Automate Hotel Price Comparison with Multi-Platform Scraping and Email Reporting

This is a production-ready, end-to-end workflow that automatically compares hotel prices across multiple booking platforms and delivers beautiful email reports to users. Unlike basic building blocks, this workflow is a complete solution ready to deploy.

✨ What Makes This Production-Ready

✅ Complete End-to-End Automation Input**: Natural language queries via webhook Processing**: Multi-platform scraping & comparison Output**: Professional email reports + analytics Feedback**: Real-time webhook responses

✅ Advanced Features 🧠 Natural Language Processing for flexible queries 🔄 Parallel scraping from multiple platforms 📊 Analytics tracking with Google Sheets integration 💌 Beautiful HTML email reports 🛡️ Error handling and graceful degradation 📱 Webhook responses for real-time feedback

✅ Business Value For Travel Agencies**: Instant price comparison service for clients For Hotels**: Competitive pricing intelligence For Travelers**: Save time and money with automated research

🚀 Setup Instructions

Step 1: Import Workflow

Copy the workflow JSON from the artifact In n8n, go to Workflows → Import from File/URL Paste the JSON and click Import

Step 2: Configure Credentials

A. SMTP Email (Required) Settings → Credentials → Add Credential → SMTP

Host: smtp.gmail.com (for Gmail) Port: 587 User: your-email@gmail.com Password: your-app-password (not regular password!)

Gmail Setup: Enable 2FA on your Google Account Generate App Password: https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords Use the generated password in n8n

B. Google Sheets (Optional - for analytics) Settings → Credentials → Add Credential → Google Sheets OAuth2

Follow the OAuth flow to connect your Google account

Sheet Setup: Create a new Google Sheet Name the first sheet "Analytics" Add headers: timestamp, query, hotel, city, checkIn, checkOut, bestPrice, platform, totalResults, userEmail Copy the Sheet ID from URL and paste in the "Save to Google Sheets" node

Step 3: Set Up Scraping Service

You need to create a scraping API that the workflow calls. Here are your options:

Option A: Use Your Existing Python Script

Create a simple Flask API wrapper:

api_wrapper.py from flask import Flask, request, jsonify import subprocess import json

app = Flask(name)

@app.route('/scrape/<platform>', methods=['POST']) def scrape(platform): data = request.json query = f"{data['checkIn']} to {data['checkOut']}, {data['hotel']}, {data['city']}"

try:
    result = subprocess.run(
        ['python3', 'price_scrap_2.py', query, platform],
        capture_output=True,
        text=True,
        timeout=30
    )

Parse your script output output = result.stdout Assuming your script returns price data

    return jsonify({
        'price': extracted_price,
        'currency': 'USD',
        'roomType': 'Standard Room',
        'url': booking_url,
        'availability': True
    })
except Exception as e:
    return jsonify({'error': str(e)}), 500

if name == 'main': app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=5000)

Deploy: pip install flask python api_wrapper.py

Update n8n HTTP Request nodes: URL: http://your-server-ip:5000/scrape/booking URL: http://your-server-ip:5000/scrape/agoda URL: http://your-server-ip:5000/scrape/expedia

Option B: Use Third-Party Scraping Services

Recommended Services: ScraperAPI** (scraperapi.com) - $49/month for 100k requests Bright Data** (brightdata.com) - Pay as you go Apify** (apify.com) - Has pre-built hotel scrapers

Example with ScraperAPI: // In HTTP Request node URL: http://api.scraperapi.com Query Parameters: api_key: YOUR_API_KEY url: https://booking.com/search?hotel={{$json.hotelName}}...

Option C: Use n8n SSH Node (Like Your Original)

Keep your SSH approach but improve it:

Replace HTTP Request nodes with SSH nodes Point to your server with the Python script Ensure error handling and timeouts

// SSH Node Configuration Host: your-server-ip Command: python3 /path/to/price_scrap_2.py "{{$json.hotelName}}" "{{$json.city}}" "{{$json.checkInISO}}" "{{$json.checkOutISO}}" "booking"

Step 4: Activate Webhook

Click on "Webhook - Receive Request" node Click "Listen for Test Event" Copy the webhook URL (e.g., https://your-n8n.com/webhook/hotel-price-check) Test with this curl command:

curl -X POST https://your-n8n.com/webhook/hotel-price-check
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
-d '{ "message": "I want to check Marriott Hotel in Singapore from 15th March to 18th March", "email": "user@example.com", "name": "John Doe" }'

Step 5: Activate Workflow

Toggle the workflow to Active The webhook is now live and ready to receive requests

📝 Usage Examples

Example 1: Basic Query { "message": "Hilton Hotel in Dubai from 20th December to 23rd December", "email": "traveler@email.com", "name": "Sarah" }

