Start with your spaces
Add your properties
- Create a free account, choose your preferred language, and confirm your email, then open your calendar. English is the default; you can change the language later in App & account.
- Select Settings → Properties. Give each property a recognizable name and choose its color.
- Use Add another property for your other spaces. You can manage up to 8 properties.
One property, one set of links. Keep the feeds for a villa, apartment, or room together under that property.
Bring your bookings here
Connect your booking channels
For each property, copy the iCal export link from your booking platform and paste it into the matching field under Import bookings.
Airbnb
- Open Calendar and choose your listing, then select Availability.
- Under Connect calendars, select Connect to another website.
- Copy the Airbnb calendar link and paste it into the Airbnb field for that property in HomestayCalendar.
Booking.com
- Open your property’s calendar in the Booking.com Extranet.
- If calendar sync is available for your listing, look for Sync calendars and the calendar export option.
- Copy the iCal export link for the correct room or unit and paste it into the Booking.com field in HomestayCalendar.
Vrbo
- Open your property’s Vrbo calendar and find its calendar settings or import/export options.
- Copy the reservation calendar’s export link.
- Paste it into the VRBO field for the matching property in HomestayCalendar.
Other iCal calendars
- Find the iCal or calendar export option in the service you use. A listing or booking page address will not work.
- Copy the calendar subscription URL, usually ending in .ics.
- Use the Tripadvisor field for that channel, or Other calendar and Another calendar for other supported feeds.
Platform menus can vary by listing and device. The linked help pages have the platform’s own instructions.
- Select Check beside each link to verify the feed. Leave channels you do not use blank.
- Select Save changes. Your calendar will load the connected feeds.
Paste Airbnb iCal linkCheckUse a calendar feed link, not the address of your listing.
Make the calendar yours
View stays and block nights
- Use the property filters above the calendar to choose which properties you see.
- Select a date to see the stays for that night. Switch between Month and Week for a different view.
- To reserve nights for a direct booking or your own use, choose Block beside the correct property and follow the prompts for the stay.
- Review the property and dates before confirming. Select the blocked date again when you need to manage that block.
The nights of 12, 13, and 14 June are occupied. The checkout date is 15 June.
Manage an existing booking or block
Select a date in a direct booking or manual block. Use the pencil button, Rename booking, to change its label, or Unblock to remove the block after reviewing the confirmation.
For an imported multi-night stay, Split displays it as individual one-night entries in this calendar. Select a split night and use Re-merge to join it back with adjacent nights. These controls do not change the original reservation on the booking platform.
Understand the selected dates
Read your week and month summaries
The cards below the calendar follow the displayed date range and the properties selected in the filters. Week uses seven nights, even when the week crosses into another month. Month uses the selected calendar month. Check the date label above the figures when comparing periods.
| Card | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Overall Occupancy | Occupied property-nights divided by the available nights across the selected properties. |
| Property nights | That property’s occupied nights out of seven in Week, or the number of nights in the selected month. |
| Turnovers | Scheduled check-outs on dates within the selected period, including the end dates of manual blocks, with a count for each property. This is not a record of completed cleanings. |
For example, two properties provide 14 property-nights in a week. If seven are occupied, overall occupancy is 50%. Direct stays, imported bookings, and manual blocks can all occupy nights; a maintenance block is not proof of a paid stay. Overlapping feeds for one property do not count the same night twice.
On a phone: swipe sideways inside Week view to see all seven days. Booking labels wrap, and summary cards stack below the calendar. Select a date to open the booking details. Your last selected calendar date and Month or Week view are remembered in that browser.
Use Refresh to request current data from your connected feeds and check the status message below the calendar. The app also refreshes automatically when the browser allows it. If a wait message appears, allow that time before refreshing again. Receiving platforms still read your export link on their own schedule.
Send your blocks outward
Copy the right export link
- Open Settings → Properties and find the property you want to connect.
- Under Export your blocks, select Copy link.
- In Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, or another platform that supports iCal, open its Import calendar option.
- Paste this property’s HomestayCalendar link, give the connection a recognizable name, and save it there.
…/api/export/YOUR_PROPERTY_KEY.icsCopy the full link from Settings. Each property has its own link.
What is included? Direct bookings and manual blocks created here. This export does not re-export channel reservations. Keep any existing channel-to-channel connections you rely on.
