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Hostelworld automation · runs hourly

Answer Hostelworld guest chats with an AI agent

Guests with the Hostelworld app write before arrival: what time is check-in, can I leave my bag, how do I get here from the station. Each message waits under Chats in Inbox until someone at reception has a free minute between check-ins.

Cotlet does it in your own Hostelworld account with list_chats, get_chat and send_chat_message, called by your AI agent, an n8n workflow or a script.

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Hosted · nothing to install or maintain

Official options

Can Hostelworld do this on its own?

Hostelworld has no API for Property Chat (checked 12 Oct 2026). Chats are read and answered only in Inbox. When the property cannot reply right away, Hostelworld sends the guest one fixed message saying chat availability is limited; the Property Chat FAQ says properties cannot customize it, and it describes no saved replies.

By hand

How you do it in Hostelworld today

  1. Opt in first: in Hostelworld Inbox, click Chats and follow the steps to switch Property Chat on.
  2. Hostelworld emails chat alerts to the property's Booking Email, as a 5-minute roundup of unread messages or one daily summary, chosen in Chat Settings.
  3. Open Chats in Inbox, click each conversation with unread messages, read the thread and type the answer. Property Chat takes text only, so a map or a house rules PDF cannot be attached.
  4. Questions about prices, availability, cancellations or changing the booking are meant for the regular booking tools, not for Property Chat.
  5. The same few questions arrive every day, and a chat left until after check-out can no longer be answered, because Hostelworld makes it read-only.

With an agent

How to answer Hostelworld guest chats with an AI agent

Prompt 

Read unread Hostelworld guest chats. Answer questions about check-in time, luggage storage and directions with our standard texts, and leave anything about dates, refunds or prices for me.
  1. 01

    Read the whole thread, not the last line

    The agent pulls the chats with unread guest messages from list_chats, then opens each one with get_chat. A last line like "and for my friend too?" only makes sense with the message before it.

  2. 02

    Answer only from texts you approved

    You give the agent your standard answers once: check-in hour, late arrival bell, luggage room, the walk from the station. The agent replies only when a question matches one of them and fits it to the guest's booking, for example mentioning the late bell when the guest arrives after 22:00.

  3. 03

    Hand over what chat is not for

    Requests to change dates, cancel, get a refund or a better price are not answered with a promise. The agent tells the guest these go through their Hostelworld booking and puts the chat on your list.

  4. 04

    Skip chats that are already closed

    If get_chat shows the conversation turned read-only after check-out, nothing is sent. The agent reports it, so you know which guest went without an answer.

  5. 05

    Send after your OK, or on its own later

    Every send_chat_message call asks you first by default. Once the standard answers have gone out right a few times, you can switch confirmation off and let the agent run every hour during reception hours.

What you get back

Example data 

Unread chats: 6
Check-in time answered: Lena M. (412-306001245), Tom R. (412-306002877), Aiko S. (412-306003310)
Luggage storage answered: Diego P., arriving 14 Oct at 09:00, bag room from 08:00
For you: Marta K. wants to move her stay from 15 to 17 Oct; told her date changes go through her Hostelworld booking
Not sent: chat with Ben O. is read-only, he checked out on 11 Oct

Other ways to ask

  • Every hour from 08:00 to 22:00, answer unread Hostelworld chats about check-in, luggage and directions, and leave the rest for me.
  • Message tomorrow's arrivals who have the Chat option with our directions from the train station.
  • Show me every chat from the last week where a guest asked about a refund or a date change.

Before you automate it

What Hostelworld allows, and what to know first

  • Hostelworld Property Chat works only after the property opts in under Chats in Inbox, and it is switched off again in Chat Settings.
  • Only guests with a confirmed reservation who use the Hostelworld iOS app can chat, and for those bookings the property sees a Chat option in Inbox.
  • A Hostelworld chat is open from the confirmed booking until check-out and becomes read-only after that.
  • After a property turns Hostelworld Property Chat off, past conversations stay visible for up to 90 days.
  • Hostelworld Property Chat shows the property only the guest's name and booking reference, never payment details.

send_chat_message asks for your OK by default. To run it hourly without you, switch confirmation off for that tool in your dashboard.

Sources: Hostelworld Help: Property Chat in Inbox FAQ

REST

Call send_chat_message from a script

curl 

curl https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/hostelworld/send_chat_message \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"chat_id":"ch_77a2","body":"Hi! Check-in opens at 14:00. You can leave your bag in our luggage room from 08:00. After 22:00, ring the bell at the side door."}'

Example response 

{
  "chat_id": "ch_77a2",
  "status": "sent",
  "sent_at": "2026-10-09T15:10:00+02:00"
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the tool is hostelworld_send_chat_message. Example data.

Schedule it in n8n, Make, Zapier or cron

Tools

Hostelworld tools this automation uses

Cotlet Hostelworld tools used to answer Hostelworld guest chats with an AI agent
Tool Parameters
list_chats unread_only, limit, cursor
get_chat chat_id
send_chat_message chat_id, booking_ref, body
All 15 Hostelworld tools with descriptions

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