Calendar Sync Management

Modified on Wed, 24 Sep at 12:12 PM

Introduction

Calendar Sync in GuestWisely helps you automate availability management and reduce manual work by syncing bookings from platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com directly into your GuestWisely calendar. This keeps your availability accurate across all channels and helps prevent double bookings.

There are some key features you can use to manage calendar sync:

  • One-Way Sync: Sends your GuestWisely calendar availability to external platforms. Best for listing sites where instant booking is not enabled. It does not import bookings from those platforms, so it’s not recommended if guests can book directly on the external site.

  • Two-Way Sync: Keeps availability updated between GuestWisely and external platforms. Bookings and calendar blocks are exchanged in both directions, ensuring all systems stay aligned.

  • Instant Sync: Allows you to manually trigger a calendar sync at any time. This is especially useful right after setup or when making urgent updates, as regular syncs run every 60 minutes.

  • Managing Related Properties and Calendar Sync in GuestWisely:

    • Parent-Child Relationship: Links a main property (Parent) with its sub-units (Children), so bookings in one affect the availability of the other. Ideal for properties like houses with separate floors or rooms rented individually.

    • Sister Relationship: Connects different configurations of the same property—such as an 8-bedroom vs. 10-bedroom version—so that availability updates reflect across all listings while keeping them distinct.

Once your calendars are synced, GuestWisely also helps you manage incoming reservations. You’ll learn how to:

  • Accept and confirm iCal bookings so they appear correctly in your GuestWisely calendar and reports.

  • Complete missing guest details such as name, email, number of guests, and total cost.

  • Apply default rates, taxes, and services to ensure accurate pricing and reporting.

  • Troubleshoot missing or incomplete bookings using iCal verification and sync tools.

  • Prevent booking conflicts by managing availability settings and sync connections correctly.

By setting up and managing calendar sync correctly, you’ll streamline operations, protect against overbookings and maintain full visibility across all your properties.


One-Way Sync

One-way sync sends your GuestWisely calendar information to your external calendars. It’s best suited for listing sites where instant booking is not enabled because it only exports availability from GuestWisely to the external calendar - it does not import bookings made on those external platforms back into GuestWisely.

If instant booking is enabled on a listing site, a guest could make a reservation directly on that platform. But since one-way sync doesn't bring those bookings back into your GuestWisely calendar, you risk double bookings or inaccurate availability.

For platforms with instant booking, two-way sync or API integration is recommended to ensure that availability and bookings are fully aligned across all systems.


Two-Way Calendar Sync

Two-way sync keeps availability updated between GuestWisely and external platforms. This guide will show you how to set it up using Vrbo as an example.

1. Exporting the Vrbo Calendar

  • Log in to Vrbo > Go to your property > Open the Calendar.

  • Click Import/Export > then Export Calendar.

  • Copy the iCal link provided.


2. Integrating the iCal Link in GuestWisely

  • Go to Channel Manager > Calendar Sync > Two-Way-Sync

  • Select the property, paste the Vrbo iCal link, give it a name

  • Sync Calendar without Booking Data

    • Ticked: Creates calendar blocks only, keeping reports clean.

    • Unticked: Creates tentative bookings.

  • (Optional) Hide guest contact and details when I export my GuestWisely calendar.

  • (Optional) Import from Airbnb both bookings and blocks, not just bookings.

  • Click Save.


3. Obtaining the GuestWisely iCal Link

After saving, click the Copy button to copy the GuestWisely-generated iCal link below.

Important: Each property has a unique link. Use the correct one to sync accurately.



4. Importing into Vrbo

In Vrbo, click Import Calendar, paste the GuestWisely iCal link, name it, and click Import.

2-way sync - 07.png          2-way sync - 08.png

Other channels will have similar processes that should be intuitive now that you’ve seen the Vrbo example. For detailed syncing instructions with Airbnb, click here; for TripAdvisor, click here


Sync Timing and Instant Sync Option

Calendar sync occurs every 60 minutes.
You can manually force sync, especially after initial setup, using 
Instant Sync
.



Smarter Syncing with Related Properties

Portfolio Manager’s internal relationship logic offers faster and more reliable calendar sync than traditional iCal links by directly managing dependencies between related listings. Learn more about Related Properties here.


Accepting Calendar Sync Bookings

Bookings synced via iCal appear as Tentative in GuestWisely and are excluded from reports until confirmed. Follow these steps to finalize them:

1. Accept Channel Booking: Open the reservation and click on "Accept Channel Booking".

2. Complete Mandatory Information: Fill in missing details like guest name, email, number of guests, and Grand Total (depending on what the iCal feed includes).
At minimum, please review the 
number of guests and Grand Total.

3. Confirm the Booking - Choose one of the following options:

  • Proceed: Review before confirming

  • Save without notifying: Confirm without emailing the guest

  • Save and notify: Confirm and send the guest a confirmation email

Important: Once you confirm the booking, the link with the original source is removed. Any future changes or cancellations must be updated manually in GuestWisely.

Additional tips:

  • Multiple Rates TablesUtilize the feature on your Rates & Seasons pages to create additional rates tables, accessible when confirming calendar sync bookings. Note that this only works with the Standard Rate table. View the full tutorial here.


  • Default Taxes and Services for Calendar Sync Bookings: Enable the iCal Booking toggle under Taxes and Services to apply default taxes and services automatically.


Troubleshooting Tips

This guide helps troubleshoot missing booking data from sales channels (e.g., Airbnb, Booking.com) that do not appear in your GuestWisely calendar after syncing.

Resolving Missing Data

If bookings from synced platforms (e.g., Airbnb, Booking.com) don’t appear in GuestWisely, follow these steps to troubleshoot:

1. Start by refreshing the data: Navigate to Calendar Sync in GuestWisely and select Instant Sync to update the iCal booking information. If the booking still doesn’t show up, the issue may lie with the iCal feed itself.

2. Verify Booking Data in iCal URL: You can use an online iCal verification tool (link here) or  import the iCal URL into a Google Calendar (or similar) and see if the reservation blocks the calendar during the correct dates.

  1. Copy the URL link for external platform. 
  2. In Google Calendar, click “+” to add other calendar.

  1. Select “From URL”.

  1. Paste URL.

  2. Add Calendar.


3. Issue Resolution: If the booking data isn’t in the iCal feed, contact the sales channel to ask about delays in their feed. 

You can also try updating the iCal URL in GuestWisely to trigger a refresh. If the data is present in the iCal feed but still not syncing, reach out to GuestWisely support for further assistance (support@guestwisely.io).


Unknown blocks from iCal

GuestWisely uses the iCal standard for calendar sync, primarily focusing on sharing availability with platforms like Airbnb. However, iCal itself might not display all the details or booking settings you have defined within GuestWisely.

To prevent booking conflicts caused by unknown blocks from iCal, here are some key points to ensure smooth calendar synchronization:

  • Single Source of Availability: Manage your Booking Notice, Booking Window, Minimum Stay, and other availability settings directly within GuestWisely.
    Avoid duplicating these settings in any connected OTA calendar like Airbnb. GuestWisely should be the source of truth for your availability.

  • Centralized Connection: Avoid linking sales channel calendars (e.g., Airbnb, Booking.com) to each other. Instead, connect them directly to GuestWisely, which serves as the central hub to sync availability, maintain accuracy, and minimize double bookings.

  • Include Pricing: Ensure your listings on OTAs include pricing for the affected period. Lack of pricing information on a connected platform can lead to blocked availability on the platform and on your GuestWisely calendar.

If unknown blocks still appear, review your iCal settings or try resetting the sync with GuestWisely.

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