Migration guide
Switch from Beds24 to FrontDesk
Beds24 lets you choose the columns of its booking export: pick arrival, departure, guest name, email, phone and room, and FrontDesk maps them on upload.
1. Export from Beds24
- In Beds24, open the bookings list and set the arrival range from today onwards.
- Exclude cancelled bookings (status filter) before downloading.
- Choose the columns to export: first name, last name, email, phone, room, unit, arrival, departure, adults, children, notes. Download as CSV.
- Accounts with several properties: export one property at a time.
Menu names change between Beds24 versions and plans; if yours differ, look for the reservation list or report with an export button. We have no commercial relationship with Beds24.
2. Import into FrontDesk
Upload the file in Import. FrontDesk detects the Beds24 format from the headers and pre-fills the mapping below; you can still change any column before confirming.
first nameguest first namelast nameguest last nameemailguest emailphonemobileunitunit nameroomroom namearrivalfirst nightdeparturenum adultadultsnum childchildrennotesguest commentscommentspricetotal priceHeaders are matched without regard to capitals or extra spaces; where several are listed, the first one found is used.
Specific to Beds24
- • The Beds24 CSV is recognised from its own headers (Book Id, Num Adult, Referer…); cancelled rows are skipped from the status column.
- • Beds24 separates room types from units. If you sell several identical units, export the unit name or number too and map that column to Room, so each booking lands on the right FrontDesk room.
- • Custom booking questions and invoice items stay in Beds24; copy anything you need into the notes column before exporting.
How the import behaves
- Create your rooms in FrontDesk first. The room column must match a FrontDesk room name exactly (case does not matter); a row whose room is not found is skipped and listed with the reason.
- Arrival and departure are required, as is a guest name (first, last or full). Dates with a time ("03/10/2026 14:00") and local day/month orders are converted automatically.
- Guests are de-duplicated by email, then by first + last name, so a repeat guest keeps a single profile.
- A row that overlaps an existing booking on the same room is refused, so importing the same file twice does not create duplicates.
- Formats: .xlsx, .xls or .csv, first sheet, one reservation per row, headers in the first row.
- Nothing is written until you confirm: you see the detected preset, the column mapping (editable) and a preview of the first rows.
What does not migrate
The import brings guests and reservations. Everything else stays in Beds24 or is set up again:
- Rate plans and seasons: the stay total comes across when the export has a price column (mapped to Stay total, read as an amount in your property currency), but rate plans, seasons and payment history do not. Rebuild rates in FrontDesk for new bookings.
- Payments, deposits and stored card tokens: tokens belong to the old PMS's payment provider and cannot be moved. Deposits already taken stay in your old payment account; note them on the reservation.
- Folios, invoices and historical charges: FrontDesk starts its own invoice series. Keep the old PMS export (or its invoice PDFs) for accounting and tax retention.
- Reservation status and source: every imported row becomes a confirmed reservation with source "Import Excel". Rows whose status column says cancelled or no-show are dropped automatically; checked-out past stays should be filtered out before upload, or they come in as confirmed.
- Guest ID documents, nationality and date of birth: only name, email and phone are imported for the guest profile.
- Channel manager mappings and OTA connections: reconnect in FrontDesk through Channex (two-way, a separate subscription) or iCal feeds, and map room types again.
- Rooms, room types, rate plans, restrictions, users, housekeeping history and reports: set these up in FrontDesk; the import only creates guests and reservations.
And if you ever leave FrontDesk: Settings → Data export downloads your reservations, guests, invoices and payments as Excel or CSV, for one property or the whole group, on every plan. No ticket, no fee, no waiting.
How long it takes
Small property (up to ~20 rooms)
30–60 minutes
Create rooms, export future reservations, import (cancelled rows are skipped). Most of the time goes into rooms and rates, not the file.
Mid-size hotel (20–150 rooms)
Half a day
Same steps; export by month or quarter so any refused rows are easy to fix, and reconnect channels on the switch-over day.
Large hotel or group
About a day per property
The import runs on the property you have open, so do one property at a time: start with a pilot property, check the planner against the old PMS, then repeat. Channel reconnection and staff logins take longer than the import itself.
Estimates for the whole switch, not measurements: the file import itself takes minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Beds24 is also my channel manager. What replaces it?
FrontDesk connects two-way to OTAs through Channex (a separate subscription) or syncs availability via iCal. Switch channels on the same day as the import so no booking falls in between.
Why move from Beds24 at all?
Beds24 is powerful but configured through hundreds of settings. FrontDesk trades that for a planner, check-in and invoices a new receptionist learns in an afternoon, at one flat monthly price per property rather than per room.
Can I test the import before I commit?
Yes. The 14-day trial needs no credit card and includes the import: create a couple of rooms, upload a real export and look at the result in the planner. The demo at /demo shows a sample hotel with no sign-up at all.
Try the import with your own Beds24 file
The demo runs on a sample hotel with no forms or sales calls; the 14-day trial needs no credit card.