What is iCal? (And Why You Might Care)

How iCal Keeps Your Vacation Rental Calendars in Sync

If you list your vacation rental on more than one site (Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, etc.), double bookings are a real risk. That’s where iCal comes in.

iCal is a simple calendar file format (.ics) that lets different booking platforms share your availability with each other automatically.

How it works

  1. Each platform gives you a unique iCal link for your property’s calendar.
  2. You copy that link and paste it into the other platforms (or into a calendar tool).
  3. When a guest books on one site, the dates get blocked on the others within minutes or hours.
  4. Cancellations free up the dates again across all calendars.

No manual updates needed. Your calendars stay in sync in the background.

Why hosts love it

  • Prevents overlapping reservations
  • Saves time
  • Works with most major vacation rental sites and even Google Calendar or Outlook

Just look for the “Export calendar” or “iCal link” option in your host dashboard, copy the link, and import it on your other platforms. That’s usually all it takes.

Simple, reliable, and one of the best tools for multi-platform vacation rental hosts.

A quick history of MotoPress

Launched in 2017, the Hotel Booking plugin — a full property-management and direct-booking engine — rapidly became MotoPress’s flagship and remains one of the most respected WordPress solutions for hotels and vacation rentals. Over the following years, MotoPress expanded into a complete family of booking products (Hotel Booking, Appointment Booking, Booking Calendar and more), continually refining the platform based on real-world feedback from thousands of operators worldwide.

 

Why it is such a strong system

  • Almost a decade of continuous development and real-world use
  • Proven reliability across thousands of live sites
  • Comprehensive feature set: real-time calendars, multi-channel iCal sync, flexible pricing, payments, automated guest communication and professional reporting
  • High overall ratings (9.4/10 from hundreds of reviews)
  • Built specifically for the needs of independent owners and small portfolios rather than large enterprise systems

BookEasy takes this mature, battle-tested MotoPress foundation and streamlines it for South African vacation-rental owners — adding local payment options, Lekkerslaap integration and practical seasonal tools — so you get proven power without unnecessary complexity.