Investor · Walnut, CA · Member since 2015 · 19 posts · 7 votes
Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone knows how to sync Airbnb and VRBO and my own calendar so I can take real time bookings and not worry about double booking anyone? Thanks in advance for helping.
I prefer Smartbnb. It does an awesome job of integrating everything and keeping all your listings synced up. Automated messaging and market reports too
I prefer Smartbnb. It does an awesome job of integrating everything and keeping all your listings synced up. Automated messaging and market reports too
@Nancy Bachety, I've been using it with over 20 listings for 6 months now. Saves me so much time. Automated booking confirmations, check in messages. It automatically texts my cleaner and spa person when a new reservation is made and the day of a check in, and it includes how many guests and how many nights they are stay. Really awesome. Automates leaving reviews too.
@Kevin Kelsey It seems Smartbnb only supports Airbnb and I believe what Tina wants is the ability to sync the same property listing on Airbnb and VRBO etc. Am I missing something?
How to sync the Calendars between the two major platforms:
On AirBnB go to Calendar. Click advanced settings on the top right. Click export. Copy and past.
On VRBO, once the property you want has been selected click Calendar on the left or hover over it and select Reservations. Then click the button that has an up and down arrow. Select Import Calendar. Then Paste.
Then do the reverse.
VRBO Calendar on the left side then Reservations.
Click the Button that has an Up and Down arrow. Click Export. Copy and paste the URL.
Go back to AirBnB. Click Calendar. Click Advanced Settings. Click Import. Paste.
The process is basically the same with the little guys too like tripadvisor booking.com etc
I did all of that off the top of my head could be a bit off but I think I got it right.
Good Luck!
I used VRCalendarSync on my Wordpress site for a while. I thought it was the best thing I could find, even though it wasn't that great. However, I then found OwnerRez after doing extensive research. I tried Lodgify first, as it had more reviews and had been around longer. It didn't fit the bill.
@Kevin Kelsey I'm definitely interested in Smartbnb and have been reading through their website, etc. Do you think it is still as helpful for someone who gets most bookings through VRBO rather than Airbnb? Vrbo has the option for automated messages, etc. How does Smartbnb synch in with all that?
@Tina Chen@Karl Haase you don't need any outside software for this. AirBnb tells you exactly how to do it in their help articles. I actually just synced mine and it took a total of about 10 seconds. Here you go:
How do I sync my Airbnb calendar with another calendar?
If you list your space on other websites, you can prevent multiple guests from booking the same dates by syncing your Airbnb calendar with your other calendars.
Calendar importing
Calendar importing allows you to automatically keep your Airbnb calendar up to date with an external calendar that supports the iCalendar format, including Google calendar or the calendar on HomeAway or VRBO.
To import a calendar:
On airbnb.com go to Host and select Calendar
Click Availability settings in your calendar view
Under Sync calendars, select Import Calendar
Copy the URL for your other calendar into the Calendar address (URL) field
Name your calendar
Click Import calendar
If you edit an external calendar that syncs with your calendar on Airbnb, it will take a few hours for those changes to be visible to guests viewing your listing.
Calendar exporting
Calendar exporting lets you view your Airbnb calendar on an external calendar that supports the iCal format. To export your calendar in iCal format and add it to your external calendar:
On airbnb.com go to Host and select Calendar
Click Availability settings in your calendar view
Under Sync calendars, select Export Calendar
Copy and paste the Airbnb calendar link into your iCal applications
@Chase Cline- I think Tina is looking for an app that will sync both calendars together automatically. She wants to Instant Book and my doing it manually she has to physically import and export each calendar. She can't Instant Book if she has to check each calendar before importing or exporting. I am looking for something similar.
@David Schmidt. Yeah, no. What @Chase Cline said is what you want to do. I can’t believe we’re still talking about this 6 months later folks. Call customer service for whichever platform you prefer or call me if you’re having issues.
I think the issue she’s trying to fix is the ‘lag time’ between a booking on one platform to the update of another.
