A Zapier trigger is the event that takes place to start the rest of the Zap steps. There are a few options to create a trigger from a Skedda booking. Pick the one that best suits what you need!
It's crucial to pick the right start to set up the rest of the Zap with the timing and booking information needed. It will also determine if extra formatting or delay tasks are necessary in the Zap. The number of tasks done per month dictates the Zapier subscription you’ll need, so it's very important!
Skedda: New User or Internal booking created in Skedda
Trigger Event: New User Booking in Skedda or New Internal Booking in Skedda
All of the booking data comes directly from Skedda into Zapier so it is nicely parsed and no information is lost. You shouldn't need to collect any basic booking information (email, booking title) from your users through custom fields and you won't need any extra formatting steps in Zapier (like the other trigger options below).
Edits to the bookings or cancellations won’t be sent to Zapier. The Zap will start based on the first time the booking is input into Skedda. This trigger is not recommended if you or your users need to edit or cancel bookings frequently.
For actions to be done at the time of the booking, the Zap will need a delay step between the trigger and main action step.
This option works well to...
Create an invoice in Xero, Wave, Invoice Ninja, etc. every time a new bookings is made.
Send out an information request to the user if they make a booking.
Send information to the person responsible for the space of the booking.
Google Calendar: Event start in Google Calendar synced with Skedda
Trigger Event: Event Start (or End) in Google Calendar (synced from Skedda)
If paired with the speedy Google script, then this trigger has accurate booking data very close to the booking start. You would only need to enforce a short lock-in period, instead of not allowing any edits or cancelations (as compared to the Skedda trigger).
Some booking data is lost (ex. booking holder email, organization, and user tags). This can instead be collected through custom fields in Skedda and parsed with the Zapier formatter tool.
Other booking data is grouped together (ex. Booking holder, title, and spaces are put together in the Google Calendar event summary).
This option works well to...
Send a reminder email or text very close to the booking start.
Unlock a door at the time of the booking (ex. with Kisi e-locks)
Send a review request once the booking has finished.
Outlook: Event start in Outlook Calendar synced with Skedda
Trigger: Calendar Event Start in Outlook or Microsoft Office 365
This trigger is fairly similar to the Google Calendar event start, but with these differences:
Most data is preserved and already parsed from the Skedda booking.
The booking holder name and email is in the attendee section of the Outlook event. This would not need to be collected through a custom field (as compared to the Google Calendar trigger).
We have experienced a slow sync time between Skedda and Outlook. This unfortunately can’t be changed like in Google calendar through a script. It's best to test out the sync time with your own account and determine a Skedda lock-in period to ensure the correct booking information is in Outlook when the Zap is triggered.
Other Calendar Apps
There are a few other calendar apps in Zapier that would likely sync with Skedda through the iCal feed link, but these triggers haven’t been tested.
Next steps
Once you've chosen the best trigger for your Zap based on timing, the number of delay or formatting tasks required, and whether or not you will allow edits or cancelations in Skedda then you can move onto the main Zap actions!