ApproveThis manages your i-Reserve Integration approvals.

When Bookings Meet Business Rules

Let’s get real: most booking systems are built for customers, not your internal team. i-Reserve handles client-facing reservations like a champ, but what happens when you need human approval for complex bookings? That’s where most companies hit a wall. Managers chase email threads. Requests get buried in Slack. Finance loses track of what’s been authorized.

ApproveThis fixes that leaky approval bucket by adding structured decision-making to i-Reserve’s booking engine. Connect them via Zapier, and you’ve got an automated pipeline where every reservation requiring oversight gets:

• Automatic routing to the right approvers
• Real-time status tracking
• Enforced business rules (like budget thresholds)

No more “I thought Jessica approved that?” moments. No more double-bookings because someone forgot to update the system. Just bookings that actually comply with your policies.

Why This Combo Works (When Others Don’t)

Most approval tools force you to build workflows from scratch. ApproveThis meets i-Reserve where it matters:

Scenario: A $10k conference room booking hits i-Reserve. Your policy requires CFO sign-off for any reservation over $5k. Without ApproveThis, this becomes a game of forward-the-email-and-pray. With the integration? The request auto-routes to the CFO’s email with one-click approve/deny buttons. If they’re OOO, it jumps to their delegate. Approval happens in hours, not days.

Key differentiators:

• Approvers don’t need i-Reserve access – Clients, execs, or external partners can approve via email
• Conditional logic that actually works – Auto-approve small bookings, escalate big ones
• Two-way sync – Approved in ApproveThis? Booking status updates in i-Reserve automatically

Real Teams Using This Integration

Corporate Travel Agencies

Problem: Clients book luxury villas through i-Reserve, but need agency approval for non-standard contracts. Pre-integration, this meant manual contract reviews and missed SLAs.

Solution: i-Reserve bookings over $20k trigger ApproveThis workflows with:

- Legal team review for liability clauses
- Finance approval for payment terms
- Auto-denial if client has outstanding invoices

Result: 60% faster approvals, 100% compliance with contract policies.

University Event Departments

Problem: Student groups book auditoriums via i-Reserve, but need faculty sponsorship. Chaos ensues when 10 groups book the same space “pending approval.”

Solution: Every student booking creates an ApproveThis request routed to their department advisor. Features used:

- Sequential approvals (advisor → facilities manager)
- Automatic denials if advisor doesn’t respond in 48hrs
- i-Reserve calendar blocks until approved

Result: 80% reduction in double-bookings, faculty actually reply on time.

Three Ways to Connect the Dots

1. New Booking → Instant Approval Request

When: Any i-Reserve booking needing human review
Zapier Trigger: i-Reserve’s “New Booking”
ApproveThis Action: “Create Request”
Perfect for: High-value reservations, client discounts, or non-standard requests.

Pro Tip: Use ApproveThis’ calculated fields to auto-flag bookings that exceed budget. Example: If booking_amount > $5k, route to senior manager.

2. Pre-Approved Bookings → Auto-Confirm

When: You want approvals FIRST, booking SECOND
Zapier Trigger: ApproveThis “New Request”
i-Reserve Action: “Create Booking”
Perfect for: Internal resource scheduling (e.g., company cars, AV equipment).

Why it works: Teams request the booking in ApproveThis first. Only approved requests get added to i-Reserve, eliminating phantom reservations.

3. Approval Decision → Booking Update

When: You need to sync statuses both ways
Zapier Trigger: ApproveThis “Request Approved/Denied”
i-Reserve Action: “Update Booking”
Perfect for: Client-facing bookings where status visibility matters.

Critical Note: Map ApproveThis’ approval reasons to i-Reserve’s notes field. Now clients see “Approved with revised dates” instead of generic confirmations.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

Zapier makes this stupidly simple:

1. Create a Zap
2. Choose i-Reserve as trigger app
3. Pick ApproveThis as action app
4. Map critical fields:
- i-Reserve booking ID → ApproveThis reference ID
- Booking amount → ApproveThis calculated field
- Customer email → ApproveThis approver list
5. Test with a $0 test booking
6. Go live

Time Saver: Use ApproveThis’ pre-built templates for common i-Reserve scenarios (event bookings, equipment rentals).

Who Benefits (Besides Your Sanity)

Operations Teams

No more playing detective across inboxes and spreadsheets. Real-time dashboards show which bookings are pending, approved, or stuck. Vacation delegation ensures someone’s always covering approvals.

Finance Departments

Approval thresholds auto-reject bookings that break budget policies. Every approved request becomes an audit trail for quarterly reviews.

Customer Service

When clients ask “Is my booking confirmed?”, CSRs check i-Reserve. If it’s approved, they see the green check. If not, they nudge the approver directly in ApproveThis.

The Nutshell Version

ApproveThis + i-Reserve via Zapier is for teams who:
- Hate manual approval processes
- Need external clients/partners to approve without system access
- Are tired of “I didn’t know that was approved!” surprises

It’s not for companies where every booking gets rubber-stamped. But if compliance actually matters? This combo’s your new workflow copilot.

Next Steps

1. Register for ApproveThis (free trial available)
2. Check out i-Reserve’s Zapier docs
3. Or schedule a demo to see live examples

Either way, stop letting booking approvals derail your day. Automate the busywork, enforce your policies, and actually use that “approved” stamp for something.