---
title: "How to sync Airbnb, Booking.com, and your site"
url: https://hostdomination.com/en/how-to-sync-airbnb-booking-com-and-your-site/
date: 2026-08-27
modified: 2026-08-27
lang: en
author: "Marco Livio"
description: "Manage a property that is present at the same time on Airbnb, Booking.com, and on their website It can greatly increase your chances of receiving bookings. But there is a..."
categories:
  - "Host, B&B, Hotel"
image: https://hostdomination.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Come-sincronizzare-Airbnb-Booking.com-e-il-proprio-sito-1.webp
word_count: 1884
---

# How to sync Airbnb, Booking.com, and your site

Manage a property that is present at the same time on **Airbnb, Booking.com, and on their website** It can greatly increase your chances of receiving bookings. But there is a problem to solve: keeping availability up to date on all channels.

If a room is booked on Airbnb while it's still available on your site, you risk a **double booking**. The same can happen between Booking.com and other portals.

The solution is to synchronize calendars, so that busy dates on one channel are automatically blocked on the others as well.

In this guide we see **how to sync Airbnb, Booking.com, and your site**, what tools you can use, and what the limitations of syncing using iCal are.

## Why sync Airbnb, Booking.com, and your site

Being present on multiple platforms allows you to reach more potential guests.

Many facilities use at the same time:

- Airbnb;

- Booking.com;

- a proprietary website;

- other OTA portals;

- bookings received directly by phone, email or WhatsApp.

The problem arises when each platform uses an independent calendar.

Imagine, for example, that a guest books from your site from the **10 to 14 August**.

If Airbnb and Booking.com do not receive this information, those same dates may continue to be available.

A second guest could then book them from another platform.

Synchronizing calendars is precisely to avoid this problem.

## How calendar synchronization works

Airbnb and Booking.com allow you to export and import availabilities using a format called **iCal**.

An iCal calendar is normally shared through a URL.

The link contains busy or unavailable dates on the calendar.

The general operation is simple:

**Airbnb → export calendar → website import calendar**

**Booking.com → export calendar → website import calendar**

But to have a complete synchronization it is also necessary to do the opposite:

**Website → export calendar → Airbnb imports calendar**

**Website → Export Calendar → Booking.com Import Calendar**

In this way, each platform can know the bookings received from the other channels.

## What is an iCal calendar

iCal is a standard used to exchange information between calendars.

Files generally use the following format:

`.ics`

In the vacation rental industry, it is mostly used for sharing **busy or blocked periods**.

An iCal feed can contain information such as:

- date of arrival;

- date of departure;

- periods not available;

- manual blocks;

- reservations.

It is not designed to fully synchronize all the information of the reservation.

For example, the following are not usually transferred through a normal iCal sync:

- price of the reservation;

- complete guest data;

- number of people;

- payments;

- messages;

- Fare rules.

For this reason, it is important to distinguish an iCal system from a **Channel Manager**.

## How to sync Airbnb with your website

The first step is to retrieve the Airbnb exportable calendar.

Within the calendar settings of the structure you can find the function dedicated to synchronization.

Airbnb normally allows you to:

- export your calendar;

- get an iCal URL;

- import calendars from other systems.

Once you have the Airbnb calendar link, you need to enter it into the booking system used on your site.

The booking engine or WordPress plugin will periodically download the calendar and block the dates already occupied on Airbnb.

### Also sync your site to Airbnb

Importing Airbnb to your site is not enough.

You also need to do the reverse operation.

Your booking system must be able to generate a **exportable iCal calendar**.

You will then need to:

- copy the iCal link generated by your site;

- enter the Airbnb calendar settings;

- choose the function to import a calendar;

- Paste the link to your site.

Airbnb will then be able to read the bookings received directly from your website.

## How to sync Booking.com with your site

Booking.com allows you to synchronize availability via iCal for many types of facilities.

Also in this case the principle is the same.

You need to retrieve the calendar URL exported from Booking.com and enter it into your booking system.

The flow will therefore be:

**Booking.com → website**

Your booking engine will periodically import the occupied dates and make them unbookable on the site.

### Synchronize your site to Booking.com

To have a two-way synchronization you must then import the calendar generated by your site to Booking.com.

The flow then becomes:

**Website → Booking.com**

This way a direct booking received from your site can automatically block the same dates on Booking.com as well.

## How to sync Airbnb and Booking.com with each other

Airbnb and Booking.com can also be synced directly through iCal.

The system consists of exporting the calendar of one platform and importing it into the other.

You can then create these links:

**Airbnb → Booking.com**

e

**Booking.com → Airbnb**

However, if you also use your own site, it's generally neater to use the booking engine as the central point of synchronization.

The structure could be:

**Airbnb ↔ ↔ Booking.com website**

The site imports OTA availabilities and simultaneously exports its reservations.

## Practical example

Let's say you manage an apartment posted on:

- Airbnb;

- Booking.com;

- your official website.

A guest makes a booking directly from your site from the **5 to 9 September**.

The booking engine immediately registers the booking and updates its calendar.

Airbnb and Booking.com read your site's feed the next time you update your iCal calendars.

The dates from September 5 to 9 are then marked as unavailable.

If a booking comes in from Airbnb later, the process happens in the opposite direction.

Your site imports the Airbnb calendar and automatically blocks those dates.

## How fast do iCal calendars update?

This is one of the most important aspects to know.

iCal synchronization **It's not necessarily instantaneous**.

Each platform decides when to update the imported calendars.

The plugin or booking engine used on your site may also have a certain update frequency.

It can then take a few minutes or, in some systems, several hours for a new booking to appear on your other calendars.

For a small property with a limited number of bookings, iCal can be a very effective solution.

For properties with a high volume of concurrent bookings, a Channel Manager with API synchronization may be preferable.

## iCal sync or Channel Manager?

The two solutions have similar goals, but they work differently.

### iCal Sync

iCal synchronization is relatively simple and is mainly used to share availabilities.

The main advantages are:

- simple configuration;

- generally reduced costs;

- compatibility with many portals;

- Suitable for holiday homes, apartments and small structures.

The main limitation is the refresh rate.

### Channel Manager

A Channel Manager, on the other hand, is a system specifically designed to manage multiple portals at the same time.

It can synchronize not only availabilities, but also:

- prices;

- rates;

- restrictions;

- minimum stays;

- inventory;

- Other information about the property.

For this reason, it is often used by hotels, residences and facilities with numerous rooms.

## Is it possible to sync Airbnb and Booking.com with WordPress?

Yes.

If your site's site uses WordPress, you can install a **iCal-compatible booking engine**.

The plugin must be able to:

- create one or more calendars;

- import external iCal calendars;

- export your own iCal calendar;

- automatically block busy dates;

- manage the reservations received from the site.

This way WordPress can become the center of the booking system.

The visitor consults the availability directly from the site and can send a request or make a reservation.

## How to avoid double bookings

Syncing your calendars greatly reduces the risk of overbooking, but it's important to set it up correctly.

After connecting your calendars, always make sure that the sync works both ways.

So check:

- that Airbnb is imported to the site;

- that Booking.com is imported on the site;

- that the calendar of the site is imported to Airbnb;

- that the site calendar is imported to Booking.com.

It is also advisable to carry out a test.

You can manually block some dates on one calendar and later check if they appear as unavailable on the others.

## Beware of bookings received manually

Not all bookings necessarily come through Airbnb, Booking.com, or the website.

You may receive a booking through:

- telephone;

- WhatsApp;

- email;

- regular customer;

- direct booking at the facility.

In this case, it is important to manually enter the booking in the main calendar.

If the system correctly exports its iCal calendar, the block will subsequently be communicated to the connected OTAs as well.

This allows you to keep a single calendar up to date.

## Use your website as a booking centre

An interesting strategy is to use your site as a central hub.

The site can receive availability from OTAs and simultaneously manage direct bookings.

The main benefit of direct bookings is that the owner can reduce their reliance on the platforms' commissions.

A system of this type allows you to have:

- availability calendar;

- direct bookings;

- Airbnb syncing;

- Booking.com synchronization;

- management of reservations;

- any online payments.

OTAs therefore continue to be important acquisition channels, while the site progressively becomes a direct sales channel.

## Host Domination Booking Engine to sync calendars

If you use WordPress, **Host Domination Booking Engine** It allows you to create a booking system directly within your website.

You can manage your availability calendar and connect it to calendars used by external platforms through iCal.

This allows you to use the site to collect direct bookings while maintaining your presence on Airbnb and Booking.com.

The goal is simple: to have availability synchronized and reduce the risk of the same date being sold simultaneously on multiple channels.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can I sync Airbnb and Booking.com for free?

In many cases, yes.

Both platforms support calendar synchronization systems via iCal and numerous booking engines allow you to import these calendars.

The cost depends mainly on the system used on your site.

### Is iCal sync instant?

Not always.

The update depends on how often the platforms and the booking system check external calendars.

For this reason, there may be a gap between booking and updating the other channels.

### Does iCal also sync prices?

No.

iCal is primarily used to share events and availability.

To automatically synchronize prices and rates between different portals, it is generally necessary to use a Channel Manager.

### Can I use iCal with WordPress?

Yes.

All you need to do is use a plugin or booking engine that supports importing and exporting iCal calendars.

### Should I connect Airbnb directly to Booking.com?

Not necessarily.

If you use a booking engine on your site, you can import both calendars into the central system and then export the site's calendar to the platforms.

## Conclusion

Sync **Airbnb, Booking.com, and your own website** It is one of the fundamental steps to properly manage a structure present on multiple channels.

The easiest solution is to use iCal calendars.

Airbnb and Booking.com export their availability, while the site's booking engine imports them and automatically blocks occupied dates.

At the same time, the site can export direct bookings to OTAs.

The result is a system in which:

**Airbnb ↔ ↔ Booking.com website**

they stay connected through calendars.

For small properties, apartments, B&B and holiday homes, this solution can be sufficient to manage availability without immediately resorting to more complex systems.

As the number of rooms, portals and bookings increases, it may instead become appropriate to evaluate a Channel Manager.

The most important aspect, however, remains the same: having **A reliable and up-to-date central calendar**, so you can continue to sell on Airbnb and Booking.com without giving up direct bookings from your site.