Everything About the Airbnb Calendar – 5 Steps to Optimize It & Ways to Use It Effectively in 2024

It’s done; you took the plunge and are ready to work on Airbnb? The only downside is that the clientele does not really flock, and you wonder if you made the right choice by spending a few thousand dollars to renovate the room, studio, apartment or villa you want to rent out on the platform. To help you get out of this bad patch, here are some tips to optimize the filling of your Airbnb calendar.

About the Airbnb calendar

When you need to manage a property on the Airbnb platform, you may have overlooked its calendar. However, it is a definite deciding factor that will have a big influence. You undoubtedly want the highest visibility for your item. However, you will be able to declare your availability due to the Airbnb calendar function and know that it is a filter frequently used by travelers when they are seeking for housing and for greeting tourists.

Importance of the calendar on Airbnb

Because you are not interested in the calendar right now, you may not know how to rent out a space on Airbnb. However, if you utilize the automatic update feature, be aware that if passengers have a positive experience, your hotel will probably get five times more reservations.

The website’s core mission is to support short-term rentals. You lose out on many potential clients if you don’t frequently update the availability. But because you don’t have to cancel stays when they aren’t available, it’s also a handy function for saving time. So, if you want to become a Superhost, completing this stage is crucial.

Think like a tourist looking for a place to stay while on vacation to do this. You choose to reserve a place to stay because you have a crush on it. In fact, the house’s description and the appealing images really entice you. You have to synchronize your calendar if, in the end, the property is not accessible and you feel like you spent your time.

How to sync the Airbnb calendar

In fact, keeping several listings current might be difficult if you have a lot of listings since it requires a lot of work. However, nothing precludes you from employing a variety of strategies to manage your time better and, in particular, your schedule.

Rest assured, the platform has been designed to facilitate the management of any property. Synchronization of calendars will be done directly with the iCal format.

So if you do not know how to import a calendar, here is the procedure to follow:

• Log into your Airbnb account using your username and password.
• Then, you go to the “manage my listings” tab and see the “manage the listing and the calendar” tab appear in relation to the listing on which you wish to intervene.
• Then click “availability settings” at the top right of your calendar.
• All you have to do is validate the synchronization by clicking on “import the calendar”. Below “sync calendars,” you have a URL address of your calendar that you indicate in the corresponding field. Vigilance, to avoid any confusion, do not forget to indicate a name that will be meaningful.
• Then, you validate this step by clicking “import the calendar.”

Setting up is particularly easy once you have connected the 2 calendars. But be aware that the synchronization is not immediate if you use an external calendar to manage the Airbnb calendar. Therefore, when you have just changed, it may appear several hours after the modification to synchronize your calendar.

Is it possible to export the Airbnb calendar?

Indeed, thanks to the export function, you will be able to read the calendar on the site. If, on your side, you use a calendar that is still compatible with the iCalendar format, you will have no compatibility problem. Here is the procedure to follow carefully:

• Go back to “manage my listings” on Airbnb.
• To modify the listing, click “manage the listing and the calendar.”
• Still, at the top right in front of the calendar, go to the “availability parameter” tab.
• The subtlety starts here compared to the previous functionality by selecting “export calendar” and not “import calendar”.
• The Airbnb calendar URL will be copied and then pasted into the iCal application managing your own calendar. If you do not currently have a specific application, you can ideally use Google Calendar.

If you need any help regarding Airbnb, you can consult with us and get direct solutions to your issues in a few hours or even minutes.

Procedures to follow to link calendars
for multiple listings

If you manage several properties on the Airbnb platform, you may want to block availability when the reservation is made automatically on one of your accommodations. No problem, Airbnb has everything planned with the “Link separate Airbnb calendars” feature.

This is a feature that many Airbnb hosts are interested in, as you may have multiple listings. This is the case when you have full accommodation or room accommodation. To avoid double bookings, sync the two calendars by following the procedure that we are going to describe to you:

• Go to the “manage my listings” tab and go to the listing concerned.
• You must go to the “availability” section and click “sync.”
• This way, you can create calendars synced with the property’s listing. Do not forget to click the “continue” button by selecting all your listings for the accommodation rooms.
• Validate the process by clicking “save” and you have just finished syncing a calendar with several accommodations.

This feature often needs to be updated, but be aware that a reservation of a related listing does not automatically make other listings unavailable. A booking on your main listing automatically blocks the availability of synced listings. But if the reservation is made on a synced listing, the blocking of the calendar operates on the main listing and not on the other listings considered at the same level if you select a currency.

