iCal sync, explained for hoteliers

iCal is the quiet workhorse of availability sharing. It's the same format your phone calendar uses, repurposed to say 'these dates are booked'. Most listing sites can publish your reservations as an iCal feed and import someone else's — which makes it the simplest way to keep two calendars from clashing.

Import vs export

An export feed is a link you hand to another system so it can see your booked dates. An import is the reverse: you paste another platform's feed into mndra so its bookings block your calendar. Use both and two systems stay out of each other's way.

Where iCal shines — and where it doesn't

• Great for blocking dates between platforms that don't share a direct API.
• Great for one-off or seasonal listings you don't want to fully integrate.
• Less ideal as your only sync: feeds refresh on a schedule, not instantly, so leave a buffer on tight inventory.

A safe setup

Connect a direct two-way integration where you can, and use iCal to cover the gaps. In mndra, every property exposes a live availability feed, and you can import any external .ics by URL — new reservations are de-duplicated automatically so a re-sync never creates phantom bookings.