Do you have an app, tool, or product you want to integrate with Cloudbeds' hotel management software?

That's great! This article will take you through the process we have in place for our technology partners, from initial request to going fully live with the integration.

Check out our most up-to-date API documentation to understand the opportunities and requirements for integrating with Cloudbeds.

Integration Stages

1. Partnership and Planning

To request a partnership, complete our form: Become a Partner. Our Partnerships team will review your application and reach out to learn more. We do our best to respond to every request right away; our response time will depend on the number of partnership requests currently in our queue. Requests are answered in the order they are received.

After we have a chance to review your application and understand the opportunity for a mutually beneficial partnership, we will share our Connectivity Agreement for signature. This standardized agreement outlines our basic requirements/expectations for all API partners. In order to protect both parties, partnership opportunities may also require signature of our mutual nondisclosure agreement (NDA).

Once the necessary agreements have been signed, we'll proceed with API Onboarding steps.

2. Getting Ready For Development

Once ready to start development and/or testing on your end, we'll create a partner account that will include API credentials and a test account with dummy data.

Note: You can request a partner test account from [email protected] before initiating a partnership discussion and review. This will allow you to test the integration prior to your Partnership Review (section 1).

Please see the Certification Call section below that covers the points that will be verified during certification.

Additional API functionality needed by partners is reviewed and added to our development pipeline when possible. While we do our best to accommodate feature requests, we cannot provide a set target date for delivery of new features.

3. In Development

During the Development phase you will have access to:

• Cloudbeds partner & test account. Before certification, your app can only connect to your test account.
• Partner-level API credentials
• Developer support via email
  • Support is provided through email. Response time is 1-2 business days
  • Phone and live chat are currently not offered for dev support

Make sure to follow our Changelog! We'll keep you up to date with the changes on our API.

4. Getting Ready for Certification

Once the integration from your side is completed, there will be a short certification call to run through some simple scenarios and verify everything works as expected.
The following must be submitted before a certification call can be scheduled:

• URL of your app Support Article.
• App content and Images are submitted to your partner account on the App Details page and settings are reviewed.
  • Please review App Details Content Requirements
  • Please ensure that only required permission scopes are selected.
• Submit your Marketing Material Here. Please submit complete and high-quality, check out our Partner Marketing Requirements to understand what's required from you and what we'll provide in regards to the promotion of the integration.

5. Certification Call

The following 3 mandatory points will be verified during the certification call, which will take 60 minutes approximately, during this time we will share with you a test account so you can show us from a user perspective the connection and integration functionality, we will be recording the certification call, please do not hesitate to request the video recording. If you decide to implement optional points 4 and 5, those will also be covered:

1. Authentication - We'll be checking how you implemented the implemented authentication method in your production environment. The preferred authentication method is based on API keys. If you use the API key automatic delivery method or OAuth 2.0., your redirect URI must be HTTPS and the connection process should be fully automated. You'll be connecting your app account to a new Cloudbeds account. We'll provide the credentials on the call.
2. User Authorization Flow Options- You will be showing the end-user (property owner) flow to see all of the functionality of the integration.
   1. We'll be covering mandatory requirements corresponding to your app category, please refer to our Use Cases (Blueprints)
   2. If an active data pull is involved, make sure your system has a method to run this during the call.
   3. All of the API calls you're using, both mandatory and optional must be showcased.
3. Connecting & Disconnecting Apps- Your app integration should correctly handle having an API session/connection canceled by a user inside Cloudbeds. You'll have to disconnect the app and reconnect again.
   1. We will test with a test property in Island 1 and a second test property in Island 2.
   2. Account Creation(Optional)- If using the Cloudbeds API to create a new account in your software, make sure that you can validate the data pulled during the call.
   3. Supporting Group Accounts (Optional) - If your app supports group users we'll verify if your app can correctly parse data from multiple property accounts e.g: Property select menu, UI designation for the property involved.

Certification outcomes

• If your app passes certification, you can begin the pilot testing.
• If your app does not pass certification, we’ll provide concrete feedback on what needs to be fixed. After those fixes are implemented, another certification call can be scheduled.

