This article will help with syncing your calendars from other booking channels to the Hometime Platform.

iCal is an open standard for exchanging calendar and scheduling information and it has been around since the late 1990s. It’s supported by almost every calendaring program you’re ever likely to use. iCal is utilised in the STR industry in order to manage multiple calendars across different booking platforms.

It's really easy, our platform is directly connected to Airbnb and all you need to do is import the calendar links from other booking platforms like Vrbo and Booking.com. You will need to also add your Airbnb iCal link to each channel to ensure these calendars are blocked when bookings are made through Airbnb.

iCal usually syncs the calendars quickly, but It is important to note that it can take up to a couple of hours. It is very unlikely that you will get a duplicate booking before the calendars sync, but Hometime's calendar will let you know in the rare event a duplicate booking occurred.

You can sync with any channel that has iCal capability, but here is how you sync with the two most common booking platforms:

To export your Airbnb calendar:

1. Start by logging in to Airbnb. Once logged in, go to "Host" and click on "Calendar". Move on to "Availability settings", under "Sync calendars", click "Export calendar".

2. After exporting, copy the generated iCal link and store it for the next steps.

3. Now log into Booking.com and on the top menu bar, click "Calendar & Pricing".

4. Select ‘Sync calendars’ in the dropdown and find the listing you want to sync and click on "Add calendar connection".

5. Paste your stored Airbnb iCal URL into the "Your iCal link" field, then name the calendar.

Now, to import your calendar to the Hometime platform:

6. After naming your calendar, click "Next step" and your Booking.com calendar link will now be available, click on "Copy link".

7. Go to the Hometime Platform and then "Properties", click on the correct property and then click on "Listings" on the left-hand menu.

8. You will see the "Calendars from other channels" section and a button called "+ Import calendar". Click this button and then add the iCal link that you have copied from Booking.com. Name the calendar and also select a colour.

9. All bookings for the next 12 months will be imported into your Hometime calendar.

For further information on Booking.com calendar syncing - https://partner.booking.com/en-us/help/rates-availability/extranet-calendar/how-do-i-connect-my-bookingcom-calendar-other-calendars

To export your Airbnb calendar:

1. Start by logging in to Airbnb. Once logged in, go to "Host" and click on "Calendar". Move on to "Availability settings", under "Sync calendars", click "Export calendar".

2. After exporting, copy the generated iCal link and store it for the next steps.

3. Now log in to Vrbo and on the left-hand side, click "Calendars". From here select "Reservations" from the dropdown. You will then see your Reservations Calendar, then click "Import/Export" and select "Import" from the dropdown list.

4. Paste your stored Airbnb iCal URL into the "Calendar URL" field and name the calendar and click ‘Import calendar’ to finalize.

Now, to import your calendar to the Hometime platform:

5. In your Reservations Calendar, click "Import/Export" and select "Export" from the dropdown list. A pop-up window should appear with your Vrbo iCal link, click "Copy URL" and store it for the next steps.

6. Go to the Hometime Platform and then "Properties", click on the correct property and then click on "Listings" on the left-hand menu.

7. You will see the "Calendars from other channels" section and a button called "+ Import calendar". Click this button and then add the iCal link that you have copied from Vrbo. Name the calendar and also select a colour.

8. All bookings for the next 12 months will be imported into your Hometime calendar.

For further information on Vrbo calendar syncing - https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-do-I-import-my-iCal-or-Google-calendar