How to connect Claude to Little Hotelier (MCP, step by step)

Little Hotelier doesn't offer an MCP server of its own (as of October 2026), but you can still connect Claude to it through Hotelier Tools, which runs one for your property. In Claude, open Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector, paste https://dashboard.hotelier.tools/api/mcp, sign in to Hotelier Tools and press Allow access. Claude can then answer questions from your live bookings and, if you let it, make changes.

New to the idea? Read what an MCP server is first. It takes three minutes.

What you need before you start

Hotelier Tools reads your data with your property's own Little Hotelier login. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by SiteMinder, Little Hotelier or Anthropic.

How to connect Claude to Little Hotelier (claude.ai and Claude Desktop)

This is the recommended route. You sign in with your browser, so there is no key to copy. These steps follow Anthropic's current instructions for Free, Pro and Max accounts.

1. Open claude.ai or the Claude Desktop app and go to Customize → Connectors. Some screens still call it Settings → Connectors.
2. Click Add custom connector (on some accounts: + Add, then Add custom connector).
3. Name it Hotelier Tools and paste the MCP server URL: https://dashboard.hotelier.tools/api/mcp
4. If Claude asks how people sign in, choose Sign in now. If it asks for an OAuth client, choose Register automatically: the Hotelier Tools server supports this automatic registration. If you only see Advanced settings, leave them empty.
5. Click Add, then Connect. A Hotelier Tools window opens.
6. Sign in to Hotelier Tools. On Authorize MCP access, pick the property (only if you have several) and press Allow access.

demo.hotelier.tools/oauth/authorize

7. Start a new chat, click +, open Connectors and check that Hotelier Tools is switched on.
8. Ask a first question (examples below). Claude shows which tool it wants to use and asks before running it.

The sign-in lasts 30 days. After that, Claude asks you to connect again.

On a Team or Enterprise plan

An Owner adds the connector once: Organization settings → Connectors → Add → Custom → Web, with the same URL. Each colleague then opens Customize → Connectors, finds Hotelier Tools with the Custom label and clicks Connect. Each connection signs in to Hotelier Tools separately, and Claude acts with the permissions of the login used.

In the mobile app

According to Anthropic, a connector you set up on claude.ai or Claude Desktop is also available in Claude for iOS and Android. Adding one directly from your phone is still in beta, so do the setup on a computer.

Using an API key instead of signing in

Most people should use the sign-in above. An API key is useful when you want access that does not expire after 30 days, or a client that cannot do the browser sign-in.

1. In Hotelier Tools, open Developer → API & MCP → API Keys (/developer/api-keys).
2. Under "Generate a new key", type a name such as claude-desktop and press Generate key.
3. Copy it now. The page warns: "Copy this key now — it will not be shown again." Keys start with htk_.

demo.hotelier.tools/developer/api-keys

On claude.ai, some organizations see a Request headers section in the connector dialog. Anthropic marks it as beta and only available to a limited set of organizations. If you have it, choose No sign-in, add the authorization header and enter Bearer htk_YOUR_API_KEY (with the word Bearer and a space).

In Claude Desktop, the config file (Settings → Developer → Edit Config) is meant for servers that run on your own computer. Anthropic's docs say remote servers are added through Connectors. The Hotelier Tools MCP Setup page shows a url + headers snippet; if Claude Desktop ignores it, the usual workaround is the free community bridge mcp-remote, which needs Node.js installed. This is a typical configuration that we have not tested in every Claude Desktop version:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hotelier-tools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://dashboard.hotelier.tools/api/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${HT_AUTH}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "HT_AUTH": "Bearer htk_YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Save the file and fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. The header is written without a space after the colon on purpose: the mcp-remote docs explain that Claude Desktop on Windows can mangle spaces in arguments.

API key or sign-in: which should you use?

Both work the same way once connected: Claude acts as the person who signed in or created the key, on one property, with that person's current permissions.

What to ask Claude first

Start with questions that only read. Mentioning "Hotelier Tools" helps Claude pick the right connector instead of searching the web.

Claude can combine answers too: "Make a table of next week's arrivals with unpaid balances and draft a polite payment reminder for each" works well. The drafts stay in Claude; nothing is sent.

What can Claude do with your hotel data, and how do you keep it safe?

The Hotelier Tools MCP server offers Claude more than 100 hotel tools, always limited by your permissions.

It can read: reservations and guests, payments, invoices and invoice readiness, rates and availability, competitor prices and price recommendations with their reasons, automated-check issues, the do-not-rebook list, the waitlist, scheduled tasks and the property facts read from Little Hotelier.

It can change, when Claude calls the tool: reservation details (first a proposal with before/after, then an apply step that needs confirmed: true), payment records, enrollment for the invoice at checkout, prices from the recommendations, channel stop sell, waitlist entries and scheduled tasks.

It cannot do anything irreversible: those tools are blocked for Claude and every other outside client. For example, it cannot:

• email an invoice to a guest
• issue a refund
• file the INE survey
• send team invitations
• email a guest invoice link
• answer a Booking.com guest question
• run the waitlist check that messages guests

Those stay in the Hotelier Tools dashboard chat, behind an approval card. Claude also cannot see other properties, go beyond your permissions, or do anything Little Hotelier itself would refuse.

Write actions: how to keep Claude safe

Five habits keep that safe:

1. Keep approvals on for write tools. In Customize → Connectors → Hotelier Tools, Anthropic lets you set each tool to Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked. Reading tools can be "Always allow". Leave anything that changes data on "Needs approval".
2. Block what you never use. If Claude should never touch prices, set apply_price_recommendations and set_channel_stop_sell to Blocked.
3. Read the proposal. For reservation changes, Claude first shows a before/after from propose_reservation_changes. Check the booking reference and the values before you say yes.
4. Watch for instructions hidden in text. Guest messages and websites are written by strangers. If a tool result suddenly asks Claude to do something you did not ask for, stop. Anthropic gives the same advice.
5. Know who is connected. Each connection acts as the Hotelier Tools login that created it. Revoke old ones on /developer/api-keys, and always when someone leaves.

Is my guest data sent to Anthropic?

Yes, the parts Claude reads. When Claude calls a tool, the result (guest names, dates, amounts) becomes part of your conversation and is processed by Anthropic under your plan's terms.

As of October 2026, Anthropic says its consumer-plan training data "does not include raw content from connectors… including remote and local MCP servers", unless you copy it into the chat (source). On commercial plans (Team, Enterprise, API), inputs and outputs are not used for training by default.

Guest data is personal data, and your hotel stays responsible for it. Ask Claude only for what you need, and turn the connector off in chats that do not need it.

Troubleshooting

Next steps

• Want the same in ChatGPT? Follow connect ChatGPT to Little Hotelier.
• Building reports or scripts? See Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code or the REST API guide.
• Prefer approval cards for every change? Use the built-in assistant in the dashboard.
• Everything the server offers is on the API & MCP feature page.