How To Sync Airbnb Calendar With Booking.com

As a hotelier, ensuring a seamless guest experience is essential for maximizing revenue. However, managing bookings across platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com can pose challenges, including double bookings and overbooking. Syncing your Booking.com and Airbnb calendars resolves these issues.

Understanding Booking.com & Airbnb

Booking.com and Airbnb are two prominent platforms in the travel industry, each offering unique opportunities for hosts and travelers alike.

Booking.com serves as a global online travel agency, providing a platform for booking various accommodations such as hotels, apartments, and hostels. With an extensive presence in over 228 countries and available in more than 43 languages, Booking.com stands out as one of the world's leading OTAs.

On the other hand, Airbnb, originally known as AirBedAndBreakfast.com, has transformed the travel and lodging landscape with its diverse array of properties. With over 4 million active listings worldwide, Airbnb emphasizes community, sustainability, and immersive travel experiences.

Despite the opportunities presented by platforms like Booking.com and Airbnb, hosts often face challenges in managing their listings effectively. These challenges include negatively impacting outdated information on potential guests.

Why Should You Keep Your Calendar Updated?

Ensuring your calendar is updated in real-time is crucial for hosts to avoid these pitfalls. Overbooking not only leads to penalties but also leaves a negative impression on potential customers. In today's competitive market, the stakes are high, and losing out on bookings due to outdated information is a risk no host can afford. 

Fortunately, various methods are available to keep your calendars updated and synchronized. 

To stay ahead of the game, it’s essential to choose an efficient and user-friendly solution.

While many hosts previously relied on iCal for its free nature, the evolution of Channel Manager globally has made its benefits increasingly recognized. Before delving into its functionality, let's understand the concept of a Channel Manager.

Read also: Ical vs Channel Manager: Which One Do You Need?

Understanding Channel Manager 

A Channel Manager acts as a centralized hub for managing your property's listings across various online travel platforms.

It ensures synchronization of calendars, price rates, and reservations, thereby minimizing the risk of double bookings and maximizing occupancy rates.

By investing in a Channel Manager, hoteliers gain access to a broader audience, including popular platforms like Booking.com and Airbnb. 

Now, let's explore how a Channel Manager works in more detail in synchronization with these both platforms.

Sync Airbnb and Booking.com Calendars Together

Utilizing a Channel Manager seamless synchronization of availability and pricing between Airbnb and Booking.com. This means that if a guest books your property on one platform, the corresponding dates automatically become unavailable on the other.  

Syncing calendars between Airbnb and Booking.com using a channel manager involves several steps. Below is the step-by-step guide:

1. Sign up for a Channel Manager - There are various Channel Manager providers available in the market nowadays. Some of them are SiteMinder, STAAH and Softinn. Check out their official website and try to talk with their team to find the best package and plan that suits your business. 
   
   
2. Start Setting Up the Account - Once you have decided which Channel Manager provider you want to use, start with the account setup. Your account manager will surely guide you through the process.
   
   
3. Channel Mapping - Once your account is all set, the mapping for Airbnb and Booking.com through Channel Manager will be needed. This is where you need the Hotel ID of Airbnb and Booking.com.
   
   
4. Room Mapping - Next, proceed with the instructions for room mapping. This is for you to map the room type that you have set on your Channel Manager with the same room type that you have on Airbnb & Booking.com. Hence, make sure to map the room properly to ensure smooth integration. 
   
   
5. Testing - Before going live, you need to test the sync functionality. Try to make a test booking or you can also update the availability on a certain date directly from the Channel Manager. Then, check on both Airbnb & Booking.com calendars and verify that both channels’ calendars are updated accordingly.
   
   
6. Go Live - Once you are satisfied with all the setup, let your Channel Manager provider know that you are ready for the account to go live. Once the connection is established, you no longer need to log in to both Airbnb & Booking.com to update the calendar whenever there is a booking coming to one of the platforms. The Channel Manager will do its work and sync the availability between them. 
   
   

Additionally, Channel Managers not only covers Airbnb & Booking.com. Most Channel Managers in the market now can sync almost all of the popular OTA platforms that you heard about. 

In Summary…

Managing vacation rentals across multiple platforms poses significant challenges, including time-consuming tasks, the risk of overbooking, and potential negative guest experiences. 

However, with the emergence of tools like Channel Managers, these challenges can be effectively addressed, ensuring smooth operations and improved profitability for hoteliers. 

Channel Managers, such as Softinn’s Channel Manager, offer tailored solutions equipped with automated updates and detailed reporting capabilities. 

By leveraging such tools and embracing platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com, hoteliers can efficiently manage their properties, ultimately driving success in the competitive hospitality industry!