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Channel Management » API Integrations » Airbnb
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Airbnb Common Issues & Questions

Our Channel Management feature is extremely powerful and can greatly simplify your channel advertising. Learn how it works by reading our Channel Management overview article.  The most powerful part of our Channel Management is the API Integrations we have with certain channel partners like Airbnb.

This article provides a list of common questions and answers for the Airbnb API integration that are not covered elsewhere.  This article assumes you have already connected the Airbnb API to OwnerRez.  If not, do that first.

Questions are added to this page if they are miscellaneous in nature and we have not already answered them in other Airbnb support articles.  Please read the Airbnb overview, connecting and rules & settings support articles for Airbnb before coming to this page, as those articles cover the normal workflow.

Availability and Rates 

Can I have same-day bookings, but not too last-minute?

Unlike most channels, Airbnb supports same-day bookings.  You don't have to accept them - you can prohibit them by setting your Property Rules to require 1 day minimum in advance.

But if you do want really last-minute bookings, Airbnb lets you set a time cutoff so you at least have a little warning - say, noon.  You set this time in the Airbnb API configuration settings.

Airbnb lets you set a time cutoff so you at least have a little warning - say, noon.  You set this time in the Airbnb API configuration settings.

Don't forget that this setting can also be overridden on a per-property level, under Properties > pick a property > Channel Rules:


"Use Channel Setting" means what it sounds like - whatever is set in the main Edit Airbnb Channel screen will be used.  But it can be overridden to a specific different time for an individual property.

Can I use Airbnb's Smart Pricing with the API?

Unfortunately you cannot - Airbnb's Smart Pricing is not compatible with API usage.

We do however integrate with several other dynamic pricing systems you can use instead.

Airbnb is supposed to automatically turn off Smart Pricing when you are using an API connection - but, this doesn't always work properly.  You can end up in a situation where Airbnb's Smart Pricing is fighting with OwnerRez' API data push for control of your rates, with wildly unpredictable results.  But, since you're using the API, you may not be able to get at the Airbnb controls to turn off Smart Pricing manually, nor can Airbnb tech support staff.

If this happens to you, try the approach explained here.  That may not work either - we've had reports that the "Nightly Pricing" tag is still greyed out, not allowing you to edit.  In this case, go to the Airbnb calendar on a desktop (not the mobile app), click on specific dates (e.g. including the whole year).  Then it allows you to turn off Smart Pricing. 

Changing booking dates

You cannot change the booking dates (ie. arrival, departure) in OwnerRez.  Even after going API, the dates must be changed from the Airbnb side in the same way you did it before going API.

Before making any changes, please be aware that some Airbnb guests have discovered what appears to be a loophole. When they change their dates on Airbnb, the 48-hour free cancellation window is reset. As a result, guests are taking advantage of this loophole to secure free cancellations.

OwnerRez recommends the following.

  • Have the guest cancel the original Airbnb booking and abide by the cancellation policy in effect at the original booking.
  • Have the guest inquire about new travel dates. If the host desires, the host can send a special offer in which the new booking charges include a credit for some portion of the old booking payment. The new cancellation policy for the new dates will only apply to the amount of any new charges.

Find the booking in Airbnb and click the option to make changes or alterations.  Click the "Change Reservation" option.

After the alteration page loads, change the dates first and then set the new price (if the price needs to also change).  The price may automatically change after you change the dates, so make sure to change the dates first before fixing the price.

Once you have the new dates and price entered, click Continue and Airbnb will send a request to the guest to confirm on their side.  The guest has to approve it in order for the booking to actually change.  Once the guest approves it, the change will push into OwnerRez automatically.

Per Airbnb policy, bookings that are longer than 28 days and arrive more than 30 days in the future can be changed by the guest without your approval.

How long do availability/rate updates take to show up on Airbnb?

Once your account is live, we will push updates in about 20 minutes after you finish making changes in OwnerRez. Additionally, availability is checked instantly just before booking so there is no risk of a double booking against the information in OwnerRez.

If you have made a change and want to trigger an immediate sync, go to the Airbnb channel in OwnerRez and use Actions > Trigger Full Sync. That will queue the update for the next push which will go through within a minute or two.

My property exceeds Airbnb's max nightly rate of $10,000/night.

Our API connection has a max nightly rate too, but a much higher one - $25,000 per night. If this is insufficient, please reach out to the Helpdesk for assistance.

BTW, the minimum nightly rate allowed on Airbnb is $10.

What is Simplified Pricing and the 15% fee?

Users should consult Airbnb Host Fees.

Why are my Nightly Rates on my Airbnb listing showing higher than what I set in OwnerRez?

There are two possible reasons why your nightly rates are displayed higher than what you have set in OwnerRez.

Why do large cleaning fees require a minimum nightly price?

This is a hard restriction from Airbnb. The cleaning fee can be no more than $600.00 + 25% of the min nightly rate. If your min rate is low and your cleaning fee is high, you can run into an error message such as this:

Based on your cleaning fee of $900, the minimum nightly price you can charge is $1,200.