Example 2: Flexible Format { "message": "I need prices for Taj Hotel, Mumbai. Check-in: 5th January, Check-out: 8th January", "email": "customer@email.com" }

Example 3: Short Format { "message": "Hyatt Singapore March 10 to March 13", "email": "user@email.com" }

🎨 Customization Options

1. Add More Booking Platforms

Steps: Duplicate an existing "Scrape" node Update the platform parameter Connect it to "Aggregate & Compare" Update the aggregation logic to include the new platform

2. Change Email Template

Edit the "Format Email Report" node's JavaScript: Modify HTML structure Change colors (currently purple gradient) Add your company logo Include terms and conditions

3. Add SMS Notifications

Using Twilio: Add new node: Twilio → Send SMS Connect after "Aggregate & Compare" Format: "Best deal: ${hotel} at ${platform} for ${price}"

4. Add Slack Integration

Add Slack node after "Aggregate & Compare" Send to #travel-deals channel Include quick booking links

5. Implement Caching

Add Redis or n8n's built-in cache: // Before scraping, check cache const cacheKey = ${hotelName}-${city}-${checkIn}-${checkOut}; const cached = await $cache.get(cacheKey);

if (cached && Date.now() - cached.timestamp < 3600000) { return cached.data; // Use 1-hour cache }

📊 Analytics & Monitoring

Google Sheets Dashboard

The workflow automatically logs to Google Sheets. Create a dashboard with:

Metrics to track: Total searches per day/week Most searched hotels Most searched cities Average price ranges Platform with best prices (frequency) User engagement (repeat users)

Example Sheet Formulas: // Total searches today =COUNTIF(A:A, TODAY())

// Most popular hotel =INDEX(C:C, MODE(MATCH(C:C, C:C, 0)))

// Average best price =AVERAGE(G:G)

Set Up Alerts

Add a node after "Aggregate & Compare": // Alert if prices are unusually high if (bestDeal.price > avgPrice * 1.5) { // Send alert to admin return [{ json: { alert: true, message: High prices detected for ${hotelName} } }]; }

🛡️ Error Handling

The workflow includes comprehensive error handling:

1. Missing Information If user doesn't provide hotel/city/dates → Responds with helpful prompt

2. Scraping Failures If all platforms fail → Sends "No results" email with suggestions

3. Partial Results If some platforms work → Shows available results + notes errors

4. Email Delivery Issues Uses continueOnFail: true to prevent workflow crashes

🔒 Security Best Practices

1. Rate Limiting Add rate limiting to prevent abuse:

// In Parse & Validate node const userEmail = $json.email; const recentSearches = await $cache.get(searches:${userEmail});

if (recentSearches && recentSearches.length > 10) { return [{ json: { status: 'rate_limited', response: 'Too many requests. Please try again in 1 hour.' } }]; }

2. Input Validation Already implemented - validates hotel names, cities, dates

3. Email Verification Add email verification before first use:

// Send verification code const code = Math.random().toString(36).substring(7); await $sendEmail({ to: userEmail, subject: 'Verify your email', body: Your code: ${code} });

4. API Key Protection Never expose scraping API keys in responses or logs 🚀 Deployment Options

Option 1: n8n Cloud (Easiest) Sign up at n8n.cloud Import workflow Configure credentials Activate

Pros: No maintenance, automatic updates Cons: Monthly cost

Option 2: Self-Hosted (Most Control) Using Docker docker run -it --rm
--name n8n
-p 5678:5678
-v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n
n8nio/n8n

Using npm npm install -g n8n n8n start

Pros: Free, full control Cons: You manage updates

Option 3: Cloud Platforms Railway.app (recommended for beginners) DigitalOcean App Platform AWS ECS Google Cloud Run

📈 Scaling Recommendations

For < 100 searches/day Current setup is perfect Use n8n Cloud Starter or small VPS

For 100-1000 searches/day Add Redis caching (1-hour cache) Use queue system for scraping Upgrade to n8n Cloud Pro

For 1000+ searches/day Implement job queue (Bull/Redis) Use dedicated scraping service Load balance multiple n8n instances Consider microservices architecture

🐛 Troubleshooting

Issue: Webhook not responding Solution: Check workflow is Active Verify webhook URL is correct Check n8n logs: Settings → Log Streaming

Issue: No prices returned Solution: Test scraping endpoints individually Check if hotel name matches exactly Verify dates are in future Try different date ranges

Issue: Emails not sending Solution: Verify SMTP credentials Check "less secure apps" setting (Gmail) Use App Password instead of regular password Check spam folder

Issue: Slow response times Solution: Enable parallel scraping (already configured) Add timeout limits (30 seconds recommended) Implement caching Use faster scraping service