Please make sure you have 5 properties that would be interested in being your test pilot (see Pilot Testing phase details below). We try our best to provide test properties but we can't guarantee it.

6. Pilot Testing

In this stage, your app is only available for a select number of pilot properties. This process is typically a two/four weeks period but can vary depending on whether any additional fixes are needed. We require 5 pilot test properties in order to proceed with going live.

Pilot testing outcomes

• If no issues are encountered, then your app leaves the closed beta pilot and is available for all users as an open beta.
• If mild issues are encountered, they can be fixed without returning to the test account. Example: Unexpected formatting, excessively high polling intervals.
• If severe issues are encountered, the partner is provided with concrete feedback on what to fix and returns to their test environment. Once the issues are fixed, a new call can be scheduled to re-certify the app. Example: Data corruption, broken API calls/authentication paths.

Dev support is provided within 1 business day. There is no support on the weekends, however, no issues should arise over the weekend since Cloudbeds policy is not to release anything to the live environment on Fridays. Live chat and phone are not available.

7. Live: Maintenance and Support

Congratulations! Your app has officially launched for all Cloudbeds users. Property owners across the world are now able to utilize your technology to improve their daily lives.

Maintenance

In case you'd like to develop new integration features or do any kind of maintenance work, let us know and we'll provide you with a separate set of test API credentials. Any major change will require a certification call and Knowledge base article updates.

Support expectations and process

• You are expected to solve any urgent issues reported by the end user or Cloudbeds support the same working day (day after or Monday if holiday or weekend).
• You are expected to provide responses to onboarding and customer service questions (concerning integration) within 24 hours.
• In case of issues for which you need developer support from Cloudbeds please send your request to [email protected] and we will respond within 24 hours (day after or Monday if holiday or weekend). Provide us with as many details as possible (e.g. X-request-ID, methods, request and response, results, error messages) this will speed up our investigation.
• A while back, we added the key X-Request-ID in the HTTP Response Header. We highly encourage you to include this ID anytime you submit a service request including the Request and Response so we can provide you with quicker and more accurate support.

Going forward you are expected to keep up with the customer support quality outlined above. Cloudbeds support won't be able to investigate the integration for the mutual customers.

• Up to 2 violations result in a written warning.
• Up to 5 violations result in the withdrawal of the app from the app directory. Keeping active sessions working.
• Up to 10 violations result in terminating the app (integration). Canceling all active sessions.

8. Re-Certification

Once the integration is live and certified, in some scenarios a re-certification will be required, specifically when you require new write permission scopes. If you’re planning to add new features please get in touch with us at [email protected] and we'll help schedule everything.

• At this point, we can offer up to 2 additional sets of API credentials for your various environments (test, dev, staging). Send us the redirect URI for each new API Credentials set that you want linked to your partner dev account.
• Please specify the functionality that you’re planning to implement, corresponding methods, and its permission scopes.
• During development you’ll have access to change permission scopes for your additional API credentials, you’ll find those within your App Details Page. Please review Use Cases (Blueprints) and let us know if any questions.
• Once you’re ready to re-certify we’ll arrange a call so you’ll be able to demo the new functionality on your production environment linked to your Dev, Test or Staging API credentials. During the call, we will provide you with a test account to be used where you can show us how the new features integrate with Cloudbeds.
• After the re-certification call is passed, we’ll enable permission scopes within your production API Credentials and update relevant documentation as required.
• Please update the integration functionality within your support article when new features have been added and provide us with updated Marketing Content if you need our integrations page to be updated https://www.cloudbeds.com/integrations/ (e.g. branding changes)
• Occasionally, if you require new permission scopes to read data, a re-certification call will not be needed, please contact us to confirm or for any other questions.

Have more questions? Send an email to [email protected].

1. Follow our Change log for any updates on our API. If you have any suggestions or API enhancement requests, you can let us know in [email protected].
2. During development we expect you to respond to us regularly and set clear expectations on the progress you've made. It's okay to postpone or take more time, as long as you keep us in the loop.
3. Please don't promote or advertise the integration with Cloudbeds until the Pilot Testing phase is completed, as explained above.