This means that you either need to decrease your cleaning fee or increase your nightly rate

There are 3 ways to solve this issue:

A) increase your rates
B) decrease your cleaning fee
C) add another fee -- for example, set your cleaning fee lower and add a management fee for the difference. Learn more by reading the How do I do surcharges that are available in Airbnb support article.

Why do my rates display as rounded or whole numbers and do not include the decimals (cents) that are set in OwnerRez?

Airbnb does not support rates that include decimals (cents) so all rates pushed to Airbnb will be in rounded or whole numbers. 

Why is Airbnb creating blocks on my calendar?

Like any online purchasing process, it takes time for a guest to complete a booking online.  When a guest begins the process, they know what dates and property they want.  Airbnb checks with OwnerRez to make sure they are available.

It may take a few minutes for the guest to complete the whole process, though. We want to make sure the requested dates are still available when the reservation is finalized, so we block off those dates to hold the calendar open until the guest is finished and the booking is made.

Normally, these blocks will not be visible for very long - they'll quickly turn into a real booking.  Occasionally, however, a block may remain active for a few hours - such as, if there are issues with the guest's credit card.  The guest is given an opportunity to provide a different payment method, and in the meantime, their dates are held available for them.

Note that this only occurs while an actual booking is in progress.  Airbnb also offers guests the ability to make a "request", and blocks the dates for 24 hours.  OwnerRez does not honor these requests or block your calendar for them.  Don't worry about double bookings though - Airbnb does a final check before confirming a completed booking when a "request" is accepted, and if the dates have already been booked, it'll notify the guest and not allow the booking process to be completed. 

Why is Airbnb ignoring my "min nights" settings, and letting guests request to book shorter stays than I allow?

Airbnb isn't ignoring your rules, exactly - it honors them, in the sense that it won't allow guests to make Instant Bookings that violate them.

However, it still allows guests to Request to Book stays that violate your rules.  You can decline these requests without penalty.

It is not possible to prevent receiving these requests.

Why is Airbnb showing a "base rate", and how can I change it?

The base rate is a number OwnerRez has to supply - it's required by the API integration - but it's not really used, since a nightly rate is pushed for every night of the year.  But to satisfy the requirements of the API, we set the base rate to the highest rate of your year to be safe.  That way, if for some reason the nightly rates fail, the base rate will not give out too low of a rate.

This rate will also include any rate increase that you have set for the Airbnb channel specifically in your API settings.

To be clear, it is not normally visible to guests or used for quotes.

How do I do discounts and have them available in Airbnb?

See the Airbnb Discounts support article for instructions.

How do I do weekly/monthly rates and have them available in Airbnb?

See the Weekly/Monthly Rates section of the Airbnb Discounts support article for instructions.

Can I make a "special offer" for a prospective guest?

See the Special Offers section of the Airbnb inquiries, Special Offers, Request to Book, Pre-Approvals support article for instructions.

Bookings

An Airbnb guest with no ID booked my property, but that booking didn't appear in OwnerRez.

If you require Airbnb guests to have an ID on file with Airbnb, and someone who doesn't tries to book your property, Airbnb will tell them they've booked and give them 24 hours to provide their ID.

But, this isn't really true - Airbnb hasn't actually created a booking and sent it to OwnerRez.  This only takes place after the guest has provided their ID as required.

So, in theory someone else could book the property from a source other than Airbnb.  Then, when the Airbnb guest does provide their ID to Airbnb, the dates won't be available anymore.

This won't create a double-booking though - Airbnb performs a last-minute check at this point, and will notify the guest that their booking is no longer available.  You won't be involved in that.

How do I get historical data for my past Airbnb bookings into OwnerRez?

Sometimes, the Airbnb API is very generous that way - as soon as you have connected a property via the API, almost all historical booking information for that property is automatically brought into OwnerRez.  Only two important data aren't:

  • The guests' real email addresses - and there's no way to get those, either, because the Airbnb proxy email addresses that are provided stop working after the guest departs.  You do get their name, mailing address and phone number though.
  • Records of the guests' payments, since the Airbnb API doesn't support this.  So all your OwnerRez reports will show none of your Airbnb guests as having paid.  This can be fixed using Channel Bridge, which is able to get payment records and import them into OwnerRez.

No double-bookings or collisions will occur - OwnerRez will automatically merge new information into existing bookings if they match, or skip entries that don't.

And other times, the API will bring in nothing about past bookings at all.  Airbnb seems to be starting to consider this a security risk.  In this case, you'll have to use Channel Bridge to collect all your historical data.  But, you have to do that anyway to bring in past payment records, so it's no real difference.

💡 Note that connecting the API does not bring in any information about blocks you may have created in Airbnb - just bookings.  The blocks will not be imported for you.  If you haven't already put them into OwnerRez, they'll be deleted from Airbnb.