5 steps to optimize the filling of
your Airbnb calendar

Optimizing the filling of your Airbnb calendar comes down more or less to putting everything in place so travelers are interested in your accommodation rather than your competitors. In short, that’s what it’s all about. But in practice, how to make your home more attractive? How to inflate the filling rate? The secret lies in a few pillars, which are detailed here.

1. Offer accommodation worthy of a 5-star hotel

We can’t repeat it enough, the secret to success on Airbnb comes first and foremost from publishing a neat listing that stands out from the crowd. To do this, here are some tips:

• Choose accommodation in the optimal geographical location,
• Write a unique description,
• Opt for professional photographs instead of those taken with your smartphone,
• Offer the right price after analyzing the market.

If you have little time to devote to your vacation rentals and are not comfortable with the various digital platforms such as Airbnb, you can be accompanied by an adapted service. CHM Inc. offers the Airbnb property management service to all hosts who wish to make their rental investment profitable or take advantage of their second home.

2. Provide free services to your guests

Always to stand out from the competition, offer free services. Indeed almost everything is billed on Airbnb. Offering breakfast or a bottle of wine, it always attracts more customers. This heart-warming attention will not cost you more than $20. Who would resist a touch of attention from the hosts who open the doors of their property to us?

3. Attract last-minute bookings

Many travelers book at the last moment. It is, therefore, essential to be flexible with last-minute bookings. This gives you a certain advantage over hosts who require reservations to be made within 48 to 24 hours of arriving on-site.

9 last-minute booking strategies on Airbnb

Strategy	Description
Offer discounts	Provide special discounts for bookings made within a short window.
Set last-minute deals	Create last-minute deals with reduced rates to entice guests.
Update calendar regularly	Keep your calendar up to date with real-time availability.
Enable instant book	Allow guests to book instantly without needing approval.
Highlight short-notice availability	Emphasize that your space is available for last-minute stays.
Use urgency in your listing	Encourage bookings with urgent language in your listing.
Leverage social media	Promote last-minute availability on your social media channels.
Respond quickly to inquiries	Be prompt in responding to potential guests’ questions.
Utilize Airbnb’s last-minute search	Activate Airbnb’s “Last-Minute” search filter to be visible to those searching for immediate stays.

By making your accommodation accessible 24/7, you will potentially increase its occupancy rate by 20% on average. Which is far from negligible. Also, Airbnb automatically improves the listing of properties with flexible accessibility.

4. Do flawless price monitoring

The final secret to maximizing your Airbnb calendar fill is pretty logical. You must carry out a price watch compared to the competition. Static prices over the year devalue your listing, while prices fluctuate with the seasons and booking peaks, but above all compared to the competition make your listing dynamic.

This increases the attractiveness of your listing and its referencing on Airbnb. An increase in the filling rate of your calendar materializes all this.

5. Get only positive reviews

Because the location and beautiful photos of your accommodation are not everything, travelers and potential tenants scrutinize the reviews and comments of your listing. It is, therefore, essential to have only positive opinions. And in this regard, Airbnb does not allow cheating: deleting or hiding reviews is impossible. As a result, a negative opinion or a pejorative comment will remain attached to your listing throughout its existence on the platform.

No host knows if they will have good or bad reviews. However, clarity about the listing you offer, loyalty to tenants, and proximity to your potential guests are the keys to getting positive reviews for each traveler’s stay.

Be warm, available, and open. Avoid disputes or find common ground in a conflict without great waves, and you will surely have loyal and regular tenants. Good reviews encourage travelers to trust your listing. This trust is then converted into bookings and optimizing the filling of your Airbnb calendar.

Finally, always respond to negative reviews to learn more about their reasons. To show future tenants who read everything about your listing, you take the time to listen to those who trust you by renting your property on Airbnb.

As a conclusion

It’s relatively easy to attract guests during peak season, but any host’s ultimate goal is successfully filling their Airbnb calendar throughout the year. We told you about an Airbnb calendar, why it’s important, and how to optimize it. As you can see, it is not difficult but requires a lot of time and work. But if you are really committed to building a successful Airbnb business, you will definitely succeed.

Need help to increase your occupancy rate? Our team of professionals has years of experience in optimizing the listings and rental income generated. Contact the CHM team, we are here to assist you in managing your short-term rental.

Frequently asked questions about
Airbnb calendar

Updated on: 2024-03-10. Author: Karina

Tags: Airbnb management