how to avoid a double booking when you have Booking, Airbnb and Livvi
Direct bookings shouldn't be one more calendar to worry about. Here is how to connect your calendars with Booking and Airbnb in Livvi, and what to do with a guest who books by phone.
Every host with listings in more than one place knows that fear: two guests, the same apartment, the same dates. You have to turn one away, apologise and hope they won't leave a bad review. When you add Livvi to Booking and Airbnb, it's logical to ask whether there will now be yet another calendar you have to worry about.
There doesn't have to be. Here is how to set it up so the calendars know about each other.
why a double booking happens at all
A double booking happens when one channel doesn't know what happened on another. A guest books on Booking, and another channel still shows those dates as free. The more channels you have that aren't connected, the greater the chance it happens right in the middle of the season.
At Livvi we didn't want direct bookings to become a new risk for you. Booking and Airbnb stay, and Livvi comes alongside them as your channel for direct bookings. For this to work without stress, Livvi has to know what is happening on Booking and Airbnb.
how livvi connects calendars
Livvi uses iCal links, the standard way calendars are connected between platforms. You enter the links for each accommodation unit separately.
- In Livvi, open Properties → choose a property → Edit unit and find the "Calendar sync (iCal)" section.
- On Airbnb, open the listing → Availability → Export calendar, copy the iCal link and paste it into the "Airbnb iCal URL for import" field.
- In the Booking.com Extranet, open Rates & Availability → Calendar → Export calendar, copy the iCal link and paste it into the "Booking.com iCal URL for import" field.
- Click Save.
The whole process is in the guide How to sync your calendar (Airbnb and Booking.com).
From then on, dates booked on Booking or Airbnb show up in the Livvi calendar as "External booking". That date is taken and a guest can't book it through Livvi. Livvi doesn't take over that booking: payment and communication with the guest stay on the platform the booking came from.
The connection can work in the other direction too. Livvi also supports iCal export, so if you set it up, both Booking and Airbnb can know about dates booked through Livvi.
a guest who got in touch by phone
Some guests still book by message or phone. Such a booking doesn't enter any calendar by itself, so block those dates in Livvi straight away: Bookings → choose unit → Manage dates → Block dates. Blocked dates are no longer available for booking. Guide: How to block dates.
You can also add such a guest manually to your guest list, so they stay recorded for next season: How to add a guest who didn't book through Livvi.
a quick check before the season
- Every unit has an iCal link entered for each platform it is listed on.
- In the Livvi calendar you can see "External booking" dates that match reservations from Booking and Airbnb.
- Bookings agreed by phone or message are blocked in Livvi.
If all three are in place, you can use Livvi for direct bookings without moving your listings and without risk to your season.