Allow time for calendar updates
iCal updates are not instant. Each platform decides when it reads your export link. Refreshing HomestayCalendar updates this app’s view; it does not force Airbnb or Booking.com to refresh.
Before accepting a last-minute reservation, check availability on the booking platform itself.
Optional extras
Use another device or share a calendar
For your own devices: sign in with the same account to load your saved property settings. You do not need a sharing code.
To share a calendar with a code: open Settings → Sharing & sync. Choose Create code, or enter an existing code and select Load calendar.
Anyone with a sharing code can access and change the shared settings, including calendar links. Share it only with people you trust. Loading a shared calendar replaces the settings shown on that device.
Personal preferences
Choose your language and manage the app
Change the calendar language
- Open Settings → App & account.
- Under Language, choose English, Spanish, Bahasa Melayu, Japanese, Korean, or German.
- Select Save changes. After saving, the page reloads in your chosen language. Select Cancel if you do not want to apply the choice.
English is the default at registration. The preference applies to your calendar and account interface and is saved to your account. Property names and booking labels stay as you entered them. People sharing the same calendar can each use their own language.
The control names in this guide are shown in English. Your app displays translated labels when you choose another language.
Install a home-screen shortcut
In the same tab, select Install HomestayCalendar under Keep your calendar close and follow the browser’s instructions. On iPhone or iPad, the app provides Safari’s Share → Add to Home Screen steps. Installation gives you an app-style shortcut; reading current feeds and saving account changes still require an internet connection.
Download your settings backup
Under Your account & data, select Download settings backup to save a JSON file containing your property settings and manual blocks. It includes calendar links, so store it privately. Use the property’s iCal export link when connecting a booking platform.
Delete account permanently is also in this section. Read the confirmation carefully before using it: account deletion cannot be undone.
Optional extras
Show availability on your website
- In Settings → Properties, expand Website calendar & inquiries for the property.
- Select Preview calendar to check how it looks, then Copy embed code.
- Paste the code into an HTML or embed block in your website editor.
- Set the optional Inquiry email if you want guest inquiries sent to a different address, then save your changes.
Guest inquiries are requests, not confirmed reservations. Confirm the dates with the guest and record the booking in your calendar.
For custom websites: availability API
Expand Advanced: availability API in the same property settings and copy its JSON link. A developer can use it to show busy dates in a custom booking form.
…/api/availability/YOUR_PROPERTY_KEY.jsonAvailability is based on the feeds and blocks currently known to HomestayCalendar.
When something needs a second look
Let’s get you unstuck.
My bookings are missing or a link does not work.
Check that you copied an iCal export link from the booking platform, rather than its listing page. In Settings, use Check next to that field, then Save changes. Make sure the correct property is selected in the calendar filters. If the platform has regenerated the link, paste the replacement link here.
A block has not appeared on Airbnb or Booking.com yet.
Confirm that the platform has imported the export link for the correct property. HomestayCalendar exports direct bookings and manual blocks created here. The platform reads that link on its own schedule; use its calendar refresh option if available. Refreshing HomestayCalendar only refreshes this app’s view.
Does one export link send all my channel bookings everywhere?
The export link shown under Export your blocks contains direct bookings and manual blocks created in HomestayCalendar. It does not re-export imported channel reservations. Keep any existing channel-to-channel calendar connections you rely on.
Do I need to replace my old calendar link?
Only links containing default_house1_export or default_house2_export were retired. Copy the current property link from Settings and replace that old link wherever you imported it, such as Airbnb or Booking.com. Website embeds using those identifiers also need updating. Existing unique links continue to work; property names did not cause this issue.
Why do the numbers change when I switch to Week?
The summary follows the selected view and property filters. Week uses seven nights, including weeks across two months; Month uses the selected calendar month. Turnovers counts scheduled check-outs on dates in that period, not completed cleanings. Manual blocks count toward occupied nights too.
How do I apply a different language?
Open Settings → App & account, choose Language, and select Save changes. The page reloads in that language after it is saved. Closing Settings or selecting Cancel does not apply the choice. English is the default; each account keeps its own preference even when calendars are shared.
The login page says ERR_FAILED.
This means the browser could not load the page; it is not a password error. Try https://homestaycalendar.com/login and https://www.homestaycalendar.com/login, then compare Wi-Fi with mobile data. If it continues, send support your browser, country, exact error, and the time it happened.
You’re ready to host.
Start with one property, check your connections, and take it from there.
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