Synchronizing your calendar across multiple booking platforms is essential for managing your property efficiently and avoiding double bookings. This comprehensive guide will walk you through configuring iCal sync to connect your calendar with other platforms, ensuring your availability is always up-to-date across all channels.

Understanding iCal Synchronization

iCal synchronization creates a two-way connection between your Holidu calendar and other booking platforms or calendar providers. This means you can both import calendars from external sources and export your Holidu calendar to keep all your bookings and availability synchronized in real-time. Once properly configured, this automated system helps prevent costly double bookings and ensures consistent availability information across all your distribution channels.

Supported Calendar Channels

Holidu supports iCal synchronization with a wide range of popular booking platforms and calendar providers. Before setting up your sync, verify that your external calendar provider is listed below, as compatibility is essential for a successful connection.

You can synchronize calendars with the following providers:

• Admin
• Abritel
• Airbnb
• Atraveo
• Avaibook
• Avantio
• Booking.com
• FeWo-direkt
• Feratel
• Fewomanager.de
• Icnea
• Iperbooking
• Menorca Vacations
• Mister B & B
• Octorate
• TouristManager - LTS
• VRBO
• Wimdu

If the calendar provider you wish to import is not listed above, contact your external provider to verify whether they support two-way iCal synchronization. We recommend always testing the connection manually by creating a test block on each calendar to confirm proper synchronization before relying on it for your live bookings.

Important Disclaimer: Holidu does not guarantee the compatibility of external calendars with iCal standards. Property managers should always verify that the sync works as expected by conducting thorough testing before going live.

How to Import and Export an iCal Calendar

Setting up iCal synchronization involves six straightforward steps. Follow this process to establish a connection between your external calendar and your Holidu property listing.

Step-by-Step Configuration Process

1. Locate Your External iCal URL: Log into your external booking platform (such as Booking.com, Airbnb, or VRBO) and navigate to the iCal or calendar synchronization settings. Find and copy your iCal export URL or feed link. This unique URL is what allows other platforms to access your calendar data.
2. Access Your Holidu Account: Open a new browser window and log into your Holidu account. Select the property for which you want to configure calendar synchronization.
3. Navigate to Synchronization Settings: From the left-hand menu, locate and click on "Configuration." Scroll down until you find the "iCal & Synchronization" option and click on it.
4. Begin Configuration: Click the "Configure" button and select the name of the channel or platform from which you want to import your calendar from the provided list of options.
5. Complete the Two-Step Setup Process:
   • Step 1 – Import: Paste the iCal URL you copied from your external provider into the field labeled "Address of iCal." This allows Holidu to import bookings and availability blocks from your external calendar.
   • Step 2 – Export: Copy the iCal URL that Holidu generates for your property. Navigate back to your external provider's platform and paste this URL into their iCal import section. This completes the two-way synchronization setup.
6. Save Your Configuration: Click the "Save" button to finalize your synchronization settings. Your calendars should now begin syncing automatically.

Important Notes for Popular Booking Platforms

Different booking platforms have specific requirements and limitations for iCal synchronization. Pay careful attention to these platform-specific guidelines to ensure your calendar syncs correctly and completely.

Booking.com Configuration

When setting up synchronization with Booking.com, you must enable specific export settings to ensure all your booking and availability information syncs properly with Holidu. In your Booking.com export settings, make sure to check the box for "Booked and Closed Dates." This critical setting ensures that both confirmed reservations and manual availability blocks (such as dates you've blocked for cleaning or maintenance) are synchronized with your Holidu calendar. Without this setting enabled, you may experience incomplete calendar synchronization and potential booking conflicts. For detailed instructions specific to Booking.com, refer to their official guide on connecting calendars to other platforms.

Airbnb Synchronization Limitations

Airbnb's iCal synchronization has a built-in temporal limitation that property managers must understand. Airbnb's iCal feed only supports synchronization from today through the next 364 days. This means any dates beyond this 365-day window will not be synchronized to Holidu. If you need to manage availability for dates further in the future, you will need to manually update those dates on Airbnb directly, or wait until those dates fall within the 365-day sync window. For complete Airbnb integration details, consult their official help documentation on iCal synchronization.

VRBO Integration

VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) offers robust iCal synchronization capabilities for property managers. When configuring your VRBO calendar sync with Holidu, follow the platform's standard iCal export procedures. For comprehensive step-by-step instructions tailored to VRBO's interface and features, please refer to VRBO's official help article on syncing calendars with other platforms.

Troubleshooting Calendar Synchronization Issues

Even with careful setup, calendar synchronization issues can occasionally occur. Use these troubleshooting strategies to diagnose and resolve common problems.

Verify the iCal URL

The most common cause of synchronization failures is an incorrectly copied iCal URL. Before assuming there's a technical problem, carefully double-check that you've copied and pasted the entire iCal URL exactly as it appears in your external platform. Even a single missing character or typo will prevent the sync from working. Copy the URL again slowly, character by character if necessary, and verify it matches the original source exactly.

Refresh Your Calendar Manually

Calendar synchronization is not instantaneous. If your calendar does not update immediately after configuring the sync or adding new blocks, this is normal behavior. To speed up the synchronization process, look for a green "Refresh" button in your Holidu calendar settings and click it. After clicking refresh, allow a few minutes for the system to pull the latest data from your external provider. In most cases, blocks and bookings will appear within 5-10 minutes of clicking the refresh button.

Conduct a Manual Test Sync

The most effective way to confirm that your iCal synchronization is working correctly is to conduct a manual test. Create a test availability block (such as blocking a random date in the next week) on each calendar independently, then verify that the block appears on the other platform within a few minutes. This simple test confirms that the two-way synchronization is functioning properly before you rely on it for managing your actual bookings. If the test block does not appear after 15 minutes, review your URL configuration and repeat the testing process.

Check for Platform-Specific Requirements

Refer back to the platform-specific guidance in this article for Booking.com, Airbnb, and VRBO. Many synchronization problems stem from platform-specific settings not being properly configured. For example, if you forgot to enable "Booked and Closed Dates" on Booking.com, your closures may not sync at all.

Contact Support if Issues Persist

If you've verified your iCal URL, clicked refresh, conducted manual testing, and checked all platform-specific requirements but continue experiencing synchronization issues, contact Holidu support with details about which platforms you're trying to sync and what specific data isn't synchronizing. The support team can investigate whether there's a technical issue with the connection or provide additional troubleshooting assistance.

Best Practices for Ongoing Calendar Management

After establishing your iCal synchronization, follow these best practices to maintain smooth calendar operations and prevent booking conflicts. Periodically verify that your calendars are syncing properly by checking that recent bookings appear across all platforms within a reasonable timeframe. Maintain consistent naming conventions for blocked dates across all platforms to make it easy to identify manual blocks versus actual bookings. Remember that while iCal synchronization is highly reliable, always verify critical dates manually during the first week of setup to ensure everything is working as expected.