How to check for broken links on accommodation sites using AI | Protect reservations, inquiries, and maps

On official inn websites, links that were previously valid may no longer work due to changes in reservation services, page organization, or changes to SNS accounts. If the reservation button doesn’t open, you may end up losing potential guests on the spot.

However, broken links are not just “links that give 404”.If the page opens and you are redirected to another inn or notice of service termination, this is a broken line in terms of business. On the other hand, even if an AI check shows 403, a human browser may open it without any problem.

In this article, we explain a method for a host who is not familiar with IT to start with inspections that make no changes, have people verify the correct destination, and fix one item at a time using AI tools like Codex or Claude Code.

Conclusion: Proceed in the order of listing, inspection, judgment, correction, and reconfirmation.

Safe link inspection consists of the following five steps.

1. List links and pages on the site
2. Have AI check the response status and final URL in read-only mode
3. Prioritize by impact on reservations and inquiries
4. The host confirms the official destination and corrects only one item.
5. Check the modified page and destination again

Don’t ask the AI to auto-correct from the beginning. Mechanical processes such as “delete if there is an error” or “redirect to the top page if not found” may erase necessary information or send customers to unrelated pages.

Links you want to check with top priority

On the inn site, check the links that are close to sales and customer behavior.

Links to the privacy policy and information based on the Specified Commercial Transactions Law are also located in the footer, which is easy to overlook.

Determine the meaning of “link is normal”

Technically, there is a difference between the page being returned and the customer being able to achieve their goal. If it’s a reservation link, check that it can be clicked, goes to the intended domain, ultimately displays the reservation page for your facility, does not take you to the service end screen, and allows you to see the reservation start location on your smartphone.

If you use the inquiry link, not only will you be able to see the form, but someone will also check that the inn name, address, required fields, and privacy information are correct. Forms are not sent during daily automatic inspections, and actual sending/receiving tests are conducted separately by determining the frequency and the person in charge.

The HTTP number is the “entrance to the investigation”

The linked server returns a number called HTTP status in response to the access.

MDN’s HTTP status list, 200s are classified as successful, 300s as forwarding, 400s as client-side responses, and 500s as server-side responses. However, 200 means “successfully acquired” and does not guarantee that the reservation destination is correct.

Example of broken even at 200

Even if the inspection tool reports 200 OK, the following conditions are candidates for correction.

• Returned to the common top page of the reservation service and cannot find the home page
• Another inn page will be displayed.
• Only “This plan has ended” is displayed
• Changed to domain buying and selling and advertising page
• Can’t proceed to official account from SNS login screen
• The map points to another facility with a similar name
• The page text is there, but the reservation button doesn’t work.

In addition to the HTTP number, the checklist also records the final URL, page title, expected accommodation name and service name, and visual results.

Don’t assume 401 or 403 are broken links

External services may look at automatic patrols, region, cookies, JavaScript, number of accesses, etc., and reject only connections from AI and inspection tools. Don’t immediately delete the link just because the reservation page becomes 403 Forbidden.

Open it in your usual browser, a separate line on your smartphone, or the link from the official website, and then check again after some time. If necessary, please contact reservation service support. AI will not only have the role of detecting errors, but will also have the role of indicating the possibility of misjudgment.

Separate internal links from external links

Site links that move from one article to another in WordPress can be fixed by ourselves if the cause is a URL change or article deletion.

External links to reservation services, maps, SNS, tourist associations, etc. may suddenly become unusable due to changes on the other side. However, the inn cannot fix problems with external sites. We will decide whether to replace it with an official alternative URL or issue a notice until recovery.

Checklist created by AI

Create a table with the following items in a spreadsheet or Markdown.

If you know the wording of the link and the page on which it is posted, you can check the scope of influence even if the same incorrect link exists on multiple pages. Adding the “person in charge” and “confirmation basis” will make re-inspection easier at a later date.

Specify a safe inspection range first

Inform AI and link verification tools of the following limitations:

• Target only public pages
• Initially read-only
• Avoid mass access in a short period of time
• Not completing reservation, payment, or sending inquiry
• Can’t log in, manage screen, or access customer page
• Do not save personal information or temporary tokens attached to URLs
• Respect the other party’s terms of use and access restrictions
• Do not use 401, 403, 429, timeout as basis for automatic deletion

Mechanically scanning reservation forms may result in provisional reservations, stock reservations, notification emails, and access restrictions. Clarify the line between “opening a page” and “confirming an operation”.

Redirects are determined one by one.

When moving a page, there is a way to redirect from the old URL to the new URL.Generally, 301 and 308 are used for permanent relocation, while 302 and 307 are used for temporary relocation.Google Search Central redirect explanation also provides information on permanent and temporary redirection methods and search handling.

However, avoid settings that send all non-existent URLs to the top page. If there is a new page with the same content, we will forward it there, and if there is no alternative, we will modify the link source information. It does not create chains with multiple transfers or loops that go back and forth.

