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Just an FYI for those who may not have noticed, but Airbnb announced a while ago that due to privacy concerns they will no longer included guest details in the iCal files/link available for syncing to other calendars. That is a slight bummer for me because I use a Google Calendar as my “master” with feeds to and from VRBO/HomeAway and Airbnb and it was super easy to just “copy” and event from the Airbnb layer to my Master Calendar that my cleaner and contractor can see. Now the events that come over simply say “Reserved” - if I want to add details I have to do it manually. Oh, well. (See screenshot below.)
With that format change my sync to HomeAway was wiped out and I had a double booking last night - first time in nine years of hosting - although it was quickly resolved. Still, it was a big bummer for the guest.
If you are syncing from Airbnb to other calendars, do review your calendars today.
The only real synch is to utilise a channel manager and use the API/XML connections between OTA’s, but VRBO/HA don’t play ball and will only allow it if you have at least five listings unfortunately. For that reason we are on request to book with them, which probably accounts for the low volume we receive.
I sync perfectly fine with the way I’ve been doing it for nine years and there is no fee to a “channel manager.” My cleaner and contractor have shortcuts to my google master calendar layer on their phones. It is perfect for my needs.
The iCal synch with Airbnb and BDC is way too slow for me. Before we started using a channel manager I used to have nightmares about folks from the US and Canada booking (during the night here) and getting double booked.
FWIW, our channel manager is circa €22 per month. Not a great lot, for my peace of mind at least!