I want to move my guest - that is, change the guest from one property to another, or change the dates.

The underlying problem here is that Airbnb has tight rules surrounding making changes to existing bookings, and so we (OwnerRez) don't want to get you into trouble where your guest is going to the wrong place or you're penalized by Airbnb.

Airbnb has an "alteration request" page you should use on the booking, to ask the guest to approve moving properties. Once the guest has approved and confirmed this request, Airbnb will perform the move in their system.

The moved or changed booking will automatically have the changes transmitted to OwnerRez via the API, which will update to booking display in OwnerRez.  However, there's no telling exactly when this will happen - the guest may or may not be in a hurry to approve the change, and once they do, it may take Airbnb a bit to actually perform the change in their system and send it to OwnerRez.

If you're trying to force the guest to change properties against their will, there's no way to do that without starting something pretty messy that is not recommended - it is possible to "unhook the calendar" on the Booking > Channel tab in OwnerRez, but then you'd be on your own when it came to updating any changes from Airbnb for the booking.  And you might get into a nasty dispute with the guest and Airbnb security.

I see a booking in my Airbnb listing calendar that is "Awaiting Payment," but my OR calendar (and other listing channel calendars) are open. Will this lead to a double booking?

The short answer is no. This Airbnb Help Center article explains Awaiting Payment, meaning that the booking in question, while blocked on the Airbnb calendar, is not a completed booking on the guest's part. If the guest attempts to complete their Airbnb booking, OR's instant availability check will run again, so there is no risk of a double booking against the information in OwnerRez. If the dates happen to be booked by another guest, either directly or via Vrbo, the Airbnb Awaiting Payment booking will be blocked from completing the booking.

I have Gap Nights configured for my property, and now my guests cannot extend their bookings!

Airbnb only supports turnover days of 0, 1, or 2. If your property has gap nights of 3 nights or more, OwnerRez pushes any additional gap nights beyond 2 nights as unavailable or blocked dates.

As a workaround, OwnerRez recommends that users change the changeover restrictions on the spot rates calendar for the nights their guest wants to extend.

I selected the Airbnb Booking Mode for "Only guest with verified government-issued ID and have traveled on Airbnb, are recommended by other hosts, and have no negative reviews, can make Instant Book reservations." but I still received an IB for a guest with no reviews. How did that happen?

In Airbnb's Customizing Instant Book settings Help Center article, guests with a "Good track record: completed a stay without incident or bad reviews." and who meet Airbnb's Booking requirements are eligible to instant book. Note that a guest who completes one Airbnb stay that has no review would still be eligible to instant book. 

Financial Transactions

Airbnb is not collecting my newly changed tax rates for future bookings that arrive after the tax rate changes!

Changes to Airbnb tax rates will only be applied to new bookings as they come in.  They do not retroactively apply to any bookings that already exist, even if their dates of applicability would otherwise mean that they should. 

  • Airbnb does not support future tax rate changes. This means that bookings placed prior to the date of the tax change will continue to be charged the current (old) tax rate until the date of the tax rate change--even if the arrival occurs in the future changed tax rate.
  • The only way to collect additional taxes is by using Airbnb's Resolution Center. 

Can I take credit card payments myself like other APIs allow?

No.  Airbnb does not allow this and will still be the merchant of record for all payments even after you go API.  We discuss this in more detail on the overview article and functional comparisons article. Collecting and remitting taxes

Collecting and remitting taxes

Airbnb has several different possible tax collection modes -- some where they remit all taxes, and some that are a hybrid where they remit some taxes and you remit some taxes. We've broken the details out to a separate Airbnb Taxes article -- read that and make sure you've got the taxes set up accordingly in OwnerRez.

âš¡ WARNING:

DO NOT enable the custom taxes option directly in Airbnb!  If you do it in Airbnb, the setting will be overwritten next time OwnerRez syncs.

How do I get my pet fees into Airbnb?

You can configure pet fees that apply to Airbnb just like any other channel. Airbnb requires your pet fee to be no higher than your lowest nightly rate.

The OwnerRez setting of "no pets" or "pets allowed" is also transmitted to Airbnb via the API.  Note that the setting is in the Rules of the property listing. Make sure to check a button to show if pets are allowed or not. If you select "Allowed but up to a maximum" you will need to enter a number in the "Maximum pets allowed" field and provide any relevant "Pet policy details" in the field below.

Please note that the pet fee is not enumerated separately like cleaning or service fees. The pet fee is added to the nightly rate like management, resort, and other types of fees. If you're looking to double-check that your pet fee is working, first select some nights without any pets and record what the nightly rate is. Then select a pet and compare the new nightly rate. You should see the price per night increase exactly by the amount of your pet fee.

How do resolution requests work?

If enabled, Airbnb Resolution transactions now come in via the Airbnb Transactions Sync.

