diff --git a/contrib/inventory_builder/inventory.py b/contrib/inventory_builder/inventory.py
index d030d3a22..50096ee05 100644
--- a/contrib/inventory_builder/inventory.py
+++ b/contrib/inventory_builder/inventory.py
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 # Add range of hosts: inventory.py 10.10.1.3-10.10.1.5
 # Add hosts with different ip and access ip:
 # inventory.py 10.0.0.1,192.168.10.1 10.0.0.2,192.168.10.2 10.0.0.3,192.168.1.3
+# Add hosts with a specific hostname, ip, and optional access ip:
+# inventory.py first,10.0.0.1,192.168.10.1 second,10.0.0.2 last,10.0.0.3
 # Delete a host: inventory.py -10.10.1.3
 # Delete a host by id: inventory.py -node1
 #
@@ -44,7 +46,8 @@ import sys
 ROLES = ['all', 'kube-master', 'kube-node', 'etcd', 'k8s-cluster',
          'calico-rr']
 PROTECTED_NAMES = ROLES
-AVAILABLE_COMMANDS = ['help', 'print_cfg', 'print_ips', 'print_hostnames', 'load']
+AVAILABLE_COMMANDS = ['help', 'print_cfg', 'print_ips', 'print_hostnames',
+                      'load']
 _boolean_states = {'1': True, 'yes': True, 'true': True, 'on': True,
                    '0': False, 'no': False, 'false': False, 'off': False}
 yaml = YAML()
@@ -79,7 +82,7 @@ class KubesprayInventory(object):
             try:
                 self.hosts_file = open(config_file, 'r')
                 self.yaml_config = yaml.load(self.hosts_file)
-            except FileNotFoundError:
+            except OSError:
                 pass
 
         if changed_hosts and changed_hosts[0] in AVAILABLE_COMMANDS:
@@ -194,8 +197,21 @@ class KubesprayInventory(object):
                                         'ip': ip,
                                         'access_ip': access_ip}
             elif host[0].isalpha():
-                raise Exception("Adding hosts by hostname is not supported.")
-
+                if ',' in host:
+                    try:
+                        hostname, ip, access_ip = host.split(',')
+                    except Exception:
+                        hostname, ip = host.split(',')
+                        access_ip = ip
+                if self.exists_hostname(all_hosts, host):
+                    self.debug("Skipping existing host {0}.".format(host))
+                    continue
+                elif self.exists_ip(all_hosts, ip):
+                    self.debug("Skipping existing host {0}.".format(ip))
+                    continue
+                all_hosts[hostname] = {'ansible_host': access_ip,
+                                       'ip': ip,
+                                       'access_ip': access_ip}
         return all_hosts
 
     def range2ips(self, hosts):
@@ -206,7 +222,7 @@ class KubesprayInventory(object):
                 # Python 3.x
                 start = int(ip_address(start_address))
                 end = int(ip_address(end_address))
-            except:
+            except Exception:
                 # Python 2.7
                 start = int(ip_address(unicode(start_address)))
                 end = int(ip_address(unicode(end_address)))
@@ -369,6 +385,7 @@ Advanced usage:
 Add another host after initial creation: inventory.py 10.10.1.5
 Add range of hosts: inventory.py 10.10.1.3-10.10.1.5
 Add hosts with different ip and access ip: inventory.py 10.0.0.1,192.168.10.1 10.0.0.2,192.168.10.2 10.0.0.3,192.168.10.3
+Add hosts with a specific hostname, ip, and optional access ip: first,10.0.0.1,192.168.10.1 second,10.0.0.2 last,10.0.0.3
 Delete a host: inventory.py -10.10.1.3
 Delete a host by id: inventory.py -node1
 
diff --git a/contrib/inventory_builder/tests/test_inventory.py b/contrib/inventory_builder/tests/test_inventory.py
index c6d8d96f4..b0e14b809 100644
--- a/contrib/inventory_builder/tests/test_inventory.py
+++ b/contrib/inventory_builder/tests/test_inventory.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ path = "./contrib/inventory_builder/"
 if path not in sys.path:
     sys.path.append(path)
 
-import inventory
+import inventory  # noqa
 
 
 class TestInventory(unittest.TestCase):