Calendar Sync
Calendar sync is the process of keeping a rental's availability consistent across every platform it's listed on, usually by importing each platform's iCal feed into one place and, where supported, exporting a combined feed back out. The goal is one accurate picture of which dates are open, without checking each site by hand.
Most sync setups are one-way per source: a channel like Airbnb publishes an iCal feed, and a separate tool imports it to display alongside feeds from VRBO, Booking.com, or a direct booking form. A practical two-way workflow imports every source and exports one combined feed back out to platforms that accept an iCal import.
Sync is never truly instant - every platform refreshes its own iCal feed on its own schedule, and any tool reading that feed re-checks it periodically rather than being pushed a live update. RentalBeam refreshes imported availability automatically, at most every 30 minutes, and the exact timing varies by each source platform's own cache.
Why it matters for hosts
Reliable sync is what prevents a guest from booking dates that are already taken on another platform. Hosts juggling two or three channels need the sync delay to be short and predictable rather than guessing when a feed last updated.
Further reading
More detail on how this works with RentalBeam.
Related terms
Other glossary terms that come up alongside this one.
See this in the product.
See how RentalBeam syncs availability