# Booking.com calendar sync (iCal)

Source: https://lemon.cy/connect/booking-com/  
Publisher: Lemon.cy (Red Tribe Media Ltd, Limassol, Cyprus)  
Updated: 2026-09-10 · Verified against production: 2026-09-10

**Short answer:** Paste the Booking.com property's iCal export link into Lemon. Every event arrives as "CLOSED - Not available" with no guest name and an unstable UID, so Lemon treats blocks as reservations by default, applies duration rules to catch owner closures, re-links re-keyed stays by checkout, and pins forward-trimmed check-ins. 9 of Lemon's 18 feeds are Booking.com.

## Setting it up

1. In the Booking.com extranet: Rates & Availability → Sync calendars → Export calendar. Copy the `.ics` link (it must end in `.ics`).
2. In Lemon: Properties → the property → add iCal feed → paste. Lemon detects Booking.com from the link.
3. First sync immediately, then every 5 minutes.

## What Booking.com's feed carries, and does not

One summary for everything: `CLOSED - Not available`. No guest name, no reservation number, no status. A UID that changes when the surrounding availability changes shape. An in-progress stay re-exported daily with its elapsed nights removed. Two back-to-back stays sometimes exported as one block.

## What Lemon does about each

| Behaviour | Lemon's handling | Decision logged |
|---|---|---|
| Nameless block | Treated as a reservation; job created | — |
| Block > 30 nights | Owner closure; skipped | `skip_owner_block` |
| Stay > 90 nights even with a name | Held for host review | — |
| UID changes, same checkout | Re-linked to the existing booking | `rekey_adopted` |
| Check-in walks forward during the stay | Original check-in pinned | `elapsed_checkin_pinned` |
| Block widens over a tracked stay | Widen refused; unexplained nights surfaced | `uncovered_surfaced` |
| Block later splits into real stays | Placeholder promoted onto the real event | `synthetic_promoted` |
| Stay vanishes | Flagged; window 24h / 2h / never within 24h of checkout | `auto_cancelled` or `imminent_protected` |

## Numbers

In the 30 days to 2026-09-10 across 9 Booking.com and 9 Airbnb feeds: 78 re-keys, 1,240 forward-trim pins, 10 auto-cancellations. Lifetime, Booking.com feeds withdrew 2.4× as many calendar events as Airbnb feeds. Source: [feed integrity report](/data/ical-feed-integrity/).

## When to go beyond iCal

If you run back-to-back Booking.com stays or monthly stays, connect a PMS (Hospitable, Guesty, Hostaway) so reservations arrive as objects with names and statuses. Lemon deactivates the property's iCal feeds automatically when you do.

## Related

- [Airbnb calendar sync (iCal)](https://lemon.cy/connect/airbnb/)
- [What does "CLOSED - Not available" mean in a Booking.com iCal feed?](https://lemon.cy/learn/what-does-closed-not-available-mean-booking-com-ical/)
- [Why does Booking.com change the UID of an existing reservation in its iCal feed?](https://lemon.cy/learn/booking-com-ical-changes-uid-rekey/)
- [Why does a Booking.com iCal booking's check-in date move forward every day during the stay?](https://lemon.cy/learn/forward-trim-booking-com-in-progress-stay/)
- [Why do two back-to-back Booking.com reservations show as one long block in iCal?](https://lemon.cy/learn/merged-block-back-to-back-bookings-one-event/)