Practical steps to fix one issue at a time

1. Check the impact

Identify pages, menus, footers, buttons, and images that have links. If the same URL appears in multiple locations, decide which one to start with.

2. Check the official destination

Don’t make decisions based on search results alone; instead, use the management screen of the contracted service, official website, guidance emails from the provider, and support answers. Please be careful not to replace it with a facility with the same name or an unofficial SNS.

3. Let AI suggest changes

Ask the AI to create a table showing the change target, current value, proposed value, basis, and confirmation method. Do not make any changes at this stage.

4. Change only one item after backup

First, we will fix one link that has a large impact on sales. Changes to menus and common parts will be reflected on all pages, so check the scope of impact.

5. Double check on PC and smartphone

Click from the original page to check the final destination, back action, new tab behavior, and appearance. Confirmation of reservations and inquiries will only be done if there is an official testing method.

6. Record in the checklist

Date of modification, URLs before and after the modification, rationale, confirmer, and results will be recorded. You can determine “why this link” at your next inspection.

What can be left to AI, what can be decided by humans

It is important not to publish the “apparently correct URL” generated by AI without checking it. In particular, reservations, payments, phone calls, and maps are the last thing the host will check.

Request text to AI that can be used with copy and paste

List links without changing

Please check the link on the inn's public WordPress site as read-only.
Targets are top, guest room, rates, reservations, inquiries, access, and footer.

List the published page, link wording, setting URL, HTTP status, final URL, and number of transfers,
Please prioritize reservations, inquiries, phone calls, and maps.
Do not change WordPress, server, or redirect settings yet.
Please do not submit forms, confirm reservations, make payments, or log in.
Please do not access a large amount of information in a short period of time, and classify 401, 403, and 429 as requiring visual confirmation.

Sort by impact on sales

Please sort the following link inspection results by impact on inn business.
[Attach inspection list]

Priority 1 is things that stop customers from making reservations, inquiries, calls, etc.
Priority 2 should be maps, transportation, fees and regulations, and priority 3 should be Sources.
Even with HTTP 200, please leave open the possibility that the final URL or displayed content may be inappropriate.
Please do not make any corrections, but add items that should be checked by someone else.

Organize official replacement candidates

Please make a replacement proposal for the following link.
[Published page, current URL, inspection results, official information]

Please list the current URL, proposed URL, basis, confirmation source, unconfirmed items, and confirmation method after changes.
Do not rely solely on search results or accounts with the same name; anything that cannot be confirmed through official information
Please mark it as "Confirmation required".Please do not make any changes to the production yet.

Check the revised version of one item

One link has been corrected. Please make sure that only the following range is read-only.
[Revised page and old/new URL]

HTTP status of published page, link wording, new URL, final URL after transfer,
Please check the page title. Do not confirm reservations, forms or payments.
Please do not change other pages or settings, and separate items into confirmed, unconfirmed, and items that require human inspection.

Frequency of inspection

• Reservations/Inquiries/Top: Check the entrance on a daily basis using external shape monitoring
• All links on main pages: once a month or after major updates
• External tourism/transportation/SNS links: Once every 3 months
• After changing the reservation service or domain: Immediately after the change and the next day
• After updating WordPress, theme, and plugins: Performed along with publishing confirmation

Daily entrance monitoring is explained in detail in How to monitor your inn’s WordPress from the outside, and checking immediately after an article is published is explained in How to check after WordPress publication.

Please also refer to How to check information discrepancies between OTA and official website using AI to help align the information on the reservation site and the official website. If it is a site-wide failure, do not rush to make changes, but check the facts in the order of first 30 minutes after WordPress failure.

Link inspection checklist

• [ ] Priority was given to reservations, inquiries, telephone calls, and maps.
• [ ] Examined only public pages as read-only
• [ ] Checked not only HTTP status but also final URL and content
• [ ] 401, 403, and 429 are not immediately judged as broken links.
• [ ] Form submission, reservation, and payment are not executed automatically.
• [ ] I confirmed the official replacement destination from official information.
• [ ] Not performing bulk deletion or bulk transfer to top page
• [ ] Fixed each item after backup
• [ ] Clicked from PC and smartphone
• [ ] Recorded details of changes, rationale, and date of confirmation.

Summary

The important thing when checking the links of an accommodation site is not to reduce the error number to zero, but to ensure that customers can proceed without hesitation from making reservations, making inquiries, to visiting the hotel.

AI is suitable for collecting a large number of links and organizing the response status and final URL.On the other hand, it is up to humans to determine the correct reservation destination, current contract, location on the map, and information that can be made public. With the set of read-only inspection, official information confirmation, one-by-one correction, and actual click confirmation, even the host who is not familiar with IT can continue safely.

Reference materials

• HTTP response status codes（MDN Web Docs）
• Redirects and Google Search（Google Search Central）
• Monitoring（WordPress Advanced Administration Handbook）