iCal (iCalendar)
iCalendar (iCal) is an open, cross-platform file format for representing calendar events - meetings, appointments, and, for vacation rentals, booked or blocked date ranges. It uses the .ics file extension and is read by nearly every calendar and booking tool, which is why Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, and property management systems all publish and accept it.
Each iCal file is plain text built from VEVENT blocks, one per event, with a start date, end date, and optional summary. For vacation rentals, the events are usually just date ranges marked busy - no descriptions, guest names, or other detail.
Because the format is standardized (RFC 5545), a calendar exported from one platform can be imported into a completely different one, which is what makes iCal the backbone of vacation rental sync between OTAs, PMS software, and independent booking tools like RentalBeam.
Why it matters for hosts
Hosts who list on more than one platform rely on iCal to keep availability lined up everywhere. Any tool that supports iCal - RentalBeam included - can pull in Airbnb, VRBO, or Booking.com dates without a direct API integration, which is why iCal support is the baseline requirement for any calendar sync tool.
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 the availability calendar widget