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Workflow Automation with PHP and Laravel

One of the more abstract concepts you'll handle when building your business is what the workflow will look like.

At its core, setting up a standardized workflow is about enabling your service providers (agents, hosts, customer service reps, administrators, and the rest of the gang) to better serve your customers.

To illustrate a very real-world example, today we'll build a PHP and Laravel webapp for finding and booking vacation properties — tentatively called Airtng.

Here's how it'll work:

A host creates a vacation property listing
A guest requests a reservation for a property
The host receives an SMS notifying them of the reservation request. The host can either Accept or Reject the reservation
The guest is notified whether a request was rejected or accepted

Learn how Airbnb used Twilio SMS to streamline the rental experience for 60M+ travelers around the world.

Workflow Building Blocks

We'll be using the Twilio REST API to send our users messages at important junctures. Here's a bit more on our API:

Sending Messages with Twilio API

Routes for handling reservations or Twilio webhooks

1<?php
2
3/*
4|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
5| Web Routes
6|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
7|
8| Here is where you can register web routes for your application. These
9| routes are loaded by the RouteServiceProvider within a group which
10| contains the "web" middleware group. Now create something great!
11|
12*/
13
14Route::get(
15    '/', ['as' => 'home', function () {
16        return response()->view('home');
17    }]
18);
19
20// Session related routes
21Route::get(
22    '/auth/login',
23    ['as' => 'login-index', function () {
24        return response()->view('login');
25    }]
26);
27
28Route::get(
29    '/login',
30    ['as' => 'login-index', function () {
31        return response()->view('login');
32    }]
33);
34
35Route::post(
36    '/login',
37    ['uses' => 'SessionController@login', 'as' => 'login-action']
38);
39
40Route::get(
41    '/logout',
42    ['as' => 'logout', function () {
43        Auth::logout();
44        return redirect()->route('home');
45    }]
46);
47
48// User related routes
49Route::get(
50    '/user/new',
51    ['as' => 'user-new', function () {
52        return response()->view('newUser');
53    }]
54);
55
56Route::post(
57    '/user/create',
58    ['uses' => 'UserController@createNewUser', 'as' => 'user-create', ]
59);
60
61// Vacation Property related routes
62Route::get(
63    '/property/new',
64    ['as' => 'property-new',
65     'middleware' => 'auth',
66     function () {
67         return response()->view('property.newProperty');
68     }]
69);
70
71Route::get(
72    '/properties',
73    ['as' => 'property-index',
74     'middleware' => 'auth',
75     'uses' => 'VacationPropertyController@index']
76);
77
78Route::get(
79    '/property/{id}',
80    ['as' => 'property-show',
81     'middleware' => 'auth',
82     'uses' => 'VacationPropertyController@show']
83);
84
85Route::get(
86    '/property/{id}/edit',
87    ['as' => 'property-edit',
88     'middleware' => 'auth',
89     'uses' => 'VacationPropertyController@editForm']
90);
91
92Route::post(
93    '/property/edit/{id}',
94    ['uses' => 'VacationPropertyController@editProperty',
95     'middleware' => 'auth',
96     'as' => 'property-edit-action']
97);
98
99Route::post(
100    '/property/create',
101    ['uses' => 'VacationPropertyController@createNewProperty',
102     'middleware' => 'auth',
103     'as' => 'property-create']
104);
105
106// Reservation related routes
107Route::post(
108    '/property/{id}/reservation/create',
109    ['uses' => 'ReservationController@create',
110     'as' => 'reservation-create',
111     'middleware' => 'auth']
112);
113
114Route::post(
115    '/reservation/incoming',
116    ['uses' => 'ReservationController@acceptReject',
117     'as' => 'reservation-incoming']
118);

Let's boldly go to the next step! Hit the button below to begin.

User and Session Management

Our workflow will require allowing users to create accounts and log-in in order to attempt to reserve properties.

Each User will need to have a phone_number which will be required to send SMS notifications later.

User table migration

database/migrations/2014_10_12_000000_create_users_table.php

1<?php
2
3use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
4use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
5
6class CreateUsersTable extends Migration
7{
8    /**
9     * Run the migrations.
10     *
11     * @return void
12     */
13    public function up()
14    {
15        Schema::create('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
16            $table->increments('id');
17            $table->string('name');
18            $table->string('email')->unique();
19            $table->string('password', 60);
20            $table->string('phone_number');
21            $table->string('country_code');
22            $table->rememberToken();
23            $table->timestamps();
24        });
25    }
26
27    /**
28     * Reverse the migrations.
29     *
30     * @return void
31     */
32    public function down()
33    {
34        Schema::drop('users');
35    }
36}

Next up, we will create a table that represents a Vacation Rental property.

