Airbnb integration | Common problems and FAQ

Blanca Castillo
Blanca Castillo
  • Updated

Where do I find it?

PARTNERS > MARKETPLACE AGENTS > Airbnb

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CONFIGURATION > THIRD PARTY INTEGRATIONS > Airbnb

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What does it mean?

This section explains the most common Airbnb integration issues you may see in TourCMS, why they happen, and what you can do to resolve them. In most cases, these errors are caused by Airbnb requirements or limitations around pricing, start times, availability, capacity, or how Experiences are structured. Use the examples below to identify the issue, update the relevant TourCMS or Airbnb settings, and then allow the integration to sync again.

 

Common departures sync issues and how to solve

  • Set a price per guest at or above € XXX

    • We cannot set a price lower than the one configured in the Airbnb portal. Therefore, the minimum price on Airbnb must be lower than the minimum price in TourCMS.

  • Start time must align with 15-minute increments (0, 15, 30, or 45 minutes past the hour).

    • As previously mentioned, this is a limitation imposed by Airbnb; therefore, we are unable to sync departures that do not follow this start time requirement.

  • Listing is not allowed to add cutomized prices on this calendar instance.

    • We can not update prices on Airbnb if the product has configured any discount. In order to fix this error you should remove all discounts for the product.

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Good to know

  • Experiences in Airbnb only feature one “Offer type”, meaning one type of departure in TourCMS terms. If you have a complex product in TourCMS, e.g. a departure with lunch and a departure without lunch, or a departure for each language, those will need to be separate Experiences in Airbnb.

  • Airbnb supports Adult, child and infant rates only.

  • Age bands for each rate are set by Airbnb and may not mirror your tour. Adults are 13+, Children 2-12 and Infants under 2.

  • It is not possible for child or infant prices to change based on date/time; they are set at the Experience level.

  • It is not possible to change the Adult price on a departure once a booking has been made for that departure on Airbnb.

  • Only TourCMS tours with a valid Mapping Assistant configuration will be available for connecting to your Airbnb Experiences. If you don’t see a TourCMS tour listed in the connection window, contact Palisis support for Mapping Assistant help.

  • Airbnb does not send any customer emails over the API. All contact with the customer is handled via Airbnb's own messaging system.

 

Troubleshooting & FAQs

➕ What is the single most important thing to understand before setup?

The integration connects AirBnB Experiences to TourCMS operational availability. It does not manage your product content in AirBnB, and it works best when the TourCMS product structure is simple and compatible with AirBnB’s offer, pricing, and timing rules.

➕ Can I use one Airbnb Experience for multiple TourCMS variants?

Usually no. Because Airbnb supports one offer type per Experience, products with multiple departure variants often need to be split into separate Airbnb Experiences.

➕ An Airbnb booking was changed or cancelled, but what I see in