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Step-by-step guide · Live workshop

Build your AI
Revenue Management Agent

Follow this guide to repeat, at your own pace, what we did in the workshop: create your Houston account, connect your tools, and install the agent we shared. By the end you will have an assistant that watches the market for you.

45–60 min of setup For revenue managers and hoteliers You need a Mac or Windows computer No technical skills needed
What you will build

An agent that does your market research on its own

A "Revenue Manager" inside Houston that runs the Market Pulse skill.

You give it a city and some dates, and it checks Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, Vrbo and Hostelworld to bring you prices, availability, real demand and what guests are saying. It replaces hours of opening listing after listing and copying data by hand.

The result: a Google Sheet with 7 tabs ready for decisions:

  • Competition: every listing consolidated and normalized to a nightly rate in dollars.
  • Demand calendar: your competitors' occupancy, day by day.
  • Guest voice: what guests love (in green) and what they complain about (in red), with the link to each review.
  • Rate parity: the same property across channels and where the price gaps are.
  • Revenue actions: raise, lower or hold your rate for each date window.
  • Demand drivers: events that move the market (fairs, long weekends, concerts) with their source.
  • Summary: type in your nightly rate and it tells you where you stand against the market.
Market Pulse Google Sheet: revenue dashboard with the editable your-nightly-rate cell and the 7 tabs at the bottom
Screenshots 1 & 2The Market Pulse Google Sheet: the revenue dashboard with the editable "Your nightly rate" cell and, at the bottom, the 7 tabs.
Guest Voice tab of the Google Sheet: what guests love and what they complain about, with verbatim quotes and links to the reviews
Screenshot 3The "Guest Voice" tab: what guests love and what they complain about (your opportunities), with the verbatim quote and the link to each review.
Before you start

What you need at hand

  • A Mac or Windows computer. Houston runs on your computer, not on a phone, tablet or iPad.
  • An AI provider account: OpenAI (the ChatGPT one) is recommended for its free plan, or Anthropic. If you do not have one, you can create it free in a minute.
  • The Revenue Manager agent file. It is the same one we shared in the workshop; download it here:
    Download the agent fileRevenue-Manager.houstonagent · 26 KB
  • These links:
Ready to go?

You can open your email, you have your computer at hand and the links from this guide in view. Set aside a quiet block of time: setup takes 45–60 min, and your first Market Pulse another 20–60 min the first time.

The full route

6 steps, in order

Do them top to bottom. Each step builds on the previous one.

1Install Houston and create your account
Download and installation~10 min 2Set up Houston
Language, AI provider (OpenAI) and Composio~10 min 3Create your tool accounts
Apify and Anakin.io~10 min 4Connect the integrations in Houston
Apify MCP, Google Sheets and Anakin~10 min 5Install the agent we shared
"From a friend" → bring the agent in~5 min 6Run your first Market Pulse
Generate your 7-tab Google Sheet20–60 min
1
Step 1 of 6

Install Houston and create your account

~10 minutes
  1. Go to www.gethouston.ai.
  2. Click the download button, enter your contact details, and continue to the installer.
  3. Download the right version for your system: one for Mac and one for Windows.
  4. Open the installer and follow Next → Next → Install.
  5. Open Houston.
If you use Windows

Windows may show "Windows protected your PC". This is normal: Houston is in beta for Windows. Click More info and then Run anyway.

Windows notice: Windows protected your PC, with the Run anyway button
Screenshot 5The Windows notice. Click "More info" and "Run anyway" appears. (Windows only.)
You should see

Houston installed and open on your computer. If it seems to have "disappeared", it is minimized in the taskbar: open it again.

2
Step 2 of 6

Set up Houston

~10 minutes · you connect your AI provider and your integrations provider
  1. Choose Houston's language. Pick English (or Spanish, if you prefer).
  2. On the "A few things to know" screen (it explains that agents act on your behalf and that your files stay yours), read it and click I understand and want to continue.
    Houston screen: A few things to know, with the I understand and want to continue button
    Screenshot 6The "A few things to know" screen. At the end, click "I understand and want to continue".
  3. Connect your AI provider. Choose OpenAI (recommended) or Anthropic. Click to sign in; if you use ChatGPT, sign in with your OpenAI account. It may pass through a Codex screen: accept it. When the browser says "you can close this page", go back to Houston.
  4. Connect your integrations provider (Composio). Click Sign in → the Composio site opens → Sign in with Google or Microsoft → Authorize. Close the tab and go back to Houston.
    Houston screen: Apps connected!, with Connect your AI and Connect your apps checked and the Create my agent button
    Screenshot 8The "Apps connected!" confirmation: your AI and your apps are ready. Continue with "Create my agent".
  5. Create your first agent (Houston walks you through a mini tutorial). Name it after its role, for example Personal Assistant.
  6. When it asks, connect your email (Gmail) and let it send the first test email.
  7. Complete Take a tour of Houston.
Houston main screen unlocked: agents in the left column and the Revenue Manager board with Market Pulse missions
Screenshot 9Houston's main screen: your agents in the left column and the mission board. This is what a Revenue Manager looks like in action, with market pulses running for several cities.
If something gets stuck

If the browser says "you can close this page" and Houston does not move on, or if Composio says "something went wrong while connecting": click Try again. If it persists, close Houston and open it again.

