Cleaning instructions
Contact details
This information is linked to the property listing and is displayed in your Touch Stay guide.
Choose how you'd like to display your data
There are two ways to sync Hostaway listing data into your Touch Stay guides.
Option 1. Guide Custom Fields
Guide Custom Fields are ideal for short pieces of information that you want to display inside an existing topic.
This works well for information such as:
Wi-Fi username
Wi-Fi password
Contact phone number
Parking space number
Door code
After creating the mapping, simply insert the custom field into your topic using a field code. Each guide will automatically display the correct information from its Hostaway listing.
Create a new mapping with Custom Field
Go to Integrations
Click Map Data.
Click + Add new mapping
Select the Hostaway data field you'd like to sync
Choose an existing custom field, or click + New Custom Field to create one. If creating a new custom field:
Enter a Field Code. When creating a new field code, consider adding _hostaway to the end of the name (for example, door_code_hostaway). This makes it easier to identify where the data is coming from.
(Optional) Add a Substitute Value to display when data is missing.
Click Save.
💡 Substitute Value
A substitute value acts as a fallback when information is missing. For example, you create a field for Number of Adults.
If Hostaway doesn't provide this information for a reservation, Touch Stay can display your substitute value instead. Examples:
Contact us if this information is missing
Not provided
Please ask your host
This helps avoid blank fields appearing in your guides or guest messages.
💡 Learn more: See our guide on using custom field codes
Option 2. Topic Customisations
Topic Customisations are best suited to longer pieces of content that deserve their own topic.
This works well for information such as:
Parking instructions
Appliance guides
House rules
Cleaning instructions
Property-specific amenities
Touch Stay creates a customised version of the selected topic for each guide using the information stored in the corresponding Hostaway listing.
⚠️ Important
Before selecting a Topic Customisation, make sure you've already created the topic in your Content Hub.
The topic must exist before it can be selected when creating the mapping. We recommend creating your master topic first, then mapping the Hostaway data to it.
Create a new mapping with Topic Customisations
Go to Integrations.
Open the Map Data tab.
Click + Add New Mapping.
Select the Hostaway data field you'd like to sync.
Under Mapping Type, select Topic Customisation.
Choose the Touch Stay topic you'd like to populate with the Hostaway data. You can search for a topic by typing its name into the search box.
Choose a visibility override rule.
Visibility Override Rules
Visibility Override rules determine whether a topic should appear on a guide based on the data available in the corresponding Hostaway listing. There are three visibility options to choose from, depending on whether the data is available for every property and how you've set up your tags.
None
This is the simplest option.
The sync process won't make any changes to the topic's visibility. The topic will continue to appear based on its active tags.
Use this option if:
The data is always present in Hostaway, or
You have a generic version of the content for that topic added to Content Hub which you would like to show in the absence of listing-specific content in Hostaway.
Hide topic if content is blank
Choose this option if the mapped data isn't available for every property in Hostaway
During the sync process, if a Hostaway listing doesn't contain any data for the mapped field, the topic's Visibility Rule will automatically be set to Always Hide, so it won't appear on that guide.
Show topic if content is not blank
This option works in the opposite way.
If a Hostaway listing contains data for the mapped field, the topic's Visibility Rule will automatically be set to Always Show for that guide.
This works well for optional topics that don't have a tag assigned in the Content Hub, allowing the topic to appear only on guides where Hostaway contains relevant information.
Formatting synced content from Hostaway
If you're syncing longer text fields from Hostaway, you can use simple HTML tags to improve how the content appears in Touch Stay.
This works for both Guide Custom Fields and Topic Customisations.
Example
Instead of entering your content like this:
There is one free parking space available for guests in spot 24. Please make sure the parking permit is always displayed on the dashboard of your car. Additional street parking is available on Oak Street after 6 pm.
Format it like this in Hostaway:
Parking Information<br><br>
There is one free parking space available for guests in spot 24.<br><br>
Please make sure the parking permit is always displayed on the dashboard of your car.<br><br>
Additional street parking is available on Oak Street after 6pm.
When the data syncs to Touch Stay, the content will display with proper spacing, making it much easier for guests to read.
Common HTML tags
HTML tag | Result |
| Starts a new line |
| Adds a blank line between paragraphs |
💡 If you need help editing your custom fields in Hostaway or adding HTML formatting, please contact the Hostaway Support team, as these fields are managed within your Hostaway account.
Syncing the guide data
Listing data is automatically synced between Hostaway and Touch Stay every 24 hours.
If you've recently updated information in Hostaway and don't want to wait for the next automatic sync, you can manually refresh your guide data at any time.
Resync all guides
To refresh the data for all guides:
Go to Integrations.
Open the Map Data tab.
Click Resync Guide Data (located below the Hostaway logo).
This will sync all mapped data for every guide.
💡 Good to know
If you have a large number of guides or mapped fields, the sync may take a few minutes to complete.
Resync a single guide
If you've only updated one property, you can refresh that guide instead.
Go to the Guides page.
Open the guide you'd like to update.
Open the Guide Details tab.
In the Hostaway Integration section, click Edit.
Click Resync guide data.
🤝 Need Help?
If you have any questions or need help setting things up, just get in touch.
Or send us a support ticket directly from your Touch Stay account.
