UPDATE: AIRBNB DATA IS BACK. WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED OFFICIAL FEEDBACK FROM AIRBNB BUT THEY SEEM TO HAVE HAD A BUG IN THE ICAL OR THEY HAVE HAD TOO MANY COMPLAINTS
We will keep you updated. In the meantime please take a eye on your Airbnb iCal bookings.
Airbnb has changed / deleted data in iCal links
You may have received some emails from us regarding updates for your Airbnb bookings. The update was about a change in the booking. There was no actual change. However, Airbnb has removed all customer data from their iCal links.
Please monitor your bookings in the meantime. In case they are not imported please make sure to add them manually until the issue has been solved.
Also to us this came as a surprise and we received no info in advance whatsoever. We will clarify with our contacts at Airbnb after the Easter holidays if this is a temporary or permanent change.
To be honest we are expecting a that this change is permanent. Most likely to prevent other portals such as e.g. Booking.com to access guest data from Airbnb. Because iCal links are ultimately publicly available data.
Our recommendation is to switch to the Airbnb API. Here all data and additional data will be transferred. And most importantly the automated mailings that you have set up through Smoobu will still go out. In addition, we have a contractual agreement with Airbnb API and changes to the interface will automatically be communicated to us.
The API is faster and more reliable. Plus you can transfer prices, set minimum stays and control many other aspects through the API. Connecting to API means you will have to set your prices through Smoobu, instant bookings will be turned and and you will not be able to use the dynamic pricing feature. All settings defined by Airbnb once you connect to any channel manager. Hence, we have no ability to influence these settings whatsoever.
We will be communication regarding this topic once we have a feedback from Airbnb.
We are super sorry that these changes occurred during your Easter holidays.
Nevertheless, we wish you a pleasant Easter.
Many regards
Philipp from Smoobu
