| Purpose | Understand why Airbnb iCal may block dates in your calendar when Airbnb receives a booking request from an unverified guest or a pending booking request. |
| Best for | Property admin · Property manager · Owner |
| Use this when | Airbnb dates appear blocked in your Cloudbeds calendar, but the related Airbnb booking is unverified, unconfirmed, abandoned, or no longer visible in Airbnb. |
| You need | Access to Airbnb reservation requirements, the Airbnb calendar, and the affected dates in Cloudbeds. |
| Expected result | You understand why the dates may be blocked, what happens when the guest completes or abandons verification, and what to check before removing or escalating the blocked dates. |
| Important limit | This article applies to Airbnb iCal connections. Airbnb API handles booking behavior differently. |
Introduction
Airbnb iCal may block dates in your Cloudbeds calendar when Airbnb places a hold for an unverified guest or an unconfirmed booking request. These dates can remain blocked in Cloudbeds even if Airbnb later removes the hold from the Airbnb calendar.
This article explains how Airbnb iCal handles these holds, what happens when the guest completes or abandons the verification process, and what to check if the dates remain blocked.
This article applies to Airbnb iCal connections. It does not apply to Airbnb API connections. Airbnb API and Airbnb iCal handle booking behavior differently.
Table of contents
- Background: Airbnb guest verification and iCal holds
- When an unverified Airbnb guest requests a booking
- When the guest completes or abandons verification
- When a verified guest requests a booking
- How to reduce the impact
Background: Airbnb guest verification and iCal holds
Airbnb has a reservation requirement setting called Require guests to go through verification. When this setting is enabled, Airbnb may hold requested dates while the guest completes the verification process.
You can find this setting in Airbnb under Reservation Requirements. The screenshot below shows the Airbnb setting that controls whether guests need to verify their identity before booking.
The table below explains how the Airbnb guest verification setting changes the booking flow and why dates may be held when Airbnb iCal is connected.
| Airbnb setting | What happens |
|---|---|
| Guest verification not required | Guests can book directly with Airbnb before verifying their identity. |
| Guest verification required | Airbnb handles unverified guests differently. Airbnb may place a hold on the requested dates while the guest completes verification. |
When an unverified Airbnb guest requests a booking
When an unverified Airbnb guest requests a booking and guest verification is required, Airbnb may place a hold on the requested dates before the booking is completed or confirmed.
- Airbnb starts the guest verification process.
- Airbnb blocks the requested dates in your Airbnb calendar while the booking is still unconfirmed.
- Through Airbnb iCal, the hold may be transmitted to Cloudbeds as a booking, even though the Airbnb booking is not confirmed yet.
- Airbnb may not send an email notification to the host for this hold, which can make the blocked dates appear unexpected.
When the guest completes or abandons verification
The next behavior depends on whether the Airbnb guest completes the verification process within the Airbnb verification window.
| Guest verification result | Calendar impact |
|---|---|
| Guest completes verification | If the guest completes verification within 48 hours, the booking is confirmed. |
| Guest abandons verification | Airbnb removes the hold from the Airbnb calendar, but no email notification may be sent to the host. Since Airbnb may not communicate this removal through iCal, the hold can remain in Cloudbeds and continue blocking availability. |
If the hold remains in Cloudbeds, the affected room can continue to appear unavailable across connected channels. This can reduce sellable availability and potentially cause lost revenue.
When a verified guest requests a booking
When a verified Airbnb guest requests a booking, Airbnb may place the booking on your calendar before you approve it.
- Instant hold: Airbnb immediately places the booking on your calendar, regardless of your approval.
- Sync with Cloudbeds: Through Airbnb iCal, this booking may be transmitted to Cloudbeds. Even if you decline the booking later, it may still appear on both the Airbnb and Cloudbeds calendars.
- Manual cancellation: If you decline or cancel the Airbnb booking, manually remove or cancel the related reservation in Cloudbeds.
For cancellation steps, review Cancel direct reservations.
How to reduce the impact
The options below are based on Airbnb-side guest verification and notification behavior described in this article.
- Review the Airbnb guest verification setting: The only way described in this article to prevent this specific unverified guest hold scenario is to disable the Airbnb setting Require guests to go through verification.
- Contact Airbnb: Ask your Airbnb account manager whether the calendar can be impacted only after the guest completes verification. You can also ask whether Airbnb can notify hosts when a pending booking hold is placed, confirmed, canceled, or removed.
- Review lingering reservations or holds in Cloudbeds: If an Airbnb request or booking was declined, canceled, or abandoned, check whether the related reservation or hold still appears in Cloudbeds before manually removing it.
We do not recommend disabling guest verification. Review this Airbnb-side setting carefully before making changes, because it affects how Airbnb guests book your property.
If you need help confirming whether the blocked dates came from Airbnb iCal, contact our support team. Before reaching out, gather the Airbnb listing name, affected room type or room, blocked dates, connection type, screenshots of the Airbnb and Cloudbeds calendars, and whether the Airbnb guest verification setting is enabled.
Related articles
Use these articles when you need broader iCal behavior details or Airbnb API behavior.
- Calendar-based channels and iCal connections in Cloudbeds PMS: Use this guide to understand how iCal connections work and why iCal behavior is more limited than API sync.
- Airbnb API FAQ: Use this FAQ to confirm behavior that applies to Airbnb API instead of Airbnb iCal.
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