Airbnb Resolution Center Transactions may result in the payment properly being recorded in OwnerRez under the booking transaction but without any corresponding charge entered. This leaves the possibility of the booking transactions displaying a guest overpayment.

OwnerRez recommends the following.

  • Regularly check your booking transactions, especially bookings that appear to have an apparent guest overpayment.
  • If a guest overpayment is found, users need to manually correct the overpayment by entering the appropriate charge.

However, you can still create resolution requests on Airbnb and the same process will continue to work.  The resolution simply will not push into OwnerRez automatically.  Instead, use our Channel Bridge tool to find and download payments from Airbnb and import them into OwnerRez. 

Channel Bridge will continue to work even after you go API.

When you channel bridge, the payment will be imported in the Transactions tab and a generic charge will be added as well on the Charges tab. If you want to use a specific surcharge type, go to the Charges tab of the booking, hit "change charges" and "convert to manual charges". This will keep Channel Bridge from doing any further updates to the charges for that booking. Then you can set the specific information you want for that adjustment.

I'm using real OwnerRez security deposit holds with Airbnb, and guests are complaining about offline payments.

This is a new capability that most Airbnb guests, and even many Tier 1 Airbnb support staff, are not familiar with.

If you have configured your offline security deposits in accordance with our instructions, you are in full compliance with Airbnb requirements, and you can enforce the requirement on your guests as it is properly stated in your configuration and rules and displayed to them prior to booking. We do additionally recommend clearly stating your Security Deposit requirement within your Airbnb House Rules.

During the Airbnb checkout process, guests will see the following as shown below stating that this property requires a security deposit that will be collected separately.

If you encounter an Airbnb support member who disagrees, sides with the guest, and tells you this is not allowed, here's what you can do:

1. Refer them to this Airbnb article.  Note that, as described in the article, you are a "software-connected host" (that's OwnerRez), which specifically allows you to directly collect a "security deposit / refundable deposit" as long as it is "detailed in the listing description and included in the price breakdown before guests book" - which it is, if you've followed our instructions.  This article is even more clear that this is allowed.

2. Tell them to check their internal system for your account and take note of the “Collects offline fees” flag on your account.  If you've correctly followed our instructions, that will be set (you can't see it, but Airbnb support can).  As its name implies, that gives you authorization to, well, collect offline fees - like your security deposit.  :-)  If they say that flag is not set on your account, let us know - we have contacts at Airbnb that can get that fixed.

3. If this doesn't persuade the Airbnb support member that you are in the right, please forward their entire message to the OwnerRez Helpdesk. This will include their name and other identifying information.  We'll pass it on to our Airbnb contacts, who can reach out to them and educate them on the new program to clear up the confusion. 

My booking has a weird little "special offer adjustment" in the charges, what's that?

Because of the way Airbnb rolls surcharges into rates rather than separating them out, their rounding practices, and the sometimes unpredictable order in which they calculate taxes, sometimes the charges as Airbnb views them won't be exactly what OwnerRez thinks they should be.  When this happens, OwnerRez automatically enters an adjustment charge like this, to make the totals come out correctly:

In most cases, they can be ignored, unless you see one that's large enough to actually care about. If you do see a large adjustment, check your per stay fees to make sure they are all either supported by Airbnb or excluded by the surcharge criteria. 

There are no payments showing on new bookings

If users have enabled Airbnb Transaction Sync, transactions may take time to appear (up to 3 days) in OwnerRez. 

OwnerRez users that have not enabled Airbnb Transaction Sync should use our Channel Bridge tool to find and download payments from Airbnb and import them via Channel Bridge into OwnerRez.

Messaging

Can I display a message to guests before they book on Airbnb?

Yes!  It's called an "IB Message".  You can set it in your Airbnb API connection settings.  

Display Airbnb Instant Book Message

Note that only plaintext is allowed (no HTML) and only 300 characters.  This message will only be displayed if you have activated Instant Bookings on Airbnb. 

I had automatic messages scheduled in my Airbnb account, but I don't see those in OwnerRez - what happened to them?

They're still where they were, configured in your Airbnb account. While our API connection is integrated with the Airbnb internal messaging system, so you can send and receive messages that way using OwnerRez, we don't connect to your scheduled messages in Airbnb.

Generally, it's best to just turn them off and instead use the OwnerRez message template and triggers so that you're not confused by messages sending from multiple systems. You have to go to Airbnb to disable the scheduled messages -- it doesn't happen automatically. So if you had scheduled Airbnb messages before you connected the API, and haven't turned them off - they're still there, and will keep working the same as before.

Why aren't my Airbnb guests responding to my Pre-booking Message?

The simple answer is that it is optional for guests to respond to your Pre-booking Message. 

We asked Airbnb, and here's what they had to say: 

With the instant_booking_welcome_message, there will be a section on the booking screen requesting a guest to reply to the message. That said, this is not required. This is probably why some guests are reporting it is required, and some say it is not. They see the option to reply and assume it is mandatory. 