You should see

Houston's main screen unlocks, with your agents in the left column. Your AI provider and your integrations provider are now connected.

3
Step 3 of 6

Create your tool accounts

~10 minutes · we are not connecting anything yet, just creating the accounts

These two tools give your agent "hands" to search prices and data on the web. For now just create the accounts; we connect them in Step 4.

The four workshop tools: Houston, Apify, Anakin.io and Google
The four workshop accounts: Houston and Google you already have from the previous steps; now come Apify and Anakin.io.

A · Apify: the price and data fetcher

  1. Open the Apify sign-up link. It loads 75 USD in credits automatically.
    Create my Apify accountconsole.apify.com/sign-up?couponId=HOUSTON_ROCKET
  2. Sign up.
Tip

If email sign-up fails, use "Sign in with Google".

B · Anakin.io: for the sites with no direct connection

  1. Go to www.anakin.io and sign up.
  2. Verify your email. You will see free credits (for example, "500 points").
  3. Generate your API key: in Anakin, go to the left bar, at the bottom, to API Keys → Generate New Key → give it a name (for example, "Houston").
    Anakin.io, Account settings, API Keys tab with the Generate new key button
    Screenshot 11In Anakin: Account settings → "API Keys" tab → "Generate new key" button (top right).
  4. Copy the key and store it immediately somewhere safe.
Important

Anakin will not show you the key again after you close the window. Copy it as soon as you generate it. And for safety, do not share your screen while you create it.

You should have

An Apify account and an Anakin.io account, with your Anakin API key copied and stored.

4
Step 4 of 6

Connect the integrations in Houston

~10 minutes

A · Apify (via "Apify MCP")

  1. In Houston, go to Integrations.
  2. Search for Appify. Two results appear: Apify and Apify MCP.
    Houston's Integrations section showing Apify and Apify MCP side by side, with Apify MCP as the correct option
    Screenshot 10The two results in Integrations: "Apify" and "Apify MCP" (the red box). Connect the one on the right: Apify MCP.
  3. Connect Apify MCP (you just click and sign in, no token). Confirm "is this you?" → Authorize.
Do not pick the wrong Apify

Connect Apify MCP, not the plain "Apify". The other one asks for a token and is the one that confuses people the most.

B · Google Sheets

  1. In Integrations, connect Google Sheets. (If you want to connect all of Google at once, Calendar, Docs and email included, you can use Google Super instead.)

C · Anakin.io (from the chat)

Anakin is connected from a conversation with your agent, not from the Integrations list.

  1. Open a new chat with your agent and type:
    Copy and paste into the chatI want to connect anakin.io, please help me step by step.
  2. When it asks for the key, paste it like this:
    Copy and paste, replacing with your keyThis is my key, please store it securely and connect me.
  3. Verify it is connected by typing:
    Copy and paste into the chatAre you connected to anakin.io yet?
Watch the name

It is anakin.io (with .io), not anakin.ai. If you see it trying to connect to the other one, stop the run with the stop icon (bottom right) and tell it: "the app is anakin.io".

You should have

All three integrations ready: Apify MCP, Google Sheets and Anakin.io (confirmed in the chat).

5
Step 5 of 6

Install the agent we shared

~5 minutes
  1. First download the agent file if you have not yet:
    Download the agent fileRevenue-Manager.houstonagent · 26 KB
  2. In Houston, in the left bar, click New agent.
  3. Choose From a friend → Choose file and select the agent file.
    Houston's New agent window with the From a friend option highlighted at the top
    Screenshot 12The "New agent" window: the "From a friend" option is at the top. That is where you upload the file.
  4. Houston asks "should Houston take a quick look?" Choose Yes, review it first (a recommended safety review when installing something from a third party) and wait for it to confirm it is clean.
  5. Name it (for example, Revenue Manager) and pick a color.
  6. Click Continue and keep the skills checked: Market Pulse (English), Pulso de Mercado (Spanish) and Parallel Orchestration.
  7. Keep the learnings it comes with. Houston checks the apps: it may mark Anakin as "not connected" because we connected it through the chat; that is fine, keep going.
  8. Click Bring the agent in.
Do not unzip the file

Upload the file as is, as a single file. If your computer unpacks it into several parts, the install fails. Keep it all together.

