Guide for homestay hosts

How to sync Airbnb and Booking.com calendars with iCal

If your homestay is listed on more than one site, a booking on one can leave the same dates open on the other. iCal calendar sync is the free way to reduce that. This guide explains how it works, how to set it up, where it falls short, and how to see every booking in one place.

Last updated 20 October 2026

What iCal sync does (and does not do)

iCal is a standard calendar format. Airbnb and Booking.com can each give you a private calendar link (a feed ending in .ics) that lists your blocked dates. Another platform can read that link and block the same dates on its own calendar.

• It shares blocked dates. A reservation on one site closes those nights on the other.
• It does not share prices, minimum stays or guest details. Set those on each platform yourself.
• It is not instant. Each platform re-reads the link on its own schedule, which can be anything from several minutes to a few hours.

Set up calendar sync between Airbnb and Booking.com

Do this once per property, in both directions. Menu names change from time to time, so look for wording like “Sync calendars”, “Connect calendars”, “Export calendar” and “Import calendar”.

1. Copy each platform’s export link

1. In Airbnb, open the listing’s calendar, find the calendar sync or availability settings, and choose to export the calendar. Copy the link.
2. In the Booking.com extranet, open the calendar for the property or room, find calendar sync, and choose to export. Copy the link.

2. Import each link into the other platform

1. In Airbnb, choose to import a calendar and paste the Booking.com link. Give it a name you will recognise.
2. In Booking.com, choose to import a calendar and paste the Airbnb link.

3. Check that it worked

Make a test block on one platform, such as a single night far in the future, and wait for it to appear on the other. Then remove it. Note how long it took, because that is your real double-booking window.

Common iCal mistakes

• Importing a platform’s own feed back into itself. Only import the other platform’s link.
• Blocking dates by hand on only one platform. Manual blocks can behave differently from reservations, so test them.
• Assuming prices and rules sync. They do not.
• Forgetting direct bookings. Stays you take by WhatsApp or phone are not in either feed unless you block those dates on both platforms.

See every booking in one calendar with RumahTamu

iCal keeps the two platforms roughly in step, but you still have no single view of your business. RumahTamu imports each property’s Airbnb and Booking.com iCal link and shows those stays on one calendar next to your direct bookings, colour-coded by source.

• Paste each property’s iCal link once. RumahTamu re-checks every hour, and you can sync a property manually from its settings.
• Imported stays appear as “Airbnb Guest” or “Booking.com Guest”. If a reservation disappears from the feed, it is marked cancelled in RumahTamu.
• Record deposits and balances against each booking, and send guests a WhatsApp-ready message from the same record.

Start free with RumahTamu

The Free plan covers one property and up to 15 bookings per month.

A short checklist to avoid double bookings

1. Set up the cross-import on both platforms and confirm it with a test block.
2. Measure how long each direction takes.
3. Block direct bookings on both platforms straight away.
4. Keep one calendar you trust to check before confirming anything.
5. Where a clash is likely (weekends, school holidays), re-check before replying to a guest.

Frequently asked questions