There is nothing in place from the Airbnb end that would actually require a message from the guest. There is just a box asking you to message the host when making the reservation. The guest should be able to proceed with requesting to book without issue if leaving this blank. 

How do I handle my Airbnb Guest Conversation threads not correctly displaying my or my co-host's names?

You can verify your messaging preferences by navigating to My Account > My Preferences > Messaging and selecting either Host/Owner or Co-host.

You can verify your messaging preferences by navigating to My Account > My Preferences > Messaging and selecting either Host/Owner or Co-host.

While it is possible to set a preference for configuring whose name is displayed in the Guest Conversation, the preference is just that—a preference. We can't guarantee the results. The system will try its absolute best to match it. But there are cases where it will not be able to match the preference and will need to default to the Host replying rather than the co-host. 

Property Settings

Airbnb offers a "Check-in window" instead of just a start time. How can I add that time frame in OwnerRez?

Yes. Follow the instructions on the Check-in Window section of the Check-in & Check-out support article.

Changing content on the Airbnb side

Once you go API, Airbnb disables fields on their control panel and you can no longer modify most settings on their side.  This is true for all property content, rates, rules and availability.  OwnerRez becomes the master record for all information so the channel turns off the ability for you to edit that directly and only communicates with OwnerRez for changes.  If you don't know how to set something on the OwnerRez side, please read our rules & settings article or ask us.

Users may see "Opportunity Cards" displayed in the Airbnb app for users to add additional information. OwnerRez believes that most of the items you complete in these "Opportunity Cards" is remaining in place when completed on Airbnb.

There are a few select settings that still can be changed on the Airbnb side because they are not available to be set in OwnerRez.  Also, for some content in Airbnb, such as their step-by-step instructions for check-in, things get stuck in limbo when the API is turned on and the feed from OwnerRez doesn't update properly within Airbnb.

If you have old info in a field that can't be changed in either OwnerRez or Airbnb, and wish to update or delete it after an API integration:

  1. Go to Settings > API Integrations > click on the appropriate Airbnb API channel.
  2. Click the Change Property Mappings dropdown button, and select  Change Sync Mode.
  3. For the desired property, on the far right, click the dropdown and choose Limited.  Then, scroll down and click Save.
  4. That change will unlock the descriptions, etc. for editing on the Airbnb side. Go into your Airbnb account and modify as needed.  Note that some of these items cannot be modified in the Airbnb browser-based control panel either, only in the Airbnb app.
  5. Once you're done, go back into OwnerRez Follow the first three steps above, and put the sync back to Everything mode.

Alternatively, you can make updates to some of these items using the Airbnb mobile app under the listing you need to update.

Known elements that need to be changed this way:

  • Amenity details (e.g., parking, facilities, safety)
  • Check-in instructions
  • Airbnb custom URL
  • Snorkeling
  • Location
  • Changing the Guest Requirement of Profile photo required
  • EV Charger Description.  Note that the presence of an EV charger must still be set in OwnerRez, on the Accommodations page of the Property.
  • Laptop Friendly Workspace
  • Promotions and Rule-sets (sometimes)
  • Pool details
    • Private
    • Public or shared

Do reviews for Airbnb bookings left on OwnerRez sync to Airbnb?

No. Reviews for Airbnb bookings that are left on an OwnerRez Hosted Website are not able to be pushed to Airbnb. Airbnb requires that only reviews left on their platform be displayed.

Error connecting property - Please move the pin closer to your address to continue.

Airbnb has recently started attempting to verify your property address against various sources.  If they think your address as stated in OwnerRez is not near the lat/lng you've set, they won't allow the listing.

Unfortunately, it's not clear what data source they are using, because it's often wrong, and in particular, isn't the same as Google Maps.

  1. Check in the OwnerRez Properties area, Location page, for the property.  Is, in fact, the pin displayed on the map in the proper place?  We've also seen situations where Google is wrong when it tries to determine the lat/lng from an address.  If the pin is in the wrong place, then, use other sources to determine the correct lat/lng coordinates for your property, and manually enter those into OwnerRez.
  2. If the pin location and address are correct in OwnerRez, contact Airbnb support.  Let them know the address and lat/lng, and they may be able to help - or maybe not, in which case try to push for a supervisor.
  3. If all else fails, you may have to first create the property (at least the bare minimum) directly in Airbnb, and then connect that listing to the OwnerRez property.  Airbnb does not update a property location based on OwnerRez data once it has been created.  So, if Airbnb is content with the location once, it won't get confused later. 

How do I add my property registration/lodging license information to display on Airbnb?

You'll have to do that in Airbnb. It's not possible today to enter that info in OwnerRez and have it sync over to Airbnb. Users can log into their Airbnb account to manually add their property registration/lodging information details. To do so, navigate to your listing > Policies and Rules > Edit Regulations.

Airbnb Edit Regulations

How do I change my WiFi password on my Airbnb listing?

