P
AI for Hotel Front Desk Agent

Zapier Automation: New Review → AI Draft → Your Inbox

Tools:Zapier, ChatGPT API, Gmail
Time to build:60-90 minutes
Difficulty:Intermediate-Advanced
Prerequisites:Comfortable with ChatGPT for review responses (Level 3) — see Level 3 guide: "Set Up a Review Response System with ChatGPT"

What This Builds

Instead of manually checking TripAdvisor and Google Business every day for new reviews, then opening ChatGPT, crafting a prompt, and copying the response — this automation does the first three steps for you automatically. When a new Google Business review appears, Zapier detects it, sends it to ChatGPT for a draft response, and delivers that draft directly to your Gmail inbox. You review it, approve it (or lightly edit it), and post it. The total time you spend goes from 15-20 minutes per review to 2-3 minutes.

By the end of this build:

  • New Google reviews automatically trigger a workflow
  • ChatGPT generates a brand-appropriate draft response
  • The draft arrives in your inbox within minutes of the review posting
  • You post the response directly — no starting from scratch

Prerequisites

  • Free Zapier account at zapier.com (free tier allows this automation)
  • Google Business Profile access (your hotel must be verified on Google)
  • OpenAI API key (requires a ChatGPT API account, different from regular ChatGPT — costs pennies per use)
  • Gmail account for the hotel's inbox
  • Comfortable using ChatGPT for reviews (Level 3)

The Concept

Zapier is like a workflow connector — it watches for "triggers" (something that happens) and then runs "actions" (things to do). Think of it as setting up a rule: "Whenever X happens, automatically do Y."

In this case: Trigger = New Google review appears → Action 1 = Send to ChatGPT API for a draft → Action 2 = Email the draft to yourself.

You don't need to write code. Zapier is drag-and-click.

Build It Step by Step

Part 1: Set Up Your Zapier Account and Trigger

  1. Go to zapier.com and create a free account
  2. Click + Create Zap (a "Zap" is one automation)
  3. In the Trigger section, search for Google My Business
  4. Select trigger event: New Review
  5. Connect your Google account that manages your hotel's Google Business Profile
  6. Select your hotel's business location
  7. Click Test Trigger — Zapier will pull in a recent review to confirm the connection works

What you should see: Zapier shows a real recent review from your Google Business profile (star rating, review text, reviewer name).

Troubleshooting: If you don't see your hotel in the location list, verify you're logged in with the Google account that has admin access to the Google Business Profile.

Part 2: Set Up the OpenAI API Key

The ChatGPT API (the version Zapier connects to) requires a separate API key from the regular ChatGPT website.

  1. Go to platform.openai.com
  2. Sign in (or create an account — different from regular chat.openai.com)
  3. Click your profile icon → API Keys
  4. Click Create new secret key — name it "Zapier Hotel Reviews"
  5. Copy and save this key somewhere safe (you'll only see it once)
  6. Add a payment method to your OpenAI account — each review response costs approximately $0.01-0.03 (one to three cents)

Part 3: Add the ChatGPT Action

Back in Zapier:

  1. Click + to add an action step
  2. Search for OpenAI (GPT-4 & DALL-E) and select it
  3. Choose action event: Send Prompt
  4. Connect your OpenAI API key
  5. In the Prompt field, type your review response template. Use Zapier's dynamic fields to insert the actual review text:
Copy and paste this
Write a professional, empathetic hotel response to this guest review on behalf of [YOUR HOTEL NAME]. Keep it under 100 words. Be warm but professional — not defensive. For positive reviews: thank them specifically. For negative reviews: acknowledge the issue and invite them to contact us.

Guest name: {{Reviewer Name}}
Star rating: {{Rating}}
Review text: {{Review Text}}

End with: "We hope to welcome you back — [Your Name], [Your Hotel Name]"

In Zapier, {{Reviewer Name}}, {{Rating}}, and {{Review Text}} are dynamic fields that Zapier fills in from the actual review data automatically.

  1. Set Model to gpt-4o-mini (cheapest and fast for this task)
  2. Click Test Action — you should see ChatGPT generate a draft response based on the test review

Part 4: Add the Email Action

  1. Add another action: Gmail → Send Email

  2. Connect your Gmail account

  3. Configure the email:

    • To: your work email address
    • Subject: New Review Draft: {{Rating}} stars from {{Reviewer Name}}
    • Body:
      Copy and paste this
      NEW REVIEW RECEIVED:
Rating: {{Rating}} stars
Reviewer: {{Reviewer Name}}
Date: {{Review Date}}

REVIEW TEXT:
{{Review Text}}

-------
DRAFT RESPONSE (Review and post):
{{ChatGPT Response}}

-------
Post at: [link to your Google Business profile reviews]

  4. Click Test — a test email should arrive in your inbox with the review and draft response

Part 5: Turn On the Zap

Review everything looks correct. Click Publish Zap to turn it on. From this point, every new Google review will automatically generate a draft in your inbox.

Real Example: Full Workflow End-to-End

Setup: You built this Zap for The Riverside Inn and turned it on last Thursday.

Monday morning: You open your Gmail and see a subject line: "New Review Draft: 3 stars from Jennifer M."

You open the email and see:

Copy and paste this
NEW REVIEW RECEIVED:
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewer: Jennifer M.
Date: March 18, 2026

REVIEW TEXT:
"The staff was friendly and the location is great. Our room was clean but the air conditioning was extremely loud and kept us up all night. Would stay again if they fix the AC units."

DRAFT RESPONSE:
"Thank you for your kind words about our staff and location, Jennifer — we genuinely appreciate it! We're sorry the air conditioning noise disrupted your sleep. That's not the experience we want for you, and we're taking your feedback to our maintenance team to investigate. We hope you'll give us another chance to deliver a fully comfortable stay. We hope to welcome you back — Sarah, The Riverside Inn"

What you do: Read the draft — it looks good. You click the Google Business link, navigate to Jennifer's review, paste the response, and post it. Total time: 2 minutes. (Previously: 15-20 minutes.)

What to Do When It Breaks

  • Zap stopped running → Check Zapier's Task History for error messages. Most common fix: reconnect the Google Business connection (tokens expire every few months).
  • ChatGPT response sounds off → Edit the prompt in Part 3 — add more specific instructions about your hotel's voice.
  • Not getting email notifications → Check Gmail spam folder; make sure the "To" email address in Part 4 is correct.

Variations

  • Simpler version: Skip the ChatGPT step and just set up Zapier to email you when a new review appears — this alone saves the "checking multiple platforms" problem.
  • Extended version: Add Booking.com or TripAdvisor to the workflow using their respective Zapier integrations (available for business accounts on those platforms).

What to Do Next

  • This week: Build and test the Zap; confirm the first few automated drafts look right before fully relying on them
  • This month: Track time savings; share the approach with your manager as a model for the team
  • Advanced: Connect TripAdvisor (Zapier integration available for TripAdvisor Business accounts) using the same workflow structure

Advanced guide for hotel front desk professionals. Requires Zapier free account, OpenAI API key (~$0.01-0.03 per review), and Gmail.