ical is the standard data format for calendar data. This protocol is based on the international standard RFC 5545. ical-files have the .ics extension; ical-links are links that allow ical files to be downloaded from the internet in their most current versions.
Through ical-links, other booking systems or calendars (e.g., Outlook or Apple Calendar) can download availability data from our system. The frequency of these updates depends on the specific third-party system.
Under Integrations in the Import/Export of Bookings via ical-links section, you’ll find two versions of the iCal link for each accommodation:
- The public link transfers the occupied days without detailed information.
- The private link contains additional booking data: booking number, notes, name, and contact details of the guest; but NO price information for the booking. When sharing the private link, you must comply with applicable data protection regulations!
When you add the ical links to a calendar or other software, be sure to add the data as a “subscription.” With a subscription, the data is updated regularly. How often updates are made depends on the specific third-party system.
Various calendars also offer the option to import ical data. However, this usually means that the data is added to the calendar only once and is not automatically updated afterward.
You can use the buttons behind the public and private links to download the current data as an ical-file. Note: These are files containing the current static data; they are not links.
Export: Customizing ical-links
By default, ical-links contain data for all current and upcoming bookings with the booked status, as well as all blocked time periods. In some cases, it may be useful or necessary to also include canceled bookings and requested bookings.
One use case, for example, is when a receiving system can only process a canceled booking correctly if the booking is included as a “canceled” calendar entry.
The ical links can be extended and configured with the following additions so that canceled bookings, pending bookings, and check-in/check-out times are also included in the transfer; the language of the detailed information in bookings can also be adjusted in this way:
Include requested bookings:
...&includeInquired=trueInclude cancelled bookings:
...&includeCancelled=trueLanguage of detailed information German/English:
...&locale=de
...&locale=enInclude arrival/departure time:
...&includeArrivaltime=16&includeDeparturetime=10
The time can be adjusted accordingly. Adding arrival and departure times improves the display of bookings in some external calendar systems.
Examples:
ical-link (example):
- https://urlaubsarchitektur.biz/assets/ical/property-calendar.ics?propertyId=123456789
Link with additions:
- https://urlaubsarchitektur.biz/assets/ical/property-calendar.ics?propertyId=123456789&includeCancelled=true&includeInquired=true
- https://urlaubsarchitektur.biz/assets/ical/property-calendar.ics?propertyId=123456789&includeArrivaltime=16&includeDeparturetime=10