Airbnb Setup & Connecting

Our Channel Management feature is extremely powerful and can greatly simplify your channel advertising. Learn how it works by reading our Channel Management overview article.  The most powerful part of our Channel Management is the API Integrations we have with certain channel partners like Airbnb.

This article provides a step by step walk-through of connecting your OwnerRez to the Airbnb API.  If you want to learn about the Airbnb API, first read our Airbnb API overview article which will explain the intended audience, functional abilities, and pros and cons of the Airbnb API.

• Preparing
• Connecting and authorizing
• Configuring rules and settings
  • Cancellation Policies
  • Booking Window & Duration
• Mapping properties
• Professional Hosting Tools
• Airbnb search quirks
• Activate and deactivate

Preparing

It's important to understand what the Airbnb API will and will not do for you.   Every API channel integration is different.  Make sure to read our Airbnb API overview article so that your expectations and assumptions are correct.

The next article you should read is our general Preparing to go API article which explains how to fill out your properties, rates and rules and the tools you can (and should) use to test your account.  We cannot stress enough how important it is to test your settings.  How well you test will directly relate to how easy the API integration is.

Connecting and authorizing

Airbnb allows self-service connections. In other words, you can connect OwnerRez to the Airbnb API directly without having to ask permission or be approved by the channel.

Go to the Settings menu and click on the API Integrations option under the Channels section. You'll see a list of the channels that we have API partnerships with.  Click on Connect Airbnb to get started.

If you already have other channels connected, click the "Connect a Channel" button to bring up the list and select Connect Airbnb from there.

This will take you across to Airbnb's website where you will be presented with a message asking you to connect Airbnb to OwnerRez.

If you are not logged into Airbnb, it will first ask you to do that.

• Make sure that you login to the account that you want to connect to OwnerRez!
• If you don't already have your Airbnb Host Account created, you may be asked to add a profile photo or provide banking details prior to the API setup screens.
• If you need to connect multiple Airbnb accounts, you can do that, but make sure you know which account you are working on as you login and connect.
• If you are already logged in and need to switch accounts, do that first before moving on.

A list of permissions and functions will be shown to you.  These permissions are needed by OwnerRez to manage your Airbnb account on your behalf.

Select the "I agree to the...." checkbox at the bottom and then click Allow.  Airbnb will spin for a minute and then redirect you back to OwnerRez.

When you get back to OwnerRez, you'll see an "Airbnb Channel" page with some settings at the top and some property mappings at the bottom.  There is now an authorized connection in place between Airbnb and OwnerRez that the system will use to make updates.

Click on the "Properties" tab in the middle of the page if it isn't showing already.

This is the dashboard in OwnerRez for your Airbnb API integration.  This page will show you the status of your properties, the Airbnb listings connected to them and when OwnerRez and Airbnb last communicated.  You will come back to this page on a regular basis to see what's going on and change global settings for your Airbnb API integration.

Please note that you are not done at this point!  You still need to configure your settings and map your properties, so that OwnerRez is pushing the right information to Airbnb.

Configuring rules and settings

During the Airbnb API integration, OwnerRez recommends that all users note and review Airbnb's Community Disturbance Policy.

Even though you are connected and authorized, you still need to configure some settings so that OwnerRez knows what to push to Airbnb for your account.

On the Airbnb API dashboard page, showing in the picture above, click the Change button at the top.  This will load a page full of settings that pertain only to the Airbnb API integration.

You'll notice that these rules and settings are similar to what you find on the Airbnb website, but only for general things like cancellation policy and house rules.  OwnerRez supports all rules and settings that Airbnb does - you do not need to access the Airbnb website in order to set anything after the API integration is running.  However, some of the rules and settings are at the property level in OwnerRez, so in order to set them, you need to find a specific property (under the Properties menu) and make changes there.

In some cases, there are rules and settings in both places - globally on this API dashboard, and on each property as well - because we allow properties to override what is set globally.  This makes it possible to set House Rules, for instance, globally and then have specific properties override that with their own House Rules that are different for that property.

The fields shown on this API settings page should be fairly intuitive based on their name and help text.  However, if you need help understanding what you're seeing, please read our Airbnb API rules and settings article which will guide you through the settings, at both the global and property levels, in more detail.

If you're wondering how you set listing content - photos, amenities, rates - that's taken care of at the property level as well.  Whatever you have set on the OwnerRez property will be pushed to Airbnb.  Our Preparing to go API article covers this and gives you tools you can use to test your content.

You can change these settings at any time, so don't be worried about what to set upfront.  If your rules change in the future, come back and change the settings and, right after you hit save, we'll push the updates over to Airbnb.

Booking Window & Duration

The Airbnb API connection allows for a great deal of lead time, gap night management, and availability customization within the API connection settings. To configure those settings specific to your Airbnb listing, navigate to your Airbnb API connection > Change > Booking Window & Duration.

When sent to Airbnb and other listing channels, the Required Gaps rule will be displayed as a disallowed arrival/departure days rule.

Cancellation Policies

OwnerRez users can choose their own Cancellation Policy while configuring their Airbnb API connection.

Additionally, Airbnb has shared this document, Flexible Cancellations on Airbnb PDF, added 11-28-2023.

Mapping properties

After you are connected to Airbnb and have configured basic rules and settings, you still need to map your properties so that OwnerRez knows which OwnerRez property corresponds with which Airbnb property.

On the Airbnb API dashboard page, click the Change Property Mappings button under the Properties tab and select Connect Properties option from the dropdown.

 This will load a page showing all of your OwnerRez properties and some drop-down settings next to each one.

There are two settings for each property:

1. What is the corresponding listing on Airbnb?
2. What do you want to sync with OwnerRez - everything or limited?

The first drop-down will show all of your listings on Airbnb.  Select the correct listing that goes with that OwnerRez property.

The listing name may be different than the property name on OwnerRez.  We show whatever Airbnb has on file for your listings.

If there is no listing on Airbnb for a particular property, select the "Create New Listing" option at the top.  This will tell OwnerRez to create a new listing on the fly when the mapping operation completes.

The second drop-down shows the type of sync options available for the property (will not show until you've first selected the Airbnb listing in the first drop-down).  There are two options:

• Limited - only rates, surcharges/discounts, tax settings, availability and pricing rules (not booking rules, but including minimum-stay rules) and availability will sync between Airbnb and OwnerRez for this property. Property content and cancellation policies will not be synced. Anything related to a booking (bookings, messages, special offers, quotes, reviews), etc. will also be synced.
• Everything - all property content, rates, rules, availability, quotes, bookings and reviews (and anything else that can be synced) will be synced between Airbnb and OwnerRez for this property.  This is the recommended option.

When you've configured all your property mappings, click the Save button at the bottom. The system will ask you to confirm if your mappings will be overwriting any data on Airbnb. Looks like this:

Upon selecting, "Yes, overwrite", the system will store your mappings and then begin syncing with Airbnb under the covers.  If you selected to create a new listing, that will happen as well.

Professional Hosting Tools

If you are planning to offer a number of complex pricing rules or discounts on your Airbnb listing, you may need to enable Airbnb's Professional Hosting Tools.

You can enable or disable Professional Hosting Tools by logging into your Airbnb Settings.

OwnerRez also recommends that you read about Airbnb's complicated Hosting Fees. 

Airbnb search quirks

Airbnb hosts may find the Airbnb search results to appear differently that configured in OwnerRez. Airbnb and their UX teams has determined those search configurations and OwnerRez has no control over that but we can provide some information to our users.

• If browsing as an anonymous user to see what guests see (like incognito mode, or just not logged in), then Airbnb will use that context to determine search filters.
• If users search for listings allowing Instant Booking, their listing may not appear in the search results if the listing has a restricted Instant Book (e.g., experienced guests only). It would only show up if the listing allows instant booking by Everyone since that's the search context. 
  • It is possible that this could also apply to anything else like date range. A search for unbookable dates based on min nights in advanced search (but could be bookable via RTB) could be excluded from Instant Book filter?
• Search results, particularly number of guests allowed and number of bedrooms, may display search results differently based on the number of guests the guest is using in their search. Searching for one guest, search results may not show more rooms even if there are more rooms.
• Hosts can verify that the listing is configured correctly by looking at the Airbnb listing detail page that detail the rooms and number of guests correctly regardless of the search terms. But the search results may be customized and show different information than the exact configuration of the listing.

Activate and Deactivate

In the "Change Listing Status" dropdown button menu, you'll see the following options.

• Publish
• Unpublish
• Delete

You'll also notice a Listing Status column showing next to the Sync Status with "active" or "inactive" labels in it.

This column shows you the real-time status of the listing on Airbnb's side, and the Publish/Unpublish Listing options allow you to change that status.  This is a high level on/off toggle for your listing's visibility on the public side of Airbnb.

Please note that Sync Status and Listing Status are two separate things.  Sync Status says whether OwnerRez and Airbnb are communicating with each other for a particular property. Listing Status says whether the listing is showing publicly to Airbnb guests.

Either status can be turned on or off independently from each other.  The below table shows the combination of statuses that can exist and what happens under the covers.

There is also a Delete Listings button you can use to remove erroneous or old listings that you no longer need.  This will only delete the listing in Airbnb, not the property from OwnerRez.