Vacation Property

We're going to need a way to create the property listings for Airtng to be a success.

The VacationProperty model belongs to a User who created it (we'll call this user the host moving forward) and contains only two properties: a description and an image_url.

It has two associations: it has many reservations and many users through those reservations.

VacationProperty table migration

database/migrations/2015_10_23_193814_create_vacation_properties_table.php

1<?php
2
3use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
4use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
5
6class CreateVacationPropertiesTable extends Migration
7{
8    /**
9     * Run the migrations.
10     *
11     * @return void
12     */
13    public function up()
14    {
15        Schema::create('vacation_properties', function (Blueprint $table) {
16            $table->increments('id');
17            $table->integer('user_id')->unsigned();
18            $table->foreign('user_id')
19                  ->references('id')->on('users')
20                  ->onDelete('cascade');
21            $table->string('description');
22            $table->string('image_url');
23
24            $table->timestamps();
25        });
26    }
27
28    /**
29     * Reverse the migrations.
30     *
31     * @return void
32     */
33    public function down()
34    {
35        Schema::drop('vacation_properties');
36    }
37}

Next at the plate: how we will model a reservation.

Our Reservation Model

The Reservation model is at the center of the workflow for this application. It is responsible for keeping track of:

The guest who performed the reservation
The vacation_property the guest is requesting (and associated host)
The status of the reservation: pending, confirmed, or rejected

Since the reservation can only have one guest in this example, we simplified the model by assigning phone_number directly to the model (but you'll want to move it out).

Reservations table migration

database/migrations/2015_10_23_194614_create_reservations_table.php

1<?php
2
3use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
4use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
5
6class CreateReservationsTable extends Migration
7{
8    /**
9     * Run the migrations.
10     *
11     * @return void
12     */
13    public function up()
14    {
15        Schema::create('reservations', function (Blueprint $table) {
16            $table->increments('id');
17            $table->string('status')
18                  ->default('pending');
19            $table->string('respond_phone_number');
20            $table->text('message');
21            $table->integer('vacation_property_id')->unsigned();
22            $table->foreign('vacation_property_id')
23                  ->references('id')->on('vacation_properties')
24                  ->onDelete('cascade');
25            $table->integer('user_id')->unsigned();
26            $table->foreign('user_id')
27                  ->references('id')->on('users')
28                  ->onDelete('cascade');
29
30            $table->timestamps();
31        });
32    }
33
34    /**
35     * Reverse the migrations.
36     *
37     * @return void
38     */
39    public function down()
40    {
41        Schema::drop('reservations');
42    }
43}

Our tables are ready, now let's see how we would create a reservation.

Reservation Creation

The reservation creation form holds only a single field: the message that will be sent to the host user when reserving one of her properties.

The rest of the information necessary to create a reservation is taken from the user that is logged into the system and the relationship between a property and its owner.

A reservation is created with a default status pending, so when the host replies with a confirm or reject response the system knows which reservation to update.

