Ben runs short lets in Manchester. For a long time, the Airbnb and Booking.com calendars at Ben’s flats talked to each other through iCal links, which are free and built into both sites. Twice that went badly wrong, and both times the bill landed with Ben. A third clash only came to light on the day Ben switched to a direct connection.
The Booking.com double booking: a £500 weekend, and £160 on top
A guest paid £500 for a weekend at one of Ben’s flats through Booking.com, on nights that were already taken. Ben had to contact Booking.com to cancel the booking.
Because it was last minute, Booking.com had Ben give the guest a full refund. The commission on the booking was still paid. Then Ben paid the difference on the alternative place Booking.com found for the guest, which came to another £160.
So the £500 weekend was gone, commission was paid on money Ben did not keep, and £160 went on top. That was one booking, for one host. If you sell on Booking.com, check its terms for your own property, so you know where you stand before it happens to you.
The one where both guests turned up
Another time, nobody knew anything was wrong until both sets of guests arrived at the same flat.
Ben booked one party into another Airbnb, which was not the same standard, paid for their transfer and refunded them. Then came the hassle of sorting it all out on the spot, and a bad review on Airbnb that hurt the listing’s score.
Why iCal lets this happen
An iCal link is a calendar address. One site reads it to copy the blocked dates from the other. The catch is that the reading happens on a timer, not at the moment a booking lands. Airbnb’s own help page says “Your Airbnb calendar automatically updates every 3 hours”. Booking.com reads your link on its own timer too.
In that gap, nights you have just sold on one site still look free on the other. If a second guest books inside that window, you have a double booking, and you usually find out later than you would like. Last minute bookings leave the least time to put things right, and Ben’s Booking.com one was last minute.
What changed with a direct connection
Ben moved off iCal and on to a direct connection. Zugrow connects to Airbnb and Booking.com directly, never through an iCal feed. When a booking comes in on one, the same nights close on the other as the booking arrives.
Since then Ben has not had a double booking. Every booking that comes in now closes the same nights on the other platform straight away.
The clash nobody had spotted, three months out
The part that surprised Ben came on the day of connecting. As you connect, Zugrow checks the bookings coming in against the ones already on your calendar. It flagged an overlap three months ahead, left over from the iCal days, that nobody had noticed.
The screen says it plainly: “1 booking already overlaps on your calendar. You can connect and sort it after.” It does not stop you connecting. It just makes sure you know.
Three months is a lot of notice compared with finding out on the doorstep. There was time to organise an alternative with Booking.com and keep the stay on Airbnb. The Booking.com guest had free cancellation anyway, and it was resolved.
Because there was no need to cancel on Airbnb, Ben kept Superhost status. Airbnb lists a cancellation rate under 1% and an overall rating of 4.8 or higher among its Superhost criteria, so both a host cancellation and a bad review can count against you.
Still on iCal? What Ben would do
If you are not ready to move yet, these will cut your risk.
- Look three months ahead, today. Put both calendars side by side and check for any nights that are booked on both. Ben’s clash was three months out, and nobody had spotted it.
- Block by hand the moment a booking lands. When you take a booking on one site, block the same nights on the other yourself, rather than waiting for the link to catch up.
- Refresh when it matters. Airbnb’s help page explains how to check your latest availability sooner than its automatic update by refreshing an imported calendar yourself.
- Take extra care with last minute bookings. Ben’s Booking.com double booking was last minute, and that is what made it so costly.
- Know the rules before you need them. Read Airbnb’s Host Cancellation Policy and Booking.com’s terms for your property, so a clash does not bring a second surprise.
- Move to a direct connection when you can. That is the step that stopped the double bookings for Ben.
Moving off iCal without the fuss
If you have one property, Zugrow Solo is a free channel manager for Airbnb and Booking.com. It connects both directly, it costs nothing, and you never give a card or bank details.
“Setting it up was as easy as paying for something on Amazon, and you never need to give your bank details.” Ben McCarthy
There are two ways in: do it yourself in four quick steps, or bring your bookings across from your old channel manager with an export file. Nothing on your channels changes until you press Connect.
If you run more than one property, our channel manager for Airbnb and Booking.com works the same way on the Pro and Max plans. If you have a cohost or a team, Pro adds the professional hosting tools that go with it: Guest Vetting, every agent and access set per property.
Zugrow is invite only. You can join the waitlist at zugrow.com. Planning next year? These are the Airbnb tools for 2027 worth setting up first.
Ben McCarthy is a co-founder of Zugrow.