Connect with Airbnb (API) – What You Need to Know

The Airbnb API provides a direct connection between your Anytime Booking account and Airbnb.

Once connected, Anytime Booking can send pricing and availability information to Airbnb, and Airbnb bookings can be received automatically in Anytime Booking.

This means you can manage your connected Airbnb listings alongside your other bookings without having to maintain the same information in both systems.

Important requirements and limitations

Before connecting your Airbnb account, there are a few important requirements to be aware of.

One Airbnb host per Anytime Booking account

Anytime Booking can connect to one Airbnb host account per Anytime Booking account.

The Airbnb connection must therefore be authorised using the main Airbnb Host/Owner account.

If you manage a property on behalf of another Airbnb host, the connection must be made using the relevant main Host/Owner account rather than a secondary or additional co-host account.

Minimum stay

We recommend setting the minimum stay to 1 night in Airbnb before connecting.

Once the API connection is active, minimum stay settings should be managed in Anytime Booking.

Setting a higher minimum stay in Airbnb can interfere with the minimum stay information being sent from Anytime Booking.

Check-in and check-out restrictions

We recommend removing any restricted check-in or check-out days in Airbnb before connecting.

Check-in and check-out rules should be managed in Anytime Booking after the API connection is active.

If restrictions are already set in Airbnb, Airbnb may apply these restrictions in addition to the information sent by Anytime Booking. This can result in Airbnb overriding or restricting the availability that Anytime Booking is attempting to provide.

Before connecting, we recommend:

Set the Airbnb minimum stay to 1 night.
Remove any restricted check-in days in Airbnb.
Remove any restricted check-out days in Airbnb.
Make sure you are connecting using the main Airbnb Host/Owner account.
Confirm that you are connecting the correct Airbnb listings to the correct Anytime Booking units.

Once the connection is active, manage your minimum stay and check-in/check-out rules from Anytime Booking.

What information is synchronised?

The following information can be exchanged between Anytime Booking and Airbnb:

Length of stay rates
Availability
Check-in and check-out days
Minimum night stays
Cleaning fees
Linen fees
Pet fees
Party size
Guest details, including:
- Title
- First name
- Last name
- Email address

Please note: Airbnb may generate an email address for a guest. Anytime Booking cannot send automated emails to Airbnb-generated email addresses.

What changes after connecting?

The most important change is where you manage your pricing and booking rules.

Once the API connection is active, pricing and availability settings for your connected listings are managed in Anytime Booking.

You should no longer maintain these settings separately in Airbnb.

Setting	Manage in Anytime Booking	Manage in Airbnb
Rates	✅
Length of stay rates	✅
Minimum night stays	✅
Check-in days	✅
Check-out days	✅
Availability	✅
Airbnb discounts and promotions		✅*
View your listing as a guest		✅

* Some Airbnb discounts and promotions are available after connecting. See Discounts and Promotions in Airbnb for more information.

Making changes to your rates

If you need to change your Airbnb pricing, length of stay rates, minimum stay or arrival/departure rules, make the change in Anytime Booking.

The updated information is then sent to Airbnb through the API.

Avoid changing settings directly in Airbnb when they are controlled by Anytime Booking, as changes may be overwritten by the API.

How do I check what guests will see?

You can still use Airbnb to check how your listing appears to guests.

To check your guest-facing prices:

Log in to Airbnb.
Open the relevant Listing.
Select View Listing at the bottom left.
Select Check Dates.
Enter the dates you want to check.
Review the price and availability shown.

This allows you to confirm that your rates are displaying correctly on Airbnb.

Airbnb bookings

Bookings received through the API are automatically sent to Anytime Booking.

If you manually add an Airbnb booking to Anytime Booking, or a booking has been imported through iCal, you must enter the Airbnb booking reference in the External Ref field.

This allows Anytime Booking to identify and link the booking to the correct Airbnb listing so that future amendments can be processed correctly.

Why use the API connection?

The direct connection can help you:

Reduce the amount of manual administration.
Keep pricing and availability synchronised.
Reduce the risk of double bookings.
View Airbnb bookings alongside your direct bookings.
Manage your Airbnb rates from one place.
Transfer relevant guest information into Anytime Booking.

Airbnb pricing and commission

Important: Connecting Anytime Booking to Airbnb through the API may affect how Airbnb charges commission on your account.

Airbnb's Simplified Pricing means Airbnb deducts a 15% commission, plus VAT where applicable, from the amount you receive.

This may apply across your Airbnb hosting account, including listings that you do not connect to Anytime Booking.

You can use the Price Uplift option in the Anytime Booking Airbnb dashboard to increase the rates sent to Airbnb and help account for this additional cost.

Airbnb's pricing and commission policies may change. Please refer to Airbnb's current guidance for the latest information.

Before you connect

Before connecting Airbnb to Anytime Booking, make sure you understand that:

Your connected Airbnb pricing and booking rules will be managed in Anytime Booking.
Some Airbnb discount and promotion options remain available.
You can still use Airbnb to view your listing and check guest-facing prices.
Manually added or iCal-imported Airbnb bookings need the Airbnb reference entered in the External Ref field.

Once you're ready, continue to Making the Connection for the setup instructions.

Next article: Making the Connection