Syncing your Airbnb and VRBO calendars using iCal

If you’re listing on both Airbnb and VRBO, you may want to sync your calendars to prevent multiple guests from booking the same dates. Both Airbnb and VRBO (Homeaway) use the same iCal calendar format and can easily be synced with each other and with other calendars for example your Google calendar.

Follow this quick 2-part process to sync your Airbnb and VRBO calendars using iCal:

Part 1: Import your Airbnb calendar into VRBO

1. In your Airbnb.com account, go to Host and select Listing
2. Click Availability and scroll down until you see Sync calendars
3. Under Sync calendars, select Export Calendar
4. Copy the Airbnb calendar link/URL

5. In your VRBO.com (or Homeaway) account, select the property you want to edit
6. Click Calendars in the left navigation menu, then click Reservations.
7. Click the Import/Export arrows icon in the top right, and click Import Calendar.

8. Name your calendar (e.g., ‘Airbnb’), and choose a color
9. Paste your Airbnb calendar link/URL
10. Make sure the calendar is set to ‘block’ your calendar availability (this should be selected by default)
11. Click Import Calendar

Your VRBO calendar will now pull in bookings from Airbnb. We need to do the same thing, but in reverse, to have Airbnb pull in your VRBO bookings.

Part 2: Import your VRBO calendar into Airbnb

1. In your VRBO.com (or Homeaway) account, select the property you want to edit
2. Click Calendars in the left navigation menu, then click Reservations.
3. Click the Import/Export arrows icon in the top right, and click Export Calendar.
4. Copy the VRBO calendar link/URL
5. On airbnb.com, go to Host and select Listing.
6. Click Availability and scroll down until you see Sync calendars.
7. Under Sync calendars, select Import Calendar
8. Paste the URL for your VRBO calendar into the Calendar Address (URL) field
9. Name your calendar (e.g. ‘VRBO’)
10. Click Import calendar

And that’s it! Now your Airbnb and VRBO calendars are synced. They should update every couple of hours.

How to Avoid Double Bookings

You should know that with iCal your calendars don’t update immediately. 

So, how often does your Airbnb calendar sync?

Airbnb and VRBO calendars usually take a couple of hours to update. So, there’s a chance that a guest could book on one platform, and another guest could book the same dates on another platform in the time it takes for your calendar to update.

Depending on how often you’re getting bookings, the chances that two guests book the same dates within a few hours of each other could be relatively low.

If you want a real-time connection, you’ll need to use a property management system or channel manager.

We hope that you find this guide useful and can successfully sync availabilities for your calendars!