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What synchronisation is for

If you list the same seasonal rental on several platforms (Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo…) and on SmartLife Properties, a booking made in one place must block the same dates everywhere, otherwise you risk a double booking.

Synchronisation uses the standard iCal format (.ics file), understood by every platform. It works both ways:
  • to the platforms: each unit has a calendar address to add in Airbnb, Booking.com…;
  • from the platforms: you save the address of their calendar; their busy dates block your unit here.
Included from the Starter plan (Starter, Standard and Premium). On the Free plan, the button explains how to get it: see The plans. It only applies to units in seasonal rental.

Open the synchronisation window

Open the page of a seasonal-rental unit, then click Synchronise calendars in the unit header. The window has two parts: your unit's calendar (to give to the platforms) and the platforms' calendars (to import).

Send your calendar to the platforms

  1. In 1. This unit's calendar, click Copy to copy the address.
  2. In the platform, find the feature to import or sync a calendar (sometimes called “Import calendar”, “Add external calendar” or “Sync with another calendar”) and paste the address.
  3. Repeat for every platform where the unit is listed.
What the calendar contains: only the dates of your bookings, marked “Réservé”. No traveller name, email or phone number is shared. Cancelled bookings are removed, and dates imported from another platform are not sent back (so they never loop between platforms).

Keep this address private: anyone who has it can read the booked dates. If it was shared by mistake, click Generate a new address: the old one stops working immediately and you must paste the new one in each platform.

Import a platform's calendar

  1. In the platform, get your unit's iCal export link:
    • Airbnb: Calendar → Availability → Sync calendars → Export calendar;
    • Booking.com: Rates & availability → Sync calendars → Export calendar;
    • Vrbo, Google Calendar and others: look for “export” or “iCal / .ics address”.
  2. In 2. Other platforms' calendars, choose the platform, paste the link and click Add this calendar.
  3. A first synchronisation runs right away: the status shows how many busy periods were imported, or why it failed.
Only https:// addresses are accepted. You can save up to 8 calendars per unit. To remove a calendar, click the bin: the dates it was blocking are released.

Where imported dates appear

  • In the unit's calendar: periods busy on another platform are shown as striped grey with a padlock and the platform name (year, month and week views). They cannot be edited here: manage them in the platform. They count in the occupancy rate.
  • When adding or editing a stay: a booking that overlaps dates busy on a platform is refused.
  • On the unit's public page: the availability calendar shows them as unavailable, without saying which platform they come from.
A stay's departure day stays available for a new arrival, as elsewhere in the calendar.

Update frequency and limits

  • SmartLife Properties refreshes imported calendars automatically every night. The Synchronise now button forces an update at any time.
  • The platforms refresh your calendar at their own pace, from a few hours to a day. Synchronisation is therefore not instant: for a highly requested night, block it directly in the platforms to avoid a simultaneous booking.
  • Only upcoming dates are imported; past or cancelled events, and events from your own calendar, are ignored.
  • If a platform is unreachable (expired link, outage), an error message is shown and the last known dates are kept: your dates are not released by mistake.
  • If you leave the Starter plan or above, calendars are no longer refreshed and your calendar address stops responding; your settings are kept and resume if you return to an eligible plan.

Troubleshooting

  • “This link does not return an iCal calendar”: you may have pasted the platform's page address instead of the export link. Use the “Export calendar” link.
  • “The platform answered HTTP 403 / 404”: the link has expired or was regenerated in the platform. Get a new one, remove the old calendar, then add the new one.
  • No date appears after adding: check the number of imported periods in the calendar's status; a platform with no upcoming booking exports nothing. Also check the year shown in the unit's calendar.
  • My platform does not show my SmartLife bookings: it has not read your calendar yet; wait a few hours or use its manual refresh if it has one.

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