When a Checkfront booking ends in a status you pick, Reviewflowz asks the guest for a review. The review that comes back is matched to that guest and their booking.
How it works
A booking's end time passes in Checkfront.
Within the hour, Reviewflowz reads the booking and its guest.
If the booking is in a status you ticked, the request goes out after your delay.
The guest's review is matched to the booking.
What triggers a request
Trigger | When it fires | Who is asked |
Booking ended with status | The booking's end time passes, in a status you ticked | The guest on the booking |
The trigger is on from the moment you connect and feeds one request, Checkfront review requests. Your statuses come straight from Checkfront, including any you renamed or added under Manage > Layout > Statuses. Reserved, Deposit and Paid are ticked to start with. Tick any status of your own that means the tour went ahead.
The guest is asked by the email and phone on the booking. Bookings made by a partner or reseller, and GetYourGuide bookings, are never asked. When the guest is in the EU, the UK or Switzerland, they're asked by email, and only when they ticked the newsletter box on your booking form.
Bookings that ended before you connected are imported so their reviews still match. Nobody is messaged for those.
Connect Checkfront
You connect with an application you create in Checkfront. It takes a few minutes:
Plan. API access comes with Checkfront's paid plans, not with a trial, at no extra cost: Checkfront's pricing lists API access with no additional fees.
Who. An Admin on your Checkfront account creates the application.
Type. Reviewflowz connects through a Token application.
In Checkfront, open Manage, then Developer, and click New Application in the upper left. Name it Reviewflowz, choose Token as the authentication type, accept the terms and click Create. Click the new application to see its API Key and API Secret. Your other applications, such as Zapier or your website, keep working as they are. Checkfront's guide to its developer tools shows the same screens.
Checkfront shows the three values Reviewflowz asks for, your Checkfront URL, API Key and API Secret, like this:
In Reviewflowz, open Integrations, go to the Automate Review Requests tab and click the Checkfront card. If you already have an integration connected there, click Connect another integration first. Fill in:
Checkfront URL: the address you sign in to Checkfront at, such as tidewaterkayak.checkfront.com.
API Key and API Secret, from the application you created.
Click Connect Checkfront. The connection takes your business's name from Checkfront, and your statuses fill What triggers a review request.
Pick the location your bookings belong to
Under Locations, choose the Reviewflowz location in Bookings belong to. Every request from this Checkfront account points guests at that location's review profiles. Tidewater Kayak Tours picks its own location. With one location in Reviewflowz, it's picked for you.
Set up the request
Timing. A booking counts from its end, and your delay comes on top. Tidewater emails 3 hours after the tour, then sends a reminder 3 days later with the subject "One more thing about your paddle, {{first_name}}". Up to 3 messages, and follow-ups stop once a guest clicks, reviews or unsubscribes.
Channel. Email, SMS or WhatsApp, set per message.
Message. Tidewater's From name is "Tidewater Kayak Tours", the Subject "How was the water, {{first_name}}?", which Avery Lindqvist reads as "How was the water, Avery?", and the Button text "Review your tour". Try yours with Send myself a test.
Direct reviews to. Smart routing gives one button, and your goal for reviews decides which site it opens. Tidewater aims for as many Google and Tripadvisor reviews as possible. Show all options on the email lists every site instead.
Turn it on
Open Checkfront review requests and click Turn requests on. The Syncing panel's Asking guests whose booking ended after shows the day you connected.
When a booking is cancelled or changes status
If a booking is cancelled, voided or moved to a status you haven't ticked, such as a no-show, before its request goes out, the request is withdrawn. Move it back to a ticked status and the request returns.
See what it brings back
Every review is matched to the guest and the Checkfront booking it came from, so you know which booking earned it. The Requests page counts Contacts, Requests, Clicked CTA, Matched and Stopped, and lists each guest with the state of their request. The CRM Integration widget under Reports > Dashboard tracks requests, links clicked and reviews matched from Checkfront.
Good to know
Keep the Reviewflowz application in Checkfront. If Checkfront stops accepting its key, the card turns red. Create a new application under Manage, then Developer, and enter its API Key and API Secret with Enter new credentials. Your statuses and request stay as they are.
The Syncing panel counts guests who can't be asked, such as a guest with no email or phone. They're still kept, so a review from that guest is matched by name.
A business with several Checkfront accounts connects each one, and each gets its own request, named after the account.
Disconnect stops the checks and withdraws every request that hasn't gone out.
