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Hi everyone!

I'm working on an app similar to a booking platform, and we have the following use case: Hosts need the ability to send SMS or emails to every guest currently on-site, triggered on demand (e.g., for a weather warning). Each host has a Zapier account, and we provide the integration with our booking system.

 

We tried using a polling trigger to fetch the "guests on site" list. The idea was that the host could leave the Zap off and activate it whenever they needed to send the message. However, this solution isn't ideal. The concept of "guests on site" doesn’t work as a reliable trigger, and we also encountered deduplication issue (when the host creates the Zap, the test trigger alters the "new record" logic, which prevents emails/SMS from being sent to all records).

 

Ideally, the host could set up a trigger similar to a Zapier schedule or form submission. This would be followed by an action that retrieves all current guests on-site (currently not possible, as actions don't support returning a list of values). Finally, another action would use that data to send a bulk SMS or email.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions or workarounds for this type of scenario?

Thanks in advance!

Hi @Jimmy_RP 

It’s unclear what app/API would be used to get all the guests on site.

Also, pagination (e.g max results per page) may come into play for the app/API.

 

Requirements for sending SMS can vary…

There are SMS Zap apps that can handle delivery to a List of recipients.

OR

Individual SMS can be sent to a list of recipients by iterating.

 

Phone & SMS Zap apps category: https://zapier.com/apps/categories/phone

 

Looping by Zapier Zap app can be used to iterate thru a list but has limits of 500 max: https://zapier.com/apps/looping/help

Also, the Looping iterations run in parallel unless programmed otherwise:

 

Depending on the app being used to send the SMS rate limits may result in Zap Runs being throttled.

Hey Troy, thanks for the response.

I’m the one working on the trigger/action for our booking platform app in Zapier, and I’ve tried a couple of things so far:

  1. A Polling Trigger that pulls all guests on-site. The problem is I need some kind of user input to kick this off, like another trigger beforehand, but from what I’ve seen in the docs, that’s not how Zapier works.

  2. An Action using a GET API request to fetch all guests on-site. The issue here is Zapier actions can’t return a list (array) of guests, so it only grabs the first record.

I’m not too worried about the SMS/email part since our hosts will probably use Twilio or Mailchimp, which both have solid Zapier connectors.

Hopefully, that clears things up.

@Jimmy_RP 

If you are building a Zap app integration on the Zapier Developer Platform, then it’s best to post your topic in the Developer Zone category: https://community.zapier.com/p/developer-zone

Hey Troy,

 

That definitely makes more sense. I’ll check there. Thanks a lot!

Hi @Jimmy_RP,
 
We just wanted to see how everything is going with your Zap. Did Troy's recommendation get the job done? Feel free to reach out if you need further assistance with your Zap. We're glad to address any concerns and assist you.
 
We're looking forward to your response.

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