The API connection now supports this, so you can set your WiFi password in OwnerRez and it will automatically be pushed to Airbnb via your API connection.

This is done in the Guest Instructions area of Properties.  Go to the main Properties screen, select the desired property, then select Guest Instructions from the menu at the left.  Click the Change button at the top to enter in information, including the WiFi password.  You can also enter your WiFi network name here.

How does shared listing access via Airbnb Co-Hosting or Teams work?

Airbnb has two different ways to share listing access with other Airbnb users -- Co-Hosting and Teams. Co-Hosting was the original model which has a offers a specific and limited set of permissions, while Teams has a much more granular set of permissions.

From an API and OwnerRez integration perspective, the difference between listings shared via Co-Hosting vs. listings shared via Teams is that you can't API connect OwnerRez to listings shared with you via Co-Hosting while you can API connect OwnerRez to listings shared via Teams as long as you are the owner of the team.

For listings shared with you via Co-Hosting, the only way to API connect OwnerRez to those listings is get the listing's owner Airbnb login and connect that account to Airbnb (rather than just your Airbnb account that you co-host through). The main account must be API connected to OwnerRez to manage listings and reservations. You can still message via a Co-Host account, and if you have some listings of your own and some co-hosted listings you can connect your account and API connected to OwnerRez to manage listings that you own, but you won't be able to API connect the Co-Hosted listings.

For listings shared with you via Teams, make sure you are attempting to connect the Airbnb account that originally created the team. Airbnb does not support API connecting any other account that's a team member -- even if they've been granted the Listing Management and Guest Management permissions. Airbnb only supports API connecting to the team owner account.

You can start a new Team owner account by following these instructions:

  1. Create a new Airbnb account
  2. With that new Airbnb account, create a new team
  3. Connect the new Airbnb account to OwnerRez via API
  4. Share listings from other accounts with the team
  5. Now you will be able to map those listings in OwnerRez via API

One thing to note is that Co-Hosting and Teams are mutually exclusive -- you can't be both a Co-Host and a Team member. If you try to be both, Airbnb will throw up a warning message when you try to accept an invite such as "you are already part of a team". If you're a Co-Host now and want to switch to teams, first remove yourself as a Co-Host from the listings you currently Co-Host. If you're now a Team member and want to switch to Co-Hosting, first leave the Team. Once you've disconnected your Airbnb account from one method of sharing, then you'll be able to accept invites from the other style.

I am a cohost on an Airbnb account, can I connect to it using the API?

No and yes.

It is not possible to connect to an Airbnb account using cohost login credentials.

However, if you are a cohost, presumably you are on good terms with the actual owner of the Airbnb account.  If they'll share their actual main credentials with you, you can use them to set up the API connection in OwnerRez using the main account, and it'll work thereafter. 

I configured my property rooms in OwnerRez, but they aren't showing up on Airbnb.

Did you select "Common Areas" as the room type?  Airbnb doesn't display those in the usual room tiles at the top of your listing.  You'll need to select an actual room type instead.

I have a long-term booking, and it's ignoring my cancellation policy selection!

True - that's Airbnb's policy.

If you have an Airbnb booking that is longer than 28 days, no matter what cancellation policy you have selected in your Airbnb API settings or control panel, the actual cancellation policy for the booking will be:

  • Reservations are fully refundable for 48 hours after the booking is confirmed, as long as the cancellation occurs at least 28 days before check-in (3:00 PM in the destination’s local time if not specified)
  • More than 48 hours after booking, guests can cancel before check-in and get a full refund, minus the first 30 days and the service fee

I have a 'Plus' or 'Luxe' property - how do I maintain Plus or Luxe listings on Airbnb?

Congratulations on getting Plus or Luxe rated on Airbnb!  That's a great benefit to attract more guests.

You can control or manage the content side (photos, descriptions) of Plus and Luxe listings via the OwnerRez Airbnb API connection or connect to Airbnb via iCal.

I have an age limit field or max adults/children set in my Property Rules, but Airbnb isn't honoring it.

That's right - they don't. Airbnb doesn't support an age limit field like OwnerRez, Vrbo and some others. They also don't have a separate rule for adults and children or infants -- just one total max guests rule.

OwnerRez does allow you to specify which OwnerRez value to push for the Airbnb max guests rule -- you can either push max guests (the default) or max adults to Airbnb. To control that option, change the Max Guests Rule in the Airbnb channel settings in OwnerRez.

The only way to get more specific than that is to add a sentence to your House Rules about the detailed rules you have. Go to Settings > API Integrations, click on the Airbnb channel, and change the settings.

Add Airbnb House Rules about the detailed rules you have. Go to Settings > API Integrations, click on the Airbnb channel, and change the settings.

Airbnb won't automatically enforce this policy, but it will be displayed to your guests, and if you have problems or need to cancel a booking because it does not comply, Airbnb may honor it then - though depending on what it is, you may fall foul of Airbnb's nondiscrimination policies.

