If you’re a host, you’re likely listing your short-term rental properties across multiple platforms and OTAs (online travel agencies). Airbnb and Vrbo are two of the most popular sites where hosts list their properties. Listing on multiple platforms or services can increase your occupancy and revenue, but it can also cause problematic double-bookings. This leads to the question of how to sync Airbnb and Vrbo calendars.
We will cover how to avoid this by synchronizing your Airbnb and Vrbo calendars. This will ensure you get no problematic double bookings, causing no cancellations or unhappy guests. Ensuring your calendars are synced enables continuous, smooth operations across different channels and keeps guests happy.
Υes, you can link your Airbnb and Vrbo calendars.
Being two of the biggest platforms and OTAs means many guests use both. Listing their properties on both increases the likelihood of their short-term rentals being booked. However, the more platforms used for the same listings, the higher the chances of synchronization issues. Therefore, linking your Airbnb and Vrbo calendars is recommended.
Trying to manage your listings across multiple calendars yourself can be difficult.
Not only is it time-consuming, but you run the risk of errors. Manual calendar management requires meticulous planning, attention to detail, and constant updating.
With every new booking, you need to update the same listing on the other calendars. The more platforms and calendars you use, the more difficult and lengthy this process becomes. The reverse is also true. When a guest's stay has come to an end, you must enable availability for your listings again across each calendar.
Most pertinent is the increased risk of error. This juggling of manually adjusting multiple calendars means it’s easy to make mistakes such as date or time synchronization. Not updating a booking on all calendars quickly can lead to double bookings.
Furthermore, you run the risk of one not being updated properly or at all, potentially leading to a loss of revenue.
You keep your information accurate and up-to-date by synchronizing your Airbnb and Vrbo calendars.
You eliminate the risk of double bookings. This streamlining enables calendars to communicate with each other so that any bookings made on one platform will be mirrored on the other.
Syncing your Airbnb and Vrbo calendars also gives you more flexibility. A perfect sync allows you to manage your schedule better. Considering how time-consuming manually updating them can be, this is especially valuable if you’re a busy host.
Finally, calendar sync allows you to easily change or cancel bookings without having to remember which calendar they’re listed on.
You can use several popular apps to sync your Airbnb and Vrbo calendars.
Before choosing, compare the features of each tool, as well as ratings and ease of use. While all these tools do an excellent job of synchronizing your properties across messaging between platforms.
Below, we compare three of the most popular apps to sync your Airbnb and Vrbo calendars.
iCal is a great free tool that millions of people will have if they own an Apple device.
It’s possible to connect your Calendar to your Airbnb and Vrbo calendars. Doing so will allow you to copy your availability between them in real time. This Calendar app does the basics well without the bells and whistles of some other tools.
Here are some of the features of syncing your calendars with this Calendar:
Previously Syncbnb, this app touts itself as the easiest way to synchronize your bookings across 200+ channels.
On top of calendar synchronization, Hosthub includes some extra features.
Here are some of the best features of Hosthub:
Lodgify features a highly compatible booking system.
The software works with major platforms, including Airbnb, Vrbo, and more. Lodgify allows users to connect with top channels seamlessly, saving them time and attracting more bookings.
Here are some of the benefits of using Lodgify:
Synching your calendars on Airbnb is the best way to prevent guest double bookings.
Fortunately, synching them on Airbnb is quick and easy—no matter the platform. You just need to create a two-way connection using a URL. This involves two steps: exporting and importing calendars.
Here’s how to sync your calendars on Airbnb.
Use the URL given to paste it into the other websites' calendars, including Vrbo. Once exported, your Airbnb calendar will be reflected on the other platform.
Your listings on the external platforms imported will then reflect on Airbnb.
As we’ve discussed, calendar synchronization is beneficial for vacation rental hosts. It keeps your listing information up-to-date and accurate and eliminates the risk of double bookings.
You must choose the right synchronization tool for the job. The right tool will save you time and effort and, over time, increase your revenue by ensuring smooth and accurate calendar updates.
One of the best ways to streamline the process is with Keybee’s comprehensive management services. Our vacation rental channel manager ensures seamless channel management, including calendar synchronization. There are no double bookings, no lost income, and better ratings.
In-house developed channel manager that prevents double bookings when hosting on multiple platforms (Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, Booking.com)
Place your property in the hands of experts and watch your income from it multiply
