How to Export Your Airbnb Calendar: The Complete Guide to Syncing Calendars

How to Sync Your Airbnb Calendar to iCal

iCal is a free calendar format that allows you to share calendar information with others. Short-term rental businesses use iCal connections to sync booking data between listing sites, property management systems, and other platforms. 

You can sync your Airbnb calendar with any other calendar that supports the iCal format. This is super handy because it allows you to keep your calendar up-to-date across all the platforms you list your property on.

For example, if you advertise on Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and TripAdvisor, you can sync your calendars so they register bookings from all four channels. It’s essential to do this to prevent double bookings.

But how do you sync your Airbnb calendar to iCal?

First, you need to export your Airbnb calendar. Once you do, you’ll receive an iCal URL that you can then copy and paste into other iCal applications.

Remember this is slow and may cause double bookings. Scroll down to see the safest way to sync availabilty.

How Do I Export My Airbnb Calendar?

Don’t be intimidated! Exporting your Airbnb iCal isn’t hard. You can do it in just a few steps. 

1. Log in to Airbnb.
2. Go to ‘Host’ and click ‘Calendar’.
3. Select ‘Availability settings’.
4. Under ‘Sync calendars’, click ‘Export calendar’. 
5. Copy the iCal link that’s generated and paste it into another iCal application.

OK, but where are you supposed to paste the iCal URL? That’ll depend on which other iCal applications you want to sync your Airbnb calendar with. Let’s take a look at some examples.

Export Airbnb Calendar to Google Calendar

Airbnb hosts often sync their Airbnb calendar with their Google calendar.  

Exporting your Airbnb calendar to Google Calendar can come in handy when you want to share your calendar with someone, like your Airbnb cleaning team. 

It can also be useful if you’re doing key handovers yourself, and you want to make sure that check-ins don’t coincide with other events in your calendar.

Here’s how to quickly export your calendar from airbnb.com to the Google Calendar application:

1. Log in to Airbnb.

2. Go to ‘Host’ and click ‘Calendar’.

3. Select ‘Availability settings’ 

4. Under ‘Sync calendars’, click ‘Export calendar’. 

5. Copy the iCal link that’s generated.

6. Go to your Google Calendar.

7. Click the + sign next to ‘Other Calendars’ on the left-hand side.

8. Select ‘From URL’ and paste your Airbnb calendar link in the box.

How to Sync Your Calendar with Vrbo

Another type of Airbnb sync you may need is linking your Airbnb calendar to calendars from other listing sites like Vrbo. 

Here’s the trick. It’s fundamentally important to establish two-way connectivity between the two platforms. 

In other words, you need to make sure that you export your Airbnb calendar to Vrbo and import your Vrbo calendar to Airbnb. 

If you skip either of these steps, your calendars will remain out-of-sync and you’ll be exposed to double bookings. 

Here’s how to make sure your Airbnb and Vrbo calendars are syncing.

Step 1: Export your Airbnb calendar to Vrbo

1. Log in to Airbnb.

2. Go to ‘Host’ and click ‘Calendar’.

3. Select ‘Availability settings’.

4. Under ‘Sync calendars’, click ‘Export calendar’. 

5. Copy the iCal link that’s generated.

6. Log in to Vrbo. 

7. On the left-hand side, click ‘Calendars’.

8. Select ‘Reservations’ from the dropdown.

9. You will see your Reservations Calendar. Click ‘Import/Export’ and select ‘Import’ from the dropdown.

10. Paste your Airbnb calendar link into the ‘Calendar URL’ field. 

11. Enter a calendar name and click ‘Import calendar’ to finalize.

Step 2: Import your Vrbo calendar into Airbnb

1. Log in to Vrbo. 

2. Select ‘Reservations’ from the dropdown.

3. You will see your Reservations Calendar. Click ‘Import/Export’ and select ‘Export’ from the dropdown.

4. A pop-up window will appear with your Vrbo iCal link. Click ‘Copy URL’.

5. Log in to Airbnb.

6. Go to ‘Host’ and click ‘Calendar’.

7. Select ‘Availability settings’ 

8. Under ‘Sync calendars’, click ‘Import calendar’. 

9. Copy your Vrbo calendar link into the ‘Calendar address (URL)’ box.

10. Name your calendar and click ‘Import’. 

Congrats, now your Airbnb and Vrbo calendars are all synced up! Your availability will update automatically shortly after a guest makes a reservation.

How to Sync Airbnb Calendar with Booking.com

Just like in the case of Vrbo, syncing your Airbnb and Booking.com calendars requires two steps.

To ensure two-way synchronization, you need to export your Airbnb calendar to Booking.com, then import your Booking.com calendar into Airbnb.

Step 1: Export your Airbnb calendar to Booking.com

1. Log in to Airbnb.

2. Go to ‘Host’ and click ‘Calendar’.

3. Select ‘Availability settings’.

4. Under ‘Sync calendars’, click ‘Export calendar’. 

5. Copy the iCal link that’s generated.

6. Log in to Booking.com.

7. In the top menu bar, click ‘Calendar & pricing’.

8. Select ‘Sync calendars’ in the dropdown.

9. Find the listing whose calendar you want to sync and click ‘Add calendar connection’.

10. Paste your Airbnb calendar URL into the ‘Your iCal link’ field.

11. Name the calendar and click ‘Next step’.

12. You will see your Booking.com calendar link. Click ‘Copy link’ and proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Import your Booking.com calendar into Airbnb

1. Log in to Airbnb.

2. Go to ‘Host’ and click ‘Calendar’.

3. Select ‘Availability settings’.

4. Under ‘Sync calendars’, click ‘Import calendar’. 

5. Copy your Booking.com calendar link into the ‘Calendar address (URL)’ box.

6. Name your calendar and click ‘Import’. 

That’s all, folks! Now your Airbnb and Booking.com calendars are in sync and will update automatically.

