Expanding your vacation rental presence across multiple platforms can be a game-changer for boosting bookings. However, it demands a crucial aspect: synchronising all your calendars to dodge the dreaded double bookings.

In this article, we'll dive deeper into the art of vacation rental calendar synchronisation, offering insights into various methods to ensure a seamless booking experience for you and your guests.

Navigating Calendar Sync: Your Best Options

Keeping your short-term rental calendars aligned can be approached through three main methods, or sometimes a combination of them. Let's explore each of these solutions:

1. Manually Updating: A Pragmatic Approach

For those who manually approve each booking (bypassing Instant Book), manually updating your other calendars before confirming a new reservation is an option. While this approach ensures no double bookings, it can be time-consuming and complex to manage, especially for hosts utilizing Instant Book and listing on multiple channels.

2. Leveraging iCal Sync: The Widely Supported Solution

iCalendar (iCal) is a universal file format (.ics) that facilitates the exchange of scheduling and calendaring information. It's an ideal solution supported by major platforms like Google Calendar, Apple/iOS/iCloud Calendar, and Microsoft Outlook. In the vacation rental realm, all major listing sites and OTAs utilize the iCal format, including Airbnb, Booking.com, Homeaway, Expedia, and many others.

Utilising iCal to Sync Vacation Rental Calendars:

Syncing calendars through iCal involves exporting and importing calendars between platforms. For instance, if you wish to sync Airbnb and Booking.com, you'd import your Airbnb calendar into Booking.com and vice versa. This establishes a two-way sync, creating cohesion between platforms. The process is well-documented and supported by platforms with instructions readily available.

Example of how well-synchronised calendars should work. Pic source (and a fantastic, full of examples article: https://your.rentals/blog/ical-basic-concepts-get-a-centralised-calendar/ )

3. Embracing a Vacation Rental Channel Manager: Streamlined Efficiency

The pinnacle of convenience lies in using a channel manager. This software automates the distribution of property listings across multiple booking channels - and it does it real-time, updating information between channels 24/7. Through channel managers, you can synchronize calendar availability, rates, and property details, simplifying the management of your vacation rental business.

Read below for examples of channel manager brands available on the market.

Choosing the Right Approach

Each method has its advantages and drawbacks, and your choice depends on your hosting needs and preferences. While manual updates offer control, iCal sync provides ease of use. Channel managers offer convenience, real-time syncing, and the potential for more scalable management.

Mitigating iCal's Drawbacks

Despite its convenience, iCal sync isn't without limitations. Calendars can take several hours to update, potentially leading to double bookings. But realistically, the chance of simultaneous double bookings is relatively low, especially for hosts with infrequent bookings.

Embracing Efficiency: The Power of a Channel Manager

For hosts seeking convenience and real-time syncing, investing in a vacation rental channel manager is an ultimate choice. These platforms, like Uplisting, Hosthub, OwnerRez, iGMS, and Lodgify, empower you to manage and scale your business efficiently while minimizing the risk of double bookings.

About Us

KeyNest offers you a convenient service for storing and exchanging your property keys. You can drop off a key at any of the 5,000+ locations in our network, so there’s one such Point located next to your property already.

Guests, cleaners or contractors can then collect the key securely from a KeyNest Point, which is usually open 24/7. You'll be notified each time the key is picked up or returned, and you can even customize check-in and check-out times.

KeyNest has an ever-expanding global network of locations located just minutes from your property. To find out more, visit our website: https://keynest.com/

Effortless Vacation Rental Calendar Sync: Prevent Double Bookings and Boost Bookings