The most important part of testing calendars is to make sure that any booking made on another channel is imported into OwnerRez.
If you are using multiple channels, though, it's almost as important to make sure that all bookings, no matter where they are made, block off any and all calendars wherever they are.
👉 Note:
Calendars do not update instantly. Normally they update within a few minutes, but in some rare cases it can take up to an hour. If the calendar doesn't update right away, it's not a good sign, but it doesn't mean the test has necessarily failed - wait an hour, and check again.
Testing Using Test Bookings
As part of testing calendar imports, usually you must make test bookings for each property on each channel where they are listed, as described elsewhere.
During this process, though, you can also double-up and test your calendar exports at the same time if you have multiple channels. For instance, a test booking made on Airbnb, that has been successfully imported into OwnerRez, is also an opportunity to test your calendar export to VRBO.
This type of test is simple: go to the calendar display for your property on the other listing site, and see if your booking appears there. It might show up as a booking or as a block, but there should be some sort of indication that the days are taken, preventing anyone else from booking them. This proves that you have configured the calendar export from OwnerRez, imported to that channel, correctly.
Testing Using Blocks
Bookings block off your calendar, but it is also possible to create "blocks" that also block off the calendar but aren't really bookings. These should normally be created in OwnerRez, and provide a fine way to test your calendar exports.
Simply create a block in OwnerRez for your property for a period of time. Since this should also block your publicly visible calendars on all channels, it's a good idea to pick a period of time that is very unlikely to get booked in the near future.
Once you've created a block for a property, go to the calendar display for your property on the other listing site(s), and see if that time is blocked off, preventing anyone else from booking those dates. This proves that you have configured the calendar export from OwnerRez, imported to that channel, correctly.
Don't forget to delete the block in OwnerRez when you're finished, then test! This provides another opportunity for testing: go back to the calendar display for your property on the other listing site(s), and confirm that the calendar has cleared.
Exceptions
- It is not necessary to test calendars included in a Hosted Website or displayed using an OwnerRez Widget. Those will always display all booking data that is in OwnerRez. If you've successfully tested that bookings are imported from channels into OwnerRez, that is sufficient testing to ensure they'll appear on a Hosted Website or in a Widget.
- If you are using an API connection, and have successfully tested that bookings are imported from that channel for the API connected property, it is not necessary to specifically test that booking data is also exported to that channel. The API connection works both ways, and if it's working in one direction, it will also be working in the other direction.