If you have different requirements for different properties (or other differing rules), you can set them separately for each property.  Go to Properties > Pick a property > Channel Rules, in the left side menu.  Select "Override Global Rules".  Then enter the rules you want for that specific property.

"IfI have several properties, and I want one of them to have different rules, rate adjustment, cancellation policy or lead time settings.

You can do this! First, make sure that you have these settings configured in the Airbnb API Channel settings for your regular defaults.

Then, for the property that needs to be different, go to Properties > pick the property > Channel Rules, in the left menu > Change button.  You will see a list of options for the APIs that property is connected to.  By default they are all set to "Use Global Rules", which means whatever is set in the main API channel settings.

But, you can override them for each property individually in this screen.  Make your changes and save, and they'll be transmitted to Airbnb via the API connection.

Rate adjustment: This one doesn't have an override under Channel Rules.  Instead, create a Surcharge, and use the Criteria to set it to be used for the specific property and channel you want different.  Don't forget that the surcharge will be added to any Rate Adjustment already in place on the channel - so if you regular Airbnb API rate adjustment is 10%, and you have one property that you want to be 15%, create a Surcharge for that property, Airbnb channel only, for 5%.

I have two separate Airbnb accounts, can I connect to both of them?

Yes, our API connection supports multiple Airbnb accounts!  Simply create two separate Airbnb API connections, one for each account.

  1. Make the connection to your first Airbnb account in the usual way, and map the properties that are in that account.  Do not map any properties that are in a different Airbnb account.
  2. In a different tab in the same browser, open Airbnb.  Log out of all Airbnb accounts.  Then, log in to the second Airbnb account, that is not currently connected to your OwnerRez account via API.
  3. Switch back to the browser tab with OwnerRez in it.  Go to Settings > API Integrations > Connect a Channel button > Connect another Airbnb button.
  4. You will be brought through the same Airbnb connection authentication, but this time, a second Airbnb API connection to the other account will be created.
  5. In this second account, map the properties that are in that account.  The properties that are mapped to the first account will be marked accordingly, and will not be available - one OwnerRez property cannot be mapped on more than one Airbnb API connection.

Both (or more) of these Airbnb API connections will display all your properties.  But some properties will display a message that they are associated with a different account, as appropriate.  They won't overlap or get mixed up. 

I want to use Super Strict cancellation and I'm getting an error.

Like this?

Airbnb Business Account Verification & Identification (BAVI)

Airbnb only allows you to use their Super Strict cancellation policies if you have identified and verified your business account with them (BAVI), so they know you're real and aren't a scammer.  This must be done by Airbnb and generally will happen if you take the following steps when that "Business Account Verification" box appears. (Please follow the steps exactly.):

  • Click on the green words "Airbnb Business Account Verification & Identification (BAVI).
  • A screen should open in your Airbnb account.
  • If it does, simply click on the "Back Arrow" at the top, left of the screen and you will go back to the OwnerRez API setup. 
  • You can then continue with the remaining items on the Airbnb API page.

If the above process does not work, you can usually do this through your Airbnb dashboard, or by calling Airbnb support.  Note that Airbnb support docs suggest that there may be an additional charge for using this option, but, we have not found this to generally be the case.

I want to use the API, but I don't want to do Book Now/Instant Booking.

You can do this, with certain requirements - here's how.

However, you may not need to.  Airbnb offers you several choices as to exactly who is allowed to Book Now in the OwnerRez API - Settings > API Integrations > Airbnb entry > Change button > look for the Instant Booking selection:

Carefully read that third option.  How many unsuitable parties will still qualify if they

  • Have verified government ID
  • Have traveled on Airbnb before
  • Have been recommended by other hosts
  • Have no negative reviews

Probably not many.  So even for highly selective owners, it is almost always possible and safe to use the Airbnb API.  Just use the most restrictive setting as described above - everybody else will still have to Request To Book.  :-)

To select this option, go to Settings > API Integrations > select your Airbnb API channel > Change button > look for the Instant Booking dropdown selector, and select the desired option > Save. 

Is it necessary to run Channel Bridge with the API?

No, when you connect the Airbnb API, it will automatically pull over information on all your bookings past, present, and future.  You do not need to run Channel Bridge to pre-populate your old bookings into OwnerRez.  Also, the API automatically brings in all reviews past, present, and future with no further action required on your part.

The Airbnb Channel Transaction Sync is now available (as an opt-in and completely optional) for those users who are API-integrated. Once enabled, Airbnb Transaction Sync replaces the need for Channel Bridge for Airbnb transactions (e.g., payments, refunds) for future bookings! You will need to run Channel Bridge (as needed) in preparation for enabling this feature. Once you enable it, it can't be turned off, and you can no longer import Channel Bridge files for updating Airbnb booking/transaction information.

If you leave the API bookings in their default state, they will all show that the guest has an open balance because no payments were recorded.  Running Channel Bridge will find the payouts in Airbnb and bring them over into OwnerRez so your accounting reports will be correct.

