Use bulk host import when you need to prepare and invite a large banquet or event host roster (for example, 140 hosts for a gala) without entering each person one at a time.
This is separate from a table's Hosts tab described in Tables and Seating. Bulk import works at the event level: it creates or updates event host membership records, then lets you send invitations to many of them at once.
From an event's host import screen, download the CSV template. It includes columns for:
First name
Last name
Phone
Seat goal
Table numbers (a host can have zero, one, or several tables assigned)
Upload a filled-in CSV to preview it. Previewing does not create, update, or invite anyone, it only classifies each row so you can review before committing.
Each row is normalized (names, emails, and phone numbers are cleaned up) and matched against your existing contacts, using the normalized email first. Confidential client-only records are excluded from matching, so a host row can never be silently linked to a client-only record.
Every row is marked with one of these actions:
Create - no matching contact or membership was found; a new contact and host membership will be created.
Match - the row matched an existing contact who does not yet have a membership for this event.
Update draft - the row matches an existing draft membership for this event and will update it instead of creating a duplicate.
Duplicate - the row repeats another row in the same file, or the person already has an active membership for this event.
Error - the row is missing required information or otherwise cannot be processed (for example, no usable email).
Before committing, staff can deselect any row or correct the file and re-upload. Only rows you leave selected are committed.
Committing processes each selected row in its own transaction. If one row fails, it does not discard or block the other valid rows in the same batch, valid rows are still created or updated, and the bad row is reported as an error.
After committing, you can download a results file that includes:
The membership ID created or updated for each successful row.
Any row-level errors for rows that failed.
Once host memberships exist (from a bulk import or created individually), select multiple rows to run a batch action:
Send invitations - sends invitations to selected draft memberships.
Resend invitations - resends to selected pending or failed memberships and rotates the invitation token, so old invitation links stop working.
Revoke - revokes selected memberships after a confirmation step.
Each batch action reports queued, sent, failed, and skipped counts, along with row-level results. If some rows in a batch fail (for example, a host with no email on file), the result never reports blanket success, the partial failure is called out so staff know which rows still need attention.
Batch actions are safe to retry: resending or re-running a batch action does not create duplicate invitations or duplicate outreach for rows that already succeeded.
Tables and Seating - for table-level host and guest records after hosts are assigned to tables.
Fundraising Events Overview - for how the event hub sidebar and event records work together.
