Troubleshooting sync
Diagnose a stale-looking calendar: import health states and common iCal URL mistakes.
Why availability might look out of date
RentalBeam refreshes each connected iCal source automatically, at most every 15 minutes. Exact timing varies with each platform's own iCal cache. If you just blocked a date on Airbnb and it hasn't shown up on your RentalBeam widget within a few minutes, that delay almost always sits on the platform's side, not RentalBeam's. To force an immediate re-fetch rather than waiting, open your rental's Calendar sync section and click Refresh next to its sources.
Reading the import health status
Open the rental from the Rentals tab and choose Calendar sync. Each connected source there shows a status:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Healthy | The source synced successfully recently. Nothing to do. |
| Awaiting first sync | The source was just added and hasn't synced yet. It will sync automatically on its own shortly. |
| Not updating | The source hasn't been read for over 30 days. Check that the export link still works on the platform's side, or copy a fresh one. |
| No events | The feed was read without any trouble and held no events. That is normal for a calendar with no bookings yet. If you expect bookings on it, the export link may have been revoked or replaced on the platform. |
| Can't read | The last few reads failed. The status shows the reason, usually a link problem (see below) or the platform refusing the request. |
| Not working | The feed failed for 7 days straight, so we stopped checking it. See below. |
When a feed stops working
A feed that fails is retried for a while on its own, because most failures are a platform having a bad afternoon. After 7 days of failing every time, we stop checking it and the source shows Not working. Nothing restarts that on its own: open the rental from the Rentals tab, choose Calendar sync, and either press Refresh to try the same link again or paste a fresh export link and save it. Either one starts the checking again.
You do not have to watch for this. When a feed stops working we send one calendar sync alert email to your notification address, and one reminder about a week later if it is still broken. It is always sent. See Notifications & the review link.
Common iCal URL mistakes
Most sync problems trace back to the pasted URL rather than a real connection issue:
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Pasted the listing or dashboard page URL instead of the export link | Each platform has a dedicated calendar export/ICS URL, separate from the page you view your listing on. See Connecting sources for where to find it on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com. |
| Pasted a Google Calendar sharing link instead of the secret ICS address | Google Calendar's secret address in iCal format is different from its sharing/embed link. See Google Calendar sync. |
| Pasted a RentalBeam or iCalendar Sync export URL back into a source field | Source fields expect the original platform's export URL, not an export URL generated by RentalBeam itself. |
| The link no longer grants access | Some platforms rotate or revoke export links. Copy a fresh export URL from the platform's calendar settings and replace the source. |
| The platform turned the request away | Usually the platform refusing our servers for a while, and we keep trying on our own. If it lasts past a day, the link may have been revoked: copy a fresh export URL and replace the source. |
| The link returns a login page instead of calendar data | The URL points at a page that requires signing in rather than a public export feed. Copy the dedicated export link instead. |
Still stuck? See Connecting sources for exact steps per platform, or contact support.