Here's more information.

I've heard of various tricks that can boost your listing on Airbnb, does OwnerRez do any of those?

At one time, it was possible to "goose" your listing ranking on Airbnb by using various tricks, like automatically making minor changes to the listing description or calendar to fool their algorithm into thinking you updated something.

OwnerRez doesn't do anything like this - because Airbnb got wise to them, and they don't work anymore, so there's no point.

My property title is displaying duplicate names in the Airbnb app and on the Airbnb website. How do I fix that?

Sometimes Airbnb displays both the internal name and the listing title together. Users can fix this by logging into their account on Airbnb.com and editing the Listing Title under Listing Basics (on the Airbnb website) and deleting the Internal Name. 

When I try to connect, there is an error saying that I can only have one property management software connected to Airbnb.

This happens when you were previously using a different property management software, such as LiveRez.  It is not possible to be connected to more than one such PMS at a time - so if you are now going to be using OwnerRez, make sure you've canceled your service with the old one so you aren't paying for both!

Having done that, here's how to disconnect the old one so you can connect Airbnb to OwnerRez.

  1. Go to Airbnb, in the account section
  2. Click on the "Privacy & sharing" section.

    Airbnb > Account > Privacy & sharing

  3. Click over to the "Services" tab.
  4. Is there a connected app for anything other than OwnerRez there? If so, hit the "Remove access" link and remove the app.
    Is there a connected app for anything other than OwnerRez there? If so, hit the
  5. You should now be able to connect the Airbnb API in OwnerRez without errors.

Even though my property with the correct bed and bath counts should appear in Airbnb search results, why is my property listing not displayed?

OwnerRez has contacted Airbnb, and it appears that they will display whatever beds/baths they want in search results. Airbnb's response to OwnerRez was:

We have confirmed the search feature is working as expected and by design. For 0 to 2 guest searches, the software was designed to show bed type info only to reduce repetition on the user interface. When users search with 3 or more guests, the software will show bed count + bedroom count since bedroom count is less repetitive in this case and larger groups tend to stay in separate rooms.

I need to temporarily hide/deactivate my listing on Airbnb.

See the Activate and Deactivate section of the Airbnb Setup & Connecting support article.

How do I add the "Where you'll sleep" to my Airbnb listing in OwnerRez?

I see the "Where you'll sleep" on other Airbnb listings and want to add that to my listing in OwnerRez.

Airbnb Where you'll sleep

You can add that in OwnerRez by first creating rooms and then connecting your photos to rooms to each room. By connecting photos to bedrooms that contain an image of beds, your photos will appear in the "Where you'll sleep" on your Airbnb listing.

How do I change my Airbnb host name?

You can't change your Airbnb host name in OwnerRez, but you can change your host name in Airbnb. Contact Airbnb support for specific instructions.

Why does my Airbnb cancellation policy differ from what I set up in OwnerRez?

Airbnb and some of our other channel integration partners do not support custom cancellation policies. You are required to select one cancellation policy from the predefined lists that those channels show display their API settings.

Airbnb and some of our other channel integration partners do not support custom cancellation policies. You are required to select one cancellation policy from the predefined lists that those channels show display their API settings.

For more details, see the How Policies Work with Channels section of our Cancellation Policies support article and the answer to the I have several properties, and I want one of them to have different rules, rate adjustment, cancellation policy or lead time settings question.

Why aren't the updates (e.g., photos, descriptions, headline/title, etc.) I made in OwnerRez not syncing to Airbnb?

Airbnb released a feature in which an API-connected host making changes to listing content directly on Airbnb prompts Airbnb to lock those modified fields so they can no longer be overwritten by the OwnerRez API connection. This can be any listing field, attribute, or amenity. At present, only rates and availability are exempt from this locking.

To check on any Airbnb-locked fields, log into your Airbnb hosting account and navigate to Listings > your specific Listing. In the Listing editor > Your space tab, click on the right hamburger/meatball icon.

To check on any Airbnb locked fields, clog into your Airbnb hosting account and navigate to Listings > your specific Listing. In the Listing editor > Your space tab, click on the right hamburger/meatball icon.

Click on Property Management Software > Manage from OwnerRez instead. This action unlocks all attributes simultaneously.

Click on Property Management Software > Manage from OwnerRez instead. This action unlocks all attributes simultaneously.If Airbnb is not displaying any locked fields (like Title under "Not currently managed by OwnerRez" in the screenshot above), please take a screenshot of what you see and send it to the OwnerRez Helpdesk at help@ownerrez.com for further review.

Why aren't my property images displayed in the order that I configured in OwnerRez?

Much like Vrbo, Airbnb often reorders property images or photos in ways that they see fit. OwnerRez has no control over the order that Airbnb displays your property photos. You can reorder your photos directly on Airbnb, but beware that doing so may lock those fields.