How iCal sync works
A link that lists your booked dates — nothing more.
Every platform gives you an iCal link — a web address ending in .ics — that lists the dates that are booked or blocked on that calendar. You paste Airbnb’s link into Booking.com and your website, Booking.com’s link into Airbnb and your website, and so on. Each site then fetches the other links from time to time and closes those dates. Nobody pushes the change to you: each calendar has to come and get it.
- 01
Export
Copy each calendar’s link: on Airbnb under Calendar → Availability → Connect calendars; on Booking.com in the Extranet under Rates & Availability → Sync calendars.
- 02
Import
Paste the other sites’ links into each calendar. Airbnb only accepts links that end in .ics and imports up to 2 years ahead.
- 03
What travels
Only dates. No guest names, no prices, no messages — prices and rules you still set on each site.
Where double bookings come from
Choose where a booking is made and play the hours after it.
Airbnb: every 3 hours (Airbnb Help Center). Booking.com: “not synced in real time” (Booking.com for Partners). Your website: every 15 minutes with Costa Creative Lab. Assumes every calendar is connected to every other one.
The longest gap is usually on the platforms’ side. Airbnb refreshes imported calendars about every 3 hours, and Booking.com says its sync is not real time. That window is when a second guest can book the same nights.
Set it up once
Connect every calendar to every other one, then test it.
Copy the iCal link of your own website and of each platform.
Airbnb: Calendar → Availability → Connect calendars → Connect to another website. Paste the Booking.com and website links.
Booking.com: Extranet → Rates & Availability → Sync calendars. Add the Airbnb and website links, and export Booking.com’s own link to the others.
Your website: paste the Airbnb and Booking.com links. Then block one test night on one calendar and check that it appears on the others.
Booking.com’s iCal sync is available for properties with up to 20 room types and one unit per room type, and not for properties connected through a channel manager (XML).
Five ways to close the gap
- 01
Take requests on your website
Let guests request the dates and charge the card only after you have checked the other calendars and accepted.
- 02
Sync right after a booking
Airbnb lets you refresh an imported calendar sooner, and Booking.com has “Import now”. Use them as soon as a booking comes in.
- 03
Close last-minute dates by hand
For a booking for tonight or tomorrow, block the nights on the other platforms yourself — it takes a minute.
- 04
Use preparation time
A buffer between stays gives you room for cleaning, and Airbnb includes preparation time in the dates it blocks.
- 05
Test after every change
After changing a listing or a link, block one test night and check it arrives. Airbnb can’t pause an imported calendar — only disconnect and reconnect it.
A Costa Creative Lab website reads your Airbnb and Booking.com calendars every 15 minutes, or when you press “Sync now”. As soon as you connect your first calendar it switches to requests, so the card is charged only after you accept — and if an overlap still appears you get a “Possible double booking” email. Only dates are shared, never names or prices. See how it works.
When iCal isn’t enough
Links move dates. A channel manager moves everything.
iCal links
- Free and built into every platform.
- Dates only — prices, minimum stays and rules are set on each site.
- Each site fetches the others on its own schedule.
Channel manager (API)
- A paid service connected to the platforms by API.
- Prices, availability and rules changed in one place.
- Useful when you manage several units or many channels.
For one or two holiday homes, well-connected iCal links plus requests on your own website cover most owners. With many units, a channel manager is worth its cost — but note that Booking.com does not combine XML connectivity with iCal sync.
Sources
- Airbnb — Sync your home host calendar to other websitesevery 3 hours, .ics only, 2 years, can’t pause an import
- Booking.com for Partners — Syncing your calendar to third-party calendarsnot real time, Import now, eligibility
- IETF — RFC 5545, the iCalendar standardthe format behind .ics links
General information. Platform behaviour as checked on 28 September 2026. · Updated