Frequently when I get a reservation from either vrbo or Airbnb, there’s a few hours before my auto sync catches it, leaving that window open to double booking via the other platform. I have never had a double booking happen from this but It Is theoretically possIble And theres no solution I know of.
I prefer Smartbnb. It does an awesome job of integrating everything and keeping all your listings synced up. Automated messaging and market reports too
Smartbnb is only for Airbnb right now. it does not incorporate VRBO yet.
How to sync the Calendars between the two major platforms:
On AirBnB go to Calendar. Click advanced settings on the top right. Click export. Copy and past.
On VRBO, once the property you want has been selected click Calendar on the left or hover over it and select Reservations. Then click the button that has an up and down arrow. Select Import Calendar. Then Paste.
Then do the reverse.
VRBO Calendar on the left side then Reservations.
Click the Button that has an Up and Down arrow. Click Export. Copy and paste the URL.
Go back to AirBnB. Click Calendar. Click Advanced Settings. Click Import. Paste.
The process is basically the same with the little guys too like tripadvisor booking.com etc
I did all of that off the top of my head could be a bit off but I think I got it right.
Good Luck!
be careful with these two calendars when synced. They show checkout dates in different ways. we had a problem with our cleaners when the platforms changed the way it viewed. I can't remember which is which, but one will show a check out date that is the morning after on the calendar.
I think 'import' might be misleading because it implies that it's only importing the current bookings (not future reservations). From the posts others have made is sounds like it actually links the calendars so that they automatically get updated in near real-time. Is that the case? I'm looking to add VRBO to what is currently a property listed only on Airbnb. Once I import the VRBO calendar to Airbnb and vice-versa, I should be good to from there on out, right? I don't need to periodically import the calendars to maintain synchronization?
@Aaron T. I had problems syncing between Airbnb and VRBO because Airbnb blocks nights and VRBO blocks days. I switched back to manual blocking because of this issue but, then I only have one property that I need to sync.
Both platforms can be buggy when it comes to instant booking. VRBO once allowed an instant booking when I clearly had some of the dates blocked. The traveler's check-in date was open, so VRBO allowed the instant booking even though the final 2 days in the reservation were blocked. Another time, Airbnb allowed an instant booking 18 months in advance, when my settings indicated no bookings more than 12 months in advance.
Airbnb will allow me to cancel an instant booking with no penalty when an error like this happens. In fact, Airbnb will allow me to cancel an instant booking with no penalty when a misunderstanding of how their systems works occurs. I have had more difficultly with VRBO over cancelling instant bookings when an error has occurred in their programming. In fact, VRBO, in general, does not handle reports of bugs in their programming very well, at all.
@Robert Silvernagel This is exactly what I need mine to do, but from what I am reading and info I have gathered, they don't auto synch immediately. Importing each calendar on each site, obviously immediately overwrites the previous calendar therefore immediately updating the site with the new calendar, but from what "Mike V." stated above, it takes a few hours for auto-synch to update it therefor leaving a few hours open to possibly have a double booking problem.
Hey, I know this is an old post. But I just got my first Airbnb listing. My next goal is to set it up on the other platforms. Which system is everyone using to sync the calendars and manage bookings?
@Tina Chen the calendar syncing is the most basic of all STR tool functions. I'd never agree to pay $30+/mo for this. This is basic iCalendar syncing that is the same underlying format as any .ICS calendar subscription you have ever joined. Kick each if your STR platform calendars into a common Google calendar and let that be the determinant for availability for each of the channels where you can control the sync/update speed you need. Apple' iCloud, Google Calendar, and many others allow you to set the sync frequency. Just keep it less than 80 syncs/min per AirBnB's guidelines. If you faster syncs than that you've got got a problem any of us here would love to have!
Do you know of a post or site that can help explain how to sync google calendar with both airbnb and vrbo calendars automatically just using google calendar itself? I have added both to my calendar as other calendars but thats as far as i've gotten.