To stop double bookings between Airbnb and Booking.com, connect both platforms to one calendar that reads every new booking from each of them and publishes your remaining availability back. You can do that directly between the two platforms with iCal links, or — better once you also take phone and WhatsApp bookings — through a booking calendar or channel manager that sits in the middle.
Why double bookings happen
Airbnb and Booking.com do not talk to each other. When a guest books your apartment on Airbnb, Booking.com keeps selling those nights until something tells it they are gone. A double booking costs more than an awkward phone call: cancelling a confirmed guest can bring a penalty and a lower ranking on the platform that took the booking.
Option 1: connect Airbnb and Booking.com directly with iCal
Both platforms support iCal, a standard calendar link that any system can read.
- On Airbnb, open the listing's calendar, go to the availability settings and find the calendar-sync section. Copy the export link (it ends in
.ics). - On Booking.com, open the extranet, go to Rates & Availability → Sync calendars, choose the room, and paste the Airbnb link as an import. Copy Booking.com's own export link.
- Back on Airbnb, import the Booking.com link.
Repeat this for every listing and every room type. It is free and works, but it has two weaknesses: you have to manage a web of links that grows with every room and platform, and phone or walk-in bookings exist on neither platform unless you block the dates by hand.
Option 2: one central calendar for every channel
A booking calendar with a channel manager replaces the web of links with a hub. In Ruma, for example:
- Paste each listing's Airbnb and Booking.com export links into the room in Ruma.
- Copy Ruma's export link for that room (or one link for all rooms) and import it into Airbnb and Booking.com.
- Add phone, WhatsApp and walk-in bookings straight on the Ruma calendar — they are published to every channel at the same time.
Now there is one source of truth. Every booking, whatever its source, is on one screen with the guest's details and payment status, and every platform reads the same availability.
How fast is iCal sync?
iCal is not instant, and it is worth knowing where the delay comes from:
- Your side: how often your calendar reads Airbnb and Booking.com. Ruma checks every 15 minutes and you can trigger a sync at any time.
- The platforms' side: how often Airbnb and Booking.com read your calendar. Each platform decides this itself, and it can be considerably slower than your side.
For most small properties that is enough: two guests rarely book the same nights on two platforms within the same short window. If you get many same-day or last-minute bookings, close the gap further:
- Set a minimum booking notice (for example, no same-day bookings) on the platform that sells fewer of your nights.
- When a last-minute booking arrives, trigger a manual sync rather than waiting.
- Check the overlap or conflict view in your calendar every morning in high season.
Tools with a direct API connection to Airbnb and Booking.com update faster, but API access is limited to approved partners and usually costs more per listing.
Checklist
- Every listing on every platform is connected — one forgotten room is enough for a double booking.
- Phone and direct bookings go into the same calendar, not a notebook.
- You know how often each side refreshes.
- Someone checks for overlaps daily in July and August.
Ruma is booking software and a channel manager for villas, apartments, rooms-to-let and small hotels in Greece. It syncs Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and any iCal platform in both directions, tracks deposits on every booking and turns bookings into invoices — €250 per year for unlimited properties, with a 14-day free trial. See how the channel manager works.