Airbnb iCal

Use the Airbnb iCal connection in Settings > Channel Manager > Airbnb iCal to sync calendars with Airbnb if you can't use the certified API connection. It sends your availability to Airbnb and imports Airbnb bookings as blocked dates, without the guest's details or the price.

Tip: The API connection is much more reliable and imports full booking details. Use it if you can, see Connect Airbnb Account and Airbnb Mapping.

Quick Guide

1. In Beds24, tick Inventory and Bookings for the room and save.
2. Paste the Beds24 Airbnb Import Calendar (Inventory) URL into the Airbnb calendar import.
3. Paste the Airbnb export calendar URL into the Beds24 Airbnb Export Calendar (Bookings) setting and save.

Table of Contents

1. Capabilities and limitations
2. Before you connect
3. Export your availability to Airbnb
4. Import Airbnb bookings to Beds24
5. Troubleshooting
6. Disconnect Airbnb iCal

Capabilities and limitations

• Beds24 exports inventory, and imports bookings, modifications and cancellations.
• Airbnb only sends the blocked dates and the last four digits of the guest's phone number. The guest's name, email address and the price aren't sent.
• Airbnb doesn't send the price, so Beds24 gives the booking the minimum room price. To avoid this, set the minimum room price in Settings > Properties > Rooms > Setup back to zero.
• Prices can't be exported. Set them at Airbnb.
• Check-in and check-out dates can't be sent.
• Airbnb decides when it updates its calendar. Beds24 has no control over this, and updates may happen only once a day.
• Past bookings aren't imported. Airbnb only sends bookings up to one year ahead, so bookings further in the future can't be imported.
• A booking that is no longer in the iCal is treated as cancelled. Bookings are only cancelled automatically if they're still in the original room. If you use virtual rooms, keep bookings in the original virtual room and set the dependent room to include them in its availability calculation.
• Host notifications aren't sent for bookings imported by iCal.

For the full list, see Channel Manager Capabilities. For how iCal connections work in general, see How to setup iCal.

Before you connect

• Prices: even though prices aren't sent, Beds24 needs valid prices to send availability.
• Room types: if you have room types with a quantity above one on other channels, use the Airbnb API connection instead. To use iCal, set up virtual rooms.
• Auto Action emails: to send Auto Action emails to Airbnb guests, use the email address of your Airbnb account as the outgoing email in Settings > Account > Outgoing Email.

You need:

• the Beds24 Airbnb Import Calendar (Inventory) URL, to save in the Airbnb calendar import so Airbnb updates its calendar from Beds24
• the Airbnb export calendar URL, to save in the Beds24 Airbnb Export Calendar (Bookings) setting so Beds24 can import Airbnb bookings

Export your availability to Airbnb

1. In Settings > Channel Manager > Airbnb iCal, tick Inventory and click Save. This makes your Beds24 availability calendar available to Airbnb.
2. Log in to Airbnb and go to Manage Listing and Calendar.
3. Go to Sync with other calendars, usually a link under the calendar.
4. Click Calendar Import.
5. In Beds24, copy the Airbnb Import Calendar (Inventory) URL from the Airbnb iCal settings page.
6. Paste the Beds24 calendar URL where Airbnb asks for it.
7. Make sure the connection is activated.

Expected result: Airbnb blocks the dates that aren't available in Beds24, the next time it reads the calendar.

Warning: If Inventory isn't ticked in Beds24, Airbnb returns an error. Go back to Beds24 and tick Inventory.

Tip: If Airbnb updates your calendar too slowly, ask Airbnb for more frequent updates. If they can't, consider setting Airbnb to booking requests instead of confirmed bookings.

Import Airbnb bookings to Beds24

Note: Since 1 December 2019, Airbnb sends very limited booking information by iCal, possibly only the dates. Use the API connection to get full booking information.

1. In Settings > Channel Manager > Airbnb iCal, tick Bookings and click Save.
2. Log in to Airbnb and go to Manage Listing and Calendar.
3. Go to Sync with other calendars.
4. Copy the URL listed for Export Calendar.
5. Paste the Airbnb URL into Airbnb Export Calendar (Bookings) on the Beds24 Airbnb iCal settings page and click Save. Make sure the connection is activated.

Expected result: Airbnb bookings show in your Beds24 calendar and block the dates.

Troubleshooting

For general iCal problems, see iCal troubleshooting.

Disconnect Airbnb iCal

1. Untick Inventory and Bookings to stop the synchronisation for a room.
2. Log in to your Airbnb extranet and delete the Beds24 URL.

Related Articles

• How to setup iCal
• Connect Airbnb Account
• Airbnb