How to Link Airbnb Calendars for Multiple Listings

If you have multiple listings on Airbnb – for example, an entire home and rooms inside that home – don’t forget to link their Airbnb calendars! Otherwise, you could end up with a guest booking your entire vacation rental, and another guest booking a room inside that same property.

Here’s how to link your calendars for multiple listings:

1. Log in to Airbnb.

2. Go to ‘Listings’.

3. Select the listing whose calendar you’d like to link with another listing. 

4. Click ‘Availability’.

5. Next to ‘Linked Airbnb calendars’, select ‘Link’.

6. Click ‘Create linked calendars’. 

7. Select the listing for the entire home.

8. Click Next.

9. Select the listings inside of the home.

10. Click Save.

Can I Share my Airbnb Calendar?

Now that you know how to sync your Airbnb calendar with other platforms, you may be wondering: is there a way to share your Airbnb calendar with other people?

Of course, the answer is yes. There are actually three ways to do it. Let’s break down them all down.

Option 1: Add the person you want to share your calendar with as a co-host on Airbnb

This option will work best for you if you want to share your Airbnb calendar with someone who’s helping you manage your rental. It could be a friend, family member, or neighbor you’re enlisting to do check-ins or property maintenance. If you add them as a co-host to your listing, they’ll be able to see your Airbnb calendar.

1. Log in to Airbnb. 

2. Go to ‘Listings’.

3. Select the listing you want to add a co-host to.

4. Click ‘Co-hosts’.

5. Add up to 3 co-hosts per listing. 

Remember: when you add someone as a co-host, they will be able to message guests, manage reservations, and update your calendar and pricing. However, they won’t be able to access your payout or tax information.

Option 2: Export your Airbnb calendar to Google Calendar and share it with others

The second option lets you share your Airbnb calendar with others without giving them permission to manage reservations or message guests. You just need to share your Google Calendar with them. 

The only requirement for this is that both you and the person you’ve chosen need to have a Google account set up.

1. Log in to Airbnb. 
2. Go to ‘Host’ and click ‘Calendar’.
3. Select ‘Availability settings’.
4. Under ‘Sync calendars’, click ‘Export calendar’. 
5. Copy the iCal link that’s generated.
6. Go to your Google Calendar.
7. Click the + sign next to ‘Other Calendars’ on the left-hand side.
8. Select ‘From URL’ and paste your link in the box.
9. Under ‘My Calendars’ on the left-hand side, click the three dots next to the calendar you just added.
10. Select ‘Settings and sharing’.
11. Under ‘Share with specific people’, click ‘Add people’ and type in the person’s email address.

That’s it! Now the person you wanted to share your calendar with can see all your reservations.

Option 3: Add a user to your Host Tools Account

The final option is adding a user to your Host Tools account. Different people require access to different elements of your listing. As a result, we've created three separate page roles to help them find information pertinent to their unique role and avoid confusion in your account: cleaners, owner, and assistant. You can learn the specifics about each role's permissions and how to add them to your account here. Once completed, they'll be able to view the booking calendar details based on their role. 

Use a Channel Manager to Keep Your Availability Up-To-Date

Exporting your Airbnb calendar and linking it with other iCalendars is a good way to keep your availability up-to-date. However, iCal updates can be slow. It may take a few hours for your availability to sync after a guest makes a reservation. 

That’s why professional short-term rental hosts prefer using channel managers, which have direct API access to listing sites like Airbnb. This allows you to instantly sync your availability across all your connected channels. There’s no better way to prevent double bookings!

For example, Host Tools connects to Airbnb, Booking, and VRBO via an API. You can automatically update your pricing and availability on both sites from the Host Tools platform. And, you can send messages to your guests regardless of which sites they booked on.

You can also add booking information to Host Tools from other channels like Booking.com, TripAdvisor or Agoda. You just have to import your calendars via iCal, and all your calendars will be in sync. You can view all your reservations in a single calendar, and send and receive messages from a unified inbox. 

Tips to Avoid Issues When Exporting Your Airbnb Calendar

On the whole, Host Tools lets you manage all your listings from one place, so you don’t have to split your time between different platforms.

If you're using Host Tools, don't use iCal links from/to Airbnb and VRBO. This will cause issues. We recommend you take the following steps:

• Step 1. Add Airbnb and VRBO accounts to Host Tools
• Step 2. Link the Airbnb and VRBO listings to each other in Host Tools from the listing’s settings modal
• Step 3. Enable availability syncing in the listing’s settings modal.
• Step 4. Import reservation from other channels by adding iCal links from other channels in the listing’s settings modal
• Step 5. Enable export iCal link on Host Tools and import it to all the channels (except Airbnb and VRBO) so that their calendars get blocked when a new reservation is found.
• Step 6. Remove all other iCal links from your channels.  They should only have Host Tools iCal link setting the availability.  Airbnb and VRBO should not have any iCal links setting availability because Host Tools is now setting availability via the API connection.  

Once you're done, Host Tools should be connected to Airbnb and VRBO and have iCal links from all the other channels importing reservations.  All the other channels (except Airbnb and VRBO) should only have one iCal link and it should be the Host Tools iCal link.

Host Tools is an excellent choice for managing your listings from one place and keep your availability up-to-date. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily export Airbnb calendars, link them with other iCalendars, and avoid double bookings. With Host Tools, you can save time and energy while providing your guests with a great experience. 

Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!