Create a new reservation

app/Http/Controllers/ReservationController.php

1<?php
2namespace App\Http\Controllers;
3use Illuminate\Http\Request;
4use App\Http\Requests;
5use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
6use Illuminate\Contracts\Auth\Authenticatable;
7use App\Reservation;
8use App\User;
9use App\VacationProperty;
10use Twilio\Rest\Client;
11use Twilio\TwiML\MessagingResponse;
12
13class ReservationController extends Controller
14{
15    /**
16     * Store a new reservation
17     *
18     * @param  \Illuminate\Http\Request  $request
19     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
20     */
21    public function create(Client $client, Request $request, Authenticatable $user, $id)
22    {
23        $this->validate(
24            $request, [
25                'message' => 'required|string'
26            ]
27        );
28        $property = VacationProperty::find($id);
29        $reservation = new Reservation($request->all());
30        $reservation->respond_phone_number = $user->fullNumber();
31        $reservation->user()->associate($property->user);
32
33        $property->reservations()->save($reservation);
34
35        $this->notifyHost($client, $reservation);
36
37        $request->session()->flash(
38            'status',
39            "Sending your reservation request now."
40        );
41        return redirect()->route('property-show', ['id' => $property->id]);
42    }
43
44    public function acceptReject(Request $request)
45    {
46        $hostNumber = $request->input('From');
47        $smsInput = strtolower($request->input('Body'));
48
49        $host = User::getUsersByFullNumber($hostNumber)->first();
50        $reservation = $host->pendingReservations()->first();
51
52        $smsResponse = null;
53
54        if (!is_null($reservation))
55        {
56            if (strpos($smsInput, 'yes') !== false || strpos($smsInput, 'accept') !== false)
57            {
58                $reservation->confirm();
59            }
60            else
61            {
62                $reservation->reject();
63            }
64
65            $smsResponse = 'You have successfully ' . $reservation->status . ' the reservation.';
66        }
67        else
68        {
69            $smsResponse = 'Sorry, it looks like you don\'t have any reservations to respond to.';
70        }
71
72        return response($this->respond($smsResponse, $reservation))->header('Content-Type', 'application/xml');
73    }
74
75    private function respond($smsResponse, $reservation)
76    {
77        $response = new MessagingResponse();
78        $response->message($smsResponse);
79
80        if (!is_null($reservation))
81        {
82            $response->message(
83                'Your reservation has been ' . $reservation->status . '.',
84                ['to' => $reservation->respond_phone_number]
85            );
86        }
87        return $response;
88    }
89
90    private function notifyHost($client, $reservation)
91    {
92        $host = $reservation->property->user;
93
94        $twilioNumber = config('services.twilio')['number'];
95        $messageBody = $reservation->message . ' - Reply \'yes\' or \'accept\' to confirm the reservation, or anything else to reject it.';
96
97        try {
98            $client->messages->create(
99                $host->fullNumber(), // Text any number
100                [
101                    'from' => $twilioNumber, // From a Twilio number in your account
102                    'body' => $messageBody
103                ]
104            );
105        } catch (Exception $e) {
106            Log::error($e->getMessage());
107        }
108    }
109}

Let's take a look at how the SMS notification is sent to the host when the reservation is created.

Notify the Host

When a reservation is created for a property, we want to notify the owner of that property that someone has requested a reservation.

This is where we use Twilio's Rest API to send an SMS message to the host, using our Twilio phone number. Sending SMS messages using Twilio takes just a few lines of code.

Now we just have to wait for the host to send an SMS response to 'accept' or 'reject', notify the guest, and update the reservation.

Notify the host of a new reservation request

app/Http/Controllers/ReservationController.php

1<?php
2namespace App\Http\Controllers;
3use Illuminate\Http\Request;
4use App\Http\Requests;
5use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
6use Illuminate\Contracts\Auth\Authenticatable;
7use App\Reservation;
8use App\User;
9use App\VacationProperty;
10use Twilio\Rest\Client;
11use Twilio\TwiML\MessagingResponse;
12
13class ReservationController extends Controller
14{
15    /**
16     * Store a new reservation
17     *
18     * @param  \Illuminate\Http\Request  $request
19     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
20     */
21    public function create(Client $client, Request $request, Authenticatable $user, $id)
22    {
23        $this->validate(
24            $request, [
25                'message' => 'required|string'
26            ]
27        );
28        $property = VacationProperty::find($id);
29        $reservation = new Reservation($request->all());
30        $reservation->respond_phone_number = $user->fullNumber();
31        $reservation->user()->associate($property->user);
32
33        $property->reservations()->save($reservation);
34
35        $this->notifyHost($client, $reservation);
36
37        $request->session()->flash(
38            'status',
39            "Sending your reservation request now."
40        );
41        return redirect()->route('property-show', ['id' => $property->id]);
42    }
43
44    public function acceptReject(Request $request)
45    {
46        $hostNumber = $request->input('From');
47        $smsInput = strtolower($request->input('Body'));
48
49        $host = User::getUsersByFullNumber($hostNumber)->first();
50        $reservation = $host->pendingReservations()->first();
51
52        $smsResponse = null;
53
54        if (!is_null($reservation))
55        {
56            if (strpos($smsInput, 'yes') !== false || strpos($smsInput, 'accept') !== false)
57            {
58                $reservation->confirm();
59            }
60            else
61            {
62                $reservation->reject();
63            }
64
65            $smsResponse = 'You have successfully ' . $reservation->status . ' the reservation.';
66        }
67        else
68        {
69            $smsResponse = 'Sorry, it looks like you don\'t have any reservations to respond to.';
70        }
71
72        return response($this->respond($smsResponse, $reservation))->header('Content-Type', 'application/xml');
73    }
74
75    private function respond($smsResponse, $reservation)
76    {
77        $response = new MessagingResponse();
78        $response->message($smsResponse);
79
80        if (!is_null($reservation))
81        {
82            $response->message(
83                'Your reservation has been ' . $reservation->status . '.',
84                ['to' => $reservation->respond_phone_number]
85            );
86        }
87        return $response;
88    }
89
90    private function notifyHost($client, $reservation)
91    {
92        $host = $reservation->property->user;
93
94        $twilioNumber = config('services.twilio')['number'];
95        $messageBody = $reservation->message . ' - Reply \'yes\' or \'accept\' to confirm the reservation, or anything else to reject it.';
96
97        try {
98            $client->messages->create(
99                $host->fullNumber(), // Text any number
100                [
101                    'from' => $twilioNumber, // From a Twilio number in your account
102                    'body' => $messageBody
103                ]
104            );
105        } catch (Exception $e) {
106            Log::error($e->getMessage());
107        }
108    }
109}

