Step 1 — Grab your Airbnb and Booking iCal links
Each platform generates one ICS feed per listing. Copy both before sharing anywhere else.
- Airbnb: Calendar > Availability > Sync > Export calendar. Copy the iCal URL.
- Booking.com: Extranet > Rates & Availability > Calendar sync > Export calendar (ICS). If asked, confirm you want to sync another calendar.
- Direct feed: also grab your site or PMS iCal link to block direct bookings everywhere.
Private: these URLs expose your reservations. Store them in a password manager and renew them if you suspect a leak.
Step 2 — Connect Airbnb ⇄ Booking without double-bookings
Three practical actions:
- Airbnb → Booking: in Booking.com > Calendar sync > Add calendar, paste the Airbnb link.
- Booking → Airbnb: in Airbnb > Availability > Sync > Import calendar, paste the Booking link.
- Master calendar: import your direct feed (site / PMS / BNB Pilot) into both to lock any stay confirmed elsewhere.
- Add a 2–3 hour buffer between checkout and check-in if sync delays are long.
- Turn on Booking.com reminders if exports need manual confirmation on your account.
Step 3 — Check the sync actually runs
- Create a “Maintenance” test block on your master calendar.
- Check how it propagates to Airbnb then Booking after 15–30 minutes.
- Delete the block and make sure availability is freed everywhere.
If a date is missing: regenerate both Airbnb and Booking iCal links, re-import them and repeat the test. New stays will follow the same path.
Visual cues: Airbnb & Booking screenshots
Add your own screenshots to guide teammates or clients.
Placeholder Airbnb screenshot — drop the optimised 1440×900 image named
images/blog/sync-airbnb-export.png
Placeholder Booking.com screenshot — drop the optimised 1440×900 image named
images/blog/sync-booking-import.png
Pro tip: export PNGs < 300 KB to keep the page fast.
Free tool: preview an iCal link
Paste an Airbnb or Booking iCal link — the preview runs through the BNB Pilot backend to anonymise the feed and check the first lines (DTSTART, UID, SUMMARY).
BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//BNB Pilot//iCal helper//EN BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240312 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240314 SUMMARY:Sample stay UID:demo-ical-bnb-pilot END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR
The preview goes through the BNB Pilot backend to bypass CORS and anonymise the feed.
Want a unified calendar? Try BNB Pilot for free.
BNB Pilot consolidates your iCal feeds, flags conflicts in minutes, alerts your field teams and auto-attaches cleaning checklists.
Tip: also add your housekeeping calendar so cleaners get updates at the same time as platforms.