QloApps Marketplace iCalendar (.ics) Export and Sync

The QloApps Marketplace Booking iCalendar (.ics) File Export and sync Availability module lets every seller on your marketplace keep room availability the same on the booking website and on their booking channels. It also covers a calendar feed for each room type, calendar imports from channels such as Booking.com or Airbnb, a channel list, sync logs, and .ics exports of bookings for you and for your sellers.

NOTE: This module needs the QloApps Marketplace module, version 2.0.0 or 5.0.0, and it works with QloApps 1.6.1 and 1.7.0. The channel sync also runs only when a cron job calls the module, so you need to add one cron job on your server. Each channel must give the seller an .ics calendar URL for the room types they list on it.

Features of QloApps Marketplace Booking iCalendar (.ics) File Export and sync Availability

• Publish an iCalendar feed for every seller room type that channels can import
• Import the .ics calendar of Booking.com, Expedia, VRBO, Airbnb or your own channels into a room type
• Block a free room for every imported event and remove the block when the channel removes the event
• Let sellers add their own channels, or switch that option off
• Limit each channel’s import to a number of days ahead and choose which event types block a room
• Review every sync event in the Back Office logs with its seller, room type and hotel
• Export bookings as an .ics file for chosen sellers, all sellers or your own hotels, with one zip file for separate seller files
• Let sellers export their own bookings from their account
• Attach the booking .ics file to the booking confirmation email for the guest, super admin, hotelier and seller

How to Install QloApps Marketplace Booking iCalendar (.ics) File Export and sync Availability

1. In the Back Office go to Modules and Services › Manage Modules and click Add a new module.
2. Then click Choose a file and select the module ZIP file.
3. Finally, click Upload and install this module. QloApps uploads the module and installs it.

Install the Marketplace module first, because this module depends on it. After the install, the module shows in the module list as QloApps Marketplace Booking iCalendar (.ics) File Export and sync Availability.

In addition, the install adds iCal Sync and Export under Marketplace in the Back Office and an iCal Sync entry to every seller account. It also creates four ready channels: Booking.com, Expedia, VRBO and Airbnb.

Configuration of QloApps Marketplace Booking iCalendar (.ics) File Export and sync Availability

Go to Marketplace › iCal Sync and Export. The page has four tabs: iCal Sync Channels, iCal Sync Logs, iCal Booking Export and iCal Configuration.

• iCal Sync Channels: lists the channels that sellers import calendars from, and lets you add, edit or delete them.
• iCal Sync Logs: lists every import event with its status, so you can find failed or skipped events.
• iCal Booking Export: downloads the bookings of sellers or admin hotels as an .ics file.
• iCal Configuration: sets the export, mail, sync and cron options.

Then open iCal Configuration, which has four panels.

General Configuration

First, the panel iCal booking export configuration controls the booking export that sellers can run from their account.

• Enable export from front office: lets sellers export their bookings as an .ics file from their account. The default is Yes.
• Max Bookings Per File: the highest number of bookings in one file. The default is 1000.

Next, the panel iCal booking export mail configuration decides who gets the booking .ics file attached to the booking confirmation email.

• Send email to customer: the default is Yes.
• Send email to super admin: the default is Yes.
• Send email to hotelier: the default is Yes.
• Send email to seller: the default is Yes.
• Allow seller to configure mail settings: lets sellers override these recipient settings from their own account. The default is No.

Then the panel Ical Sync settings controls how sellers use channels and how far ahead events are exported.

• Allow sellers to create channels: lets sellers add their own channels next to the ones you provide. The default is Yes.
• Limit export offset: exports only the events inside the number of days below. With No, the feed carries every future event. The default is Yes.
• Export offset: the number of days ahead to export. The default is 365 days.

Then click Save in each panel to keep the changes.

The panel Cron job configuration shows the cron line for the sync. Copy it into the cron jobs of your server, because the import runs only when the cron URL is called. Also, the seller pages tell sellers that the import runs every hour.

Manage Channels

Open the tab iCal Sync Channels to see every channel with the seller that owns it. Also, channels that you create show no seller. Then click Add new channel to add a channel.

Next, click Edit on a channel to change its settings.

• Name: the display name of the channel.
• Active: an inactive channel does not import events. The default is Yes.
• Limit import offset: imports only the events inside the number of days you set. With No, every future event is imported. The default is No.
• Channel events: after events have come in from the channel, this table lists each event type. Include lets that event type block a room, and Include End Date also blocks the last date of the event.

Connect a Room Type to a Channel as a Seller

Sellers find iCal Sync in the Marketplace section of their account.

First, the seller opens iCal Sync Channels to see the channels that you provide. However, these channels have no edit or delete actions for the seller. If you allowed it, the seller also sees Add new channel.

Also, a new channel has a name, an Active option and a Limit import window option.

Then the seller opens Room Types, edits a room type and opens the iCal Sync tab.

• PMS export URL: the feed of this room type. The seller pastes it into the calendar import option of a channel.
• Copy URL: copies the feed URL.
• Download iCal: downloads the file so the seller can check it first.
• Channel: the channel that the calendar comes from.
• Import URL: the .ics address that the channel gives for this room.
• Add channel: adds another channel row for the same room type.

After the seller clicks Save, the info icon next to the row shows the status of the last sync. Likewise, you can open the same tab in the Back Office when you edit a seller room type.

When the cron runs, a new channel event blocks one free room of that room type for those dates. Then, if the channel removes an event, the block goes away on the next sync.

Seller Configuration and Sync Logs

On the Configuration tab, the seller chooses which events go into the feed: Booking, Manually Disable Dates, or both. The page also shows the export limit that you set.

Next, the iCal Sync Logs tab lists every event of the seller room types, with the channel, room type, hotel, status and dates.

Export Bookings from the Seller Account

When Enable export from front office is on, sellers also see the tab iCal Booking Export. The seller picks hotels and a date range, then downloads the bookings as an .ics file.

Check the Import Logs in the Back Office

Open the tab iCal Sync Logs. Each row shows the channel, seller, room type, hotel, event UID, status, event dates and the time of the entry. The status is Synced or Failed. Then click Clear all logs to empty the list.

Export Bookings as an .ics File

Open the tab iCal Booking Export to export bookings for your marketplace.

• Select Seller(s): choose sellers, All Sellers or Admin Hotels. Alternatively, leave the field empty to export everything. After you choose a seller, Select Hotel(s) lets you narrow the export to chosen hotels.
• Date From: includes bookings that check in on or after this date.
• Date To: also includes bookings that check in on or before this date.
• Create separate file for each seller: creates one file for each seller and delivers all files together in a zip file.

Finally, click Export .ics File to download the result.

Conclusion

The QloApps Marketplace Booking iCalendar (.ics) File Export and sync Availability module gives every seller on your marketplace a way to keep room availability the same across their channels. This guide covered the install, the four configuration panels, the channels, the seller pages, the logs and the booking export. Finally, we hope this guide has helped you configure and use QloApps Marketplace Booking iCalendar (.ics) File Export and sync Availability with confidence.

Additionally, to learn more about the functionality of QloApps, you can visit this link: All-in-One Property Management System. For technical assistance, raise a ticket at QloApps Support. In case of any query, issue, or requirement, please feel free to raise it on the QloApps Forum.

Current Module Version: 1.0.0

Supported QloApps Versions: 1.6.1 and 1.7.0