Connecting to Booking and Airbnb (calendar)

What it is

The Calendar sync screen in the website administration. It links your availability with portals such as Booking.com, Airbnb or Expedia.

It is part of the Standard plan and above.

Why you need it

If you also sell through the portals, there is a risk that two guests buy the same room for the same dates. Linking the calendars is meant to prevent that.

It works in two directions - set up both

Without both it does not work properly. Without the import you cannot see what is occupied on the portal. Without the export the portal cannot see your direct reservations and will keep accepting more.

Import - pulling availability from the portal

1. On Booking, Airbnb or Expedia find the calendar synchronisation and copy the link to your calendar. The address ends in .ics.
2. In the left menu open Calendar sync.
3. Click Add source.
4. Paste the copied address into the iCal address (URL) field.
5. Fill in the Source name - for example "Booking.com - Apartment 1".
6. Choose the Portal and the Scope (the whole property or a specific room).
7. Click Save source.

Dates occupied on the portal are blocked with you automatically. Synchronisation runs roughly every 15 minutes, or immediately with the Sync now button.

For every source you see the Last sync and the number of blocks.

Export - sending your reservations to the portal

1. In the Calendar export block you will find an address for each room separately.
2. Click Copy next to the room you want to link.
3. On Booking or Airbnb paste it as an external calendar to import, for that room type.

Your direct reservations are then blocked on the portal as well.

The export address becomes available only once your website address is set up - see Your website address.

The original combined address

If you already have an older combined address in place that blocks dates in all rooms at once, you can keep it. For a new link use the address of the specific room - it is more precise.

Synchronisation is not instant

The portals download your calendar at their own intervals - typically tens of minutes to hours. That is not a fault, it is how it works.

That is exactly why conflicts arise.

Date conflicts

What it is

The same dates are occupied with you and on the portal. It arises when two guests manage to book the same thing before the portal downloads your calendar.

How you find out about it

In three ways at once:

• A red panel at the top of the Calendar sync screen.
• The bell in the website administration.
• An e-mail.

The conflict stays open until you mark it as resolved.

You will also find reservations with a conflict in the reservations list under the Conflicts filter.

How to resolve it

We can detect a reservation on a portal, but not cancel it. You have to do that in the portal's own interface.

1. Open the conflict panel. It shows your reservation and what is occupied on the portal.
2. Decide: cancel one of the two reservations, or move the guest to another free room.
3. Carry it out - with you using the Open reservation button, on the portal using Open portal.
4. When it is done, click Mark as resolved.

If the situation resolved itself in the meantime - for example you changed the dates or cancelled the reservation - the system notices and says the overlap no longer exists.

Only mark a conflict as resolved once it really is resolved. The record is hidden from the list.

Deleting a source

Deleting a source also deletes the blocks that were imported from it. The dates are freed up with you.

Common problems

The Calendar sync item has a padlock. It is part of the Standard plan and above.

I do not have the export address available. It will be available once your website address is set up - the calendar runs on your address.

Synchronisation reports an error. Check that the .ics address is still valid. The portals change them from time to time. Copy it again and save.

Synchronisation reports "Adresa smeruje do internej siete". We only accept public internet addresses. Addresses such as localhost, 127.0.0.1 or addresses from a home or company network are rejected - this is a security measure. Use the address the portal gave you (Booking.com, Airbnb and similar); that one is always public.

The dates were not blocked on the portal. The portal downloads your calendar at its own interval. Wait a while. If it does not happen even after several hours, check that you pasted the export address into the right room.

I keep getting conflicts. Check that you have both the import and the export set up, for all the rooms you sell on the portals.

I deleted a source and the dates were freed up. That is how it should be - the blocks from that source were deleted along with it.