Plan B, if the import fails

If choosing the file opens a strange window (PowerShell) or it will not load, use the alternate method: drag the .txt skill files into the chat and type "these are all the skills, please install them".

If it says Apify is not connected

After installing, type in the chat: "I already have it connected through Apify MCP, please check, use that one and update my skill."

You should see

Your new Revenue Manager agent in the left column, with its instructions, skills and learnings already loaded.

6
Step 6 of 6

Run your first Market Pulse

20–60 minutes the first time
  1. Open the Revenue Manager agent and create a new mission (the + button).
  2. Select the Market Pulse skill.
  3. Type your request:
    Copy and paste, changing the cityRun a market pulse for Cartagena.
  4. The agent asks you questions before starting. Answer them: check-in and check-out dates, how many adults and children, which currency and which area. For example: "for the last week of September, two adults, in dollars, in the historic center."
  5. Let it work in stages. First it creates the empty Google Sheet and then fills each tab, pausing to ask for your feedback.
    Houston showing the Revenue Manager working in stages: rate parity, revenue actions, demand drivers and summary, with the Google Sheet link at the end
    Screenshot 13The agent working in stages: it reports as it finishes each tab and at the end leaves you the link to the completed Google Sheet.
You made it when

You have a Google Sheet with all 7 tabs filled. In the Summary tab, type your nightly rate (for example, $100) and the sheet tells you where you stand against the market.

Patience the first time

The first proper run takes 20–60 min, because you review and give feedback along the way. You can stop it anytime with the stop icon (bottom right) to correct it. Afterwards, turn it into a Routine: "make this a routine, update it every day at this time."

Extra

Make it yours

Everything is edited by talking to it in plain language, no code. Treat it like a new intern you are training.

  • Compare against your property: "Run a market pulse for Medellín, but first here is my Airbnb so you can compare it: [paste your listing link]."
  • Adjust the scope: "Drop Expedia", "do not connect to Booking", "translate your instructions to Spanish and update them."
  • Teach it from a conversation: "Review this conversation, update your skills and save what is new to your memory."
  • Connect another tool (your PMS): in the chat, "help me connect to [your PMS] step by step, explain it like I am 10 years old."
If something goes wrong

Troubleshooting

The most common stumbles from the workshop and how to fix them.

?Windows says "Windows protected your PC" and will not let me install
Click More info and then Run anyway. It happens because Houston is in beta for Windows; it is safe. If your computer is corporate and blocks every download, that is your company's security policy; write to us and we will help.
?I downloaded Houston but it will not open
Check that you downloaded the right version for your system: the Mac one does not open on Windows and vice versa. If it "disappeared", it is usually minimized in the taskbar.
?The browser says "you can close this page" and Houston stays stuck
Close Houston completely and open it again. Same if Composio says "something went wrong while connecting": click Try again or restart the app.
?I use ChatGPT, which AI provider do I pick?
Pick OpenAI (it is the company behind ChatGPT). The connection may pass through a Codex screen: accept it.
?Apify asks me for a "token"
You connected the wrong "Apify". Use Apify MCP, which only asks you to sign in, no token.
?After installing the agent, it says Apify is "not connected"
Type in the chat: "I already have it connected through Apify MCP, please check, use that one and update my skill."
?Anakin tries to connect to the wrong app
It is anakin.io (with .io), not anakin.ai. Stop the run with the stop icon and tell it: "the app is anakin.io."
?The Anakin key does not work after importing the agent
On export, the key is wiped for security. Generate a new API key in Anakin and connect it again from the chat.
?Choosing "From a friend → Choose file" opens a strange window
It is a known bug. Wait a moment in case it loads, try from a new chat, or use plan B: drag the .txt skill files into the chat and say "please install them."
?The agent says it lost the Google Sheets permission midway
Even if Integrations shows it as connected, tell it: "I just checked, it is still connected, please check my Google Sheets connection and continue." Sometimes it just needs to re-sync.
?I have many properties, does this work for my portfolio?
The agent we shared runs a general market pulse. For your portfolio, co-create your own skill in the chat: "these are my properties, pull the prices and compare them against the market."
Before you close

Your success checklist

If you can check all of this, you are done.

Stuck on a step?

Write to us and we will get you unstuck. Nobody is left without their Revenue Manager up and running.

Email [email protected]

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