Let's see how we would handle incoming messages from Twilio and accept or reject reservations.

Handle Incoming Messages

We're zoomed in for a closer look at the acceptReject method. This method handles our incoming Twilio request and does three things:

Checks for a pending reservation from the incoming user
Updates the status of the reservation
Responds to the host and sends a notification to the guest

Accept or reject a reservation logic

app/Http/Controllers/ReservationController.php

1<?php
2namespace App\Http\Controllers;
3use Illuminate\Http\Request;
4use App\Http\Requests;
5use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
6use Illuminate\Contracts\Auth\Authenticatable;
7use App\Reservation;
8use App\User;
9use App\VacationProperty;
10use Twilio\Rest\Client;
11use Twilio\TwiML\MessagingResponse;
12
13class ReservationController extends Controller
14{
15    /**
16     * Store a new reservation
17     *
18     * @param  \Illuminate\Http\Request  $request
19     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
20     */
21    public function create(Client $client, Request $request, Authenticatable $user, $id)
22    {
23        $this->validate(
24            $request, [
25                'message' => 'required|string'
26            ]
27        );
28        $property = VacationProperty::find($id);
29        $reservation = new Reservation($request->all());
30        $reservation->respond_phone_number = $user->fullNumber();
31        $reservation->user()->associate($property->user);
32
33        $property->reservations()->save($reservation);
34
35        $this->notifyHost($client, $reservation);
36
37        $request->session()->flash(
38            'status',
39            "Sending your reservation request now."
40        );
41        return redirect()->route('property-show', ['id' => $property->id]);
42    }
43
44    public function acceptReject(Request $request)
45    {
46        $hostNumber = $request->input('From');
47        $smsInput = strtolower($request->input('Body'));
48
49        $host = User::getUsersByFullNumber($hostNumber)->first();
50        $reservation = $host->pendingReservations()->first();
51
52        $smsResponse = null;
53
54        if (!is_null($reservation))
55        {
56            if (strpos($smsInput, 'yes') !== false || strpos($smsInput, 'accept') !== false)
57            {
58                $reservation->confirm();
59            }
60            else
61            {
62                $reservation->reject();
63            }
64
65            $smsResponse = 'You have successfully ' . $reservation->status . ' the reservation.';
66        }
67        else
68        {
69            $smsResponse = 'Sorry, it looks like you don\'t have any reservations to respond to.';
70        }
71
72        return response($this->respond($smsResponse, $reservation))->header('Content-Type', 'application/xml');
73    }
74
75    private function respond($smsResponse, $reservation)
76    {
77        $response = new MessagingResponse();
78        $response->message($smsResponse);
79
80        if (!is_null($reservation))
81        {
82            $response->message(
83                'Your reservation has been ' . $reservation->status . '.',
84                ['to' => $reservation->respond_phone_number]
85            );
86        }
87        return $response;
88    }
89
90    private function notifyHost($client, $reservation)
91    {
92        $host = $reservation->property->user;
93
94        $twilioNumber = config('services.twilio')['number'];
95        $messageBody = $reservation->message . ' - Reply \'yes\' or \'accept\' to confirm the reservation, or anything else to reject it.';
96
97        try {
98            $client->messages->create(
99                $host->fullNumber(), // Text any number
100                [
101                    'from' => $twilioNumber, // From a Twilio number in your account
102                    'body' => $messageBody
103                ]
104            );
105        } catch (Exception $e) {
106            Log::error($e->getMessage());
107        }
108    }
109}

In order to route an SMS messages to and from the host, we need to setup Twilio webhooks. The next pane will show you the way.

Handle Incoming Twilio Requests

This method handles the Twilio request triggered by the host's SMS and does three things:

Checks for a pending reservation from a user
Updates the status of the reservation
Responds to the host and sends a notification to the user

Setting Up Incoming Twilio Requests

In the Twilio console, you should change the 'A Message Comes In' webhook to call your application's endpoint in the route /reservation/incoming:

One way to expose your machine to the world during development is to use ngrok. Your URL for the SMS web hook on your phone number should look something like this:

1http://<subdomain>.ngrok.io/reservation/incoming
2

An incoming request from Twilio comes with some helpful parameters. These include the From phone number and the message Body.

We'll use the From parameter to look up the host and check if they have any pending reservations. If they do, we'll use the message body to check for the message 'accepted' or 'rejected'. Finally, we update the reservation status and send an SMS to the guest telling them the host accepted or rejected their reservation request.

TwiML Response

In our response to Twilio, we'll use Twilio's TwiML to command Twilio to send an SMS notification message to the host.

Finding a reservation from an incoming Twilio request

app/Http/Controllers/ReservationController.php

1<?php
2namespace App\Http\Controllers;
3use Illuminate\Http\Request;
4use App\Http\Requests;
5use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
6use Illuminate\Contracts\Auth\Authenticatable;
7use App\Reservation;
8use App\User;
9use App\VacationProperty;
10use Twilio\Rest\Client;
11use Twilio\TwiML\MessagingResponse;
12
13class ReservationController extends Controller
14{
15    /**
16     * Store a new reservation
17     *
18     * @param  \Illuminate\Http\Request  $request
19     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
20     */
21    public function create(Client $client, Request $request, Authenticatable $user, $id)
22    {
23        $this->validate(
24            $request, [
25                'message' => 'required|string'
26            ]
27        );
28        $property = VacationProperty::find($id);
29        $reservation = new Reservation($request->all());
30        $reservation->respond_phone_number = $user->fullNumber();
31        $reservation->user()->associate($property->user);
32
33        $property->reservations()->save($reservation);
34
35        $this->notifyHost($client, $reservation);
36
37        $request->session()->flash(
38            'status',
39            "Sending your reservation request now."
40        );
41        return redirect()->route('property-show', ['id' => $property->id]);
42    }
43
44    public function acceptReject(Request $request)
45    {
46        $hostNumber = $request->input('From');
47        $smsInput = strtolower($request->input('Body'));
48
49        $host = User::getUsersByFullNumber($hostNumber)->first();
50        $reservation = $host->pendingReservations()->first();
51
52        $smsResponse = null;
53
54        if (!is_null($reservation))
55        {
56            if (strpos($smsInput, 'yes') !== false || strpos($smsInput, 'accept') !== false)
57            {
58                $reservation->confirm();
59            }
60            else
61            {
62                $reservation->reject();
63            }
64
65            $smsResponse = 'You have successfully ' . $reservation->status . ' the reservation.';
66        }
67        else
68        {
69            $smsResponse = 'Sorry, it looks like you don\'t have any reservations to respond to.';
70        }
71
72        return response($this->respond($smsResponse, $reservation))->header('Content-Type', 'application/xml');
73    }
74
75    private function respond($smsResponse, $reservation)
76    {
77        $response = new MessagingResponse();
78        $response->message($smsResponse);
79
80        if (!is_null($reservation))
81        {
82            $response->message(
83                'Your reservation has been ' . $reservation->status . '.',
84                ['to' => $reservation->respond_phone_number]
85            );
86        }
87        return $response;
88    }
89
90    private function notifyHost($client, $reservation)
91    {
92        $host = $reservation->property->user;
93
94        $twilioNumber = config('services.twilio')['number'];
95        $messageBody = $reservation->message . ' - Reply \'yes\' or \'accept\' to confirm the reservation, or anything else to reject it.';
96
97        try {
98            $client->messages->create(
99                $host->fullNumber(), // Text any number
100                [
101                    'from' => $twilioNumber, // From a Twilio number in your account
102                    'body' => $messageBody
103                ]
104            );
105        } catch (Exception $e) {
106            Log::error($e->getMessage());
107        }
108    }
109}

In the last step, we'll respond to Twilio's request with some TwiML instructing it to send an SMS to both the host and guest.

TwiML Response

After updating the reservation status, we must notify the host that they have successfully confirmed or rejected the reservation. If the host has no pending reservation, we'll instead return an error message.

If we're modifying a reservation, we'll also send a message to the user who requested the rental delivering the happy or sad news.

We use the Message verb from TwiML to instruct Twilio to send two SMS messages.

Respond to a user with reservation status

app/Http/Controllers/ReservationController.php

1<?php
2namespace App\Http\Controllers;
3use Illuminate\Http\Request;
4use App\Http\Requests;
5use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
6use Illuminate\Contracts\Auth\Authenticatable;
7use App\Reservation;
8use App\User;
9use App\VacationProperty;
10use Twilio\Rest\Client;
11use Twilio\TwiML\MessagingResponse;
12
13class ReservationController extends Controller
14{
15    /**
16     * Store a new reservation
17     *
18     * @param  \Illuminate\Http\Request  $request
19     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
20     */
21    public function create(Client $client, Request $request, Authenticatable $user, $id)
22    {
23        $this->validate(
24            $request, [
25                'message' => 'required|string'
26            ]
27        );
28        $property = VacationProperty::find($id);
29        $reservation = new Reservation($request->all());
30        $reservation->respond_phone_number = $user->fullNumber();
31        $reservation->user()->associate($property->user);
32
33        $property->reservations()->save($reservation);
34
35        $this->notifyHost($client, $reservation);
36
37        $request->session()->flash(
38            'status',
39            "Sending your reservation request now."
40        );
41        return redirect()->route('property-show', ['id' => $property->id]);
42    }
43
44    public function acceptReject(Request $request)
45    {
46        $hostNumber = $request->input('From');
47        $smsInput = strtolower($request->input('Body'));
48
49        $host = User::getUsersByFullNumber($hostNumber)->first();
50        $reservation = $host->pendingReservations()->first();
51
52        $smsResponse = null;
53
54        if (!is_null($reservation))
55        {
56            if (strpos($smsInput, 'yes') !== false || strpos($smsInput, 'accept') !== false)
57            {
58                $reservation->confirm();
59            }
60            else
61            {
62                $reservation->reject();
63            }
64
65            $smsResponse = 'You have successfully ' . $reservation->status . ' the reservation.';
66        }
67        else
68        {
69            $smsResponse = 'Sorry, it looks like you don\'t have any reservations to respond to.';
70        }
71
72        return response($this->respond($smsResponse, $reservation))->header('Content-Type', 'application/xml');
73    }
74
75    private function respond($smsResponse, $reservation)
76    {
77        $response = new MessagingResponse();
78        $response->message($smsResponse);
79
80        if (!is_null($reservation))
81        {
82            $response->message(
83                'Your reservation has been ' . $reservation->status . '.',
84                ['to' => $reservation->respond_phone_number]
85            );
86        }
87        return $response;
88    }
89
90    private function notifyHost($client, $reservation)
91    {
92        $host = $reservation->property->user;
93
94        $twilioNumber = config('services.twilio')['number'];
95        $messageBody = $reservation->message . ' - Reply \'yes\' or \'accept\' to confirm the reservation, or anything else to reject it.';
96
97        try {
98            $client->messages->create(
99                $host->fullNumber(), // Text any number
100                [
101                    'from' => $twilioNumber, // From a Twilio number in your account
102                    'body' => $messageBody
103                ]
104            );
105        } catch (Exception $e) {
106            Log::error($e->getMessage());
107        }
108    }
109}

Congratulations! We've just automated a rental workflow with Twilio's Programmable SMS, and now you're ready to add it to your own application.

Next, let's take a look at some other features you might like to add.

What to Next?

PHP + Twilio? Excellent choice! Here are a couple other tutorials for you to try:

Click To Call

Put a button on your web page that connects visitors to live support or salespeople via telephone.

Automated Survey

Instantly collect structured data from your users with a survey conducted over a voice call or SMS text messages.