Syncing Airbnb and Trip.com calendars so a room never sells twice

HostBooking · Updated Nov 2, 2026 · 7 min read

Airbnb supports iCal and re-reads outside calendars every 3 hours. Trip.com publishes no guidance on iCal links in eBooking, its partner extranet. So Trip.com bookings block Airbnb through booking emails and a central calendar, while Airbnb bookings must be closed in eBooking by hand, or through a channel manager connected to Trip.com.

What each side offers

Airbnb documents export, import and its 3-hour refresh. Trip.com is different: we found no official documentation saying eBooking can export or import an iCal link. Every Trip.com connection we found runs through a channel manager over a direct (API) connection, not iCal. If your eBooking account shows an external calendar option, check with Trip.com partner support before relying on it.

Trip.com → Airbnb

Every Trip.com booking comes with a confirmation email. Set a filter forwarding mail from trip.com and ctrip.com to HostBooking: a properly signed email becomes a booking with guest name, dates and price, blocking the room. Airbnb reads your HostBooking link and closes the night within 3 hours. For a last-minute stay, click Refresh Calendar on Airbnb to read it now, but Airbnb limits how often you can; once used up, you wait for the automatic update.

Airbnb → Trip.com

There is no link for Trip.com to read, so each Airbnb booking has to be closed in eBooking by hand. For shared rooms, turn off Instant Book on Airbnb: guests send a request, you close the room in eBooking first, then accept.

If you use a channel manager for Trip.com

A channel manager is the only way for Trip.com to receive availability automatically. Before switching one on, know what channel manager providers describe (details vary by provider):

• Once connected, the eBooking calendar may be locked for the channel manager to manage; existing prices and availability may drop to 0 until the channel manager sends new ones.
• Bookings made before the connection may not be pulled in; note your upcoming stays and enter them in the channel manager.
• Only one place may edit Trip.com availability: eBooking or the channel manager, never both.

Setting up with a central calendar

1. In HostBooking, Calendar → Sync OTAs (iCal): add each room’s Airbnb calendar link and set the channel to Airbnb.
2. Paste HostBooking’s Airbnb link into Airbnb: Calendar → listing → Availability → Connect calendars → Connect to another website, then Add calendar.
3. Under Booking emails from OTAs, create the address and set a filter forwarding Trip.com and Airbnb emails to it.
4. Wait for a real Trip.com email and check the booking landed on the right room type. If it went to Needs your look, choose the type and tick Remember for next time.
5. Turn off Instant Book on Airbnb for shared rooms.
6. For each Airbnb booking, close exactly those nights in eBooking.

What does not cross over

• iCal into Airbnb carries booked dates only: no Trip.com prices or guest names.
• Trip.com prices, promotions and cancellation policies live in eBooking.
• Nothing reaches eBooking automatically without a channel manager.

Checklist against double bookings

• Your email filter catches both trip.com and ctrip.com.
• Airbnb shows a recent last-updated time for the HostBooking calendar.
• Instant Book is off on Airbnb for shared rooms.
• Every Airbnb booking has a "closed in eBooking" step.
• Weekly, compare eBooking with HostBooking for the next 14 days.

If a double booking still happens

Airbnb: a host who cancels a confirmed booking pays 10% of the reservation if more than 30 days out, 25% at 2–30 days, 50% within 2 days, minimum USD 50; the dates are blocked and Superhost status can be lost.

Trip.com: Trip.com promises guests that if a confirmed booking has no room on arrival, they can call Trip.com, which arranges a nearby stay of the same standard; on some regional sites it covers the price difference up to the first night’s rate. We found no public rule on how Trip.com recovers this from partners. So do not let the guest discover it at the door: contact the guest and Trip.com partner support as soon as you spot the clash.

On HostBooking

OTA calendar sync reads Airbnb’s calendar every 5 minutes, reads Airbnb and Trip.com booking emails, keeps every booking on one calendar and warns you about double-booked nights. HostBooking does not update eBooking for you and takes no commission on bookings. See booking email forwarding, the background iCal sync guide and the pricing page.