Rentalsystems

How do I use iCalendar to sync my Rentalsystems calendar with another?

If you are listing your property on multiple sites, you can use iCalendar to keep its availability in sync and prevent double bookings for the same holiday period. Correctly setting up an iCalendar feed will ensure that your property availability stays up to date across different sites that support it and you won’t have to manually log into each site to mark the dates unavailable when you receive a new booking.

Please note that you can use the iCalendar to synchronize your availability but not your pricing – you will still have to set that manually on each site you use.

What is iCalendar (or iCal)?

iCalendar is a standardized file format that is commonly used to share digital calendars. The format is supported by Google calendar, Outlook, HomeAway/VRBO, Airbnb and many other companies.

Import calendar

Follow the steps below to import availability from an external calendar which supports the iCalendar format:

  1. Log into Rentalsystems and go to the calendar page of the property you wish to sync
  2. Click the “Connect a calendar” or "Manage your calendars" dropdown
  3. Click the “Import calendar” option
  4. Give a name to the calendar
  5. Specify the URL to the iCalendar feed. Typically this will be a link to an .ics file e.g. https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/xxx/xxxxxx/basic.ics
  6. Click “Import”

As soon as you import the calendar, the imported dates will be blocked in your Rentalsystems calendar and guests won’t be able to book / request a booking for those dates.

After the initial import, the iCalendar feed will be:

  • Checked and updated every 4 hours automatically
  • Checked and updated whenever a new booking is being made on either clickstay.com or rentalsystems.com sites. If the period has become unavailable, the booking won’t be made and the renter will receive a message that the property is no longer available for these dates.

Export calendar

Follow the steps below to export your Rentalsystems calendar:

  1. Log into Rentalsystems and go to the calendar page of the property you wish to sync
  2. Click the "Connect a calendar" or “Manage your calendars” dropdown
  3. Click the “Export calendar” option
  4. Copy and paste the calendar URL into the website or application you want to export the calendar to.

Rentalsystems iCalendar feed will always be up to date and will contain information about the bookings made on Clickstay and Rentalsystems – as well as unavailable periods you set on the availability calendar.

When you export the Rentalsystems calendar to another website or application, it is the responsibility of this external system to check the feed regularly and prevent any possible double bookings.

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