1. Cloudbeds
  2. Configuration Hub
  3. Split Inventory
  4. Shared Inventory

Shared Inventory - How to Sell All Units of An Accommodation Type On a Calendar Channel

Karina Rinaldi
Updated

Shared inventory is the practice of selling the same physical room under multiple layouts. The way how calendar channels are designed, only one unit of an accommodation type can normally be listed on a calendar channel at a time. The following shared inventory configuration allows you to get around this restriction.

  • Recommended Property Types: Any properties with listings on both normal OTAs like Booking.com and calendar channels like Airbnb.

This is an advanced use case. Be careful and follow these directions exactly as written. Failure to correctly follow the steps in this guide puts you at a high risk for overbookings.

Before you Get Started

  • Each individual room will need to be linked separately.
  • Linking rooms using this method will make them unavailable for other shared inventory configurations.
  • You may want to rearrange your linked room types so that they are close to each other on the calendar, read this article to learn more.
  • Ensure that your calendar channels have all instant booking features disabled and are set to pending approval only.
  • Calendar channels will still have a delay between when they check for availability

Step 1 - Create New Accommodation Types

As an example, we'll use Shared Inventory to sell all three units of a Rustic Cabin on both Airbnb and your other channels.

  1. Access Accommodation Type tab
  2. Click on New Accommodation Type
DEMO - Karina's Hostel - Manage - Accommodation Types - Google Chrome
  1. Create a new accommodation type for each additional unit you want to sell on your calendar channel:
    • Name the accommodation type the same as the room you will be linking it to.
    • Add a signifier like (iCal) or (Airbnb) to help you to remember.
    • Set the number of units to 1
    • Make sure the max occupancy setting is correct.
    • Drag and drop the accommodation type tabs to move them closer to the original room, if desired
  2. Save

Write an accurate accommodation description if you plan to offer this unit on your booking engine.

When finished, it should look like this:

Step 2 - Linking Accommodations Steps

  1. Access Shared Inventory
  2. Click on Link Accommodations
  1. Read the warning and agree with the terms - If you do no not agree, you cannot use Shared Inventory.
  2. Click on Continue
  1. For the primary accommodation, select only 1 room from the original accommodation type
  • Each individual unit will need to be linked separately in shared inventory.
  • Shared Inventory will not work correctly if you ignore this step
  1. Link your Secondary Accommodation
  2. Save
  • Select the room to link to your primary accommodation. There should only be one option.
  • Do not add any additional accommodation types
  1. Repeat this process for each individual room. Your end result should look like this
  1. Access Channels page under the Channel Distribution section
  2. Click on the calendar channel you want to connect with
  1. Connect the Calendar Channel to your Cloudbeds PMS

Check the following article if you want to know How to Connect Airbnb iCal to Cloudbeds PMS

  • Do not export the original accommodation type's calendar link into Airbnb and do not import an Airbnb calendar link into the original accommodation type
  • If you are remapping an existing Airbnb connection, delete the old iCal connection in both Cloudbeds PMS and Airbnb 
  • Each accommodation type should be connected with a different listing with its own calendar link.
  • Once you finish, click Next
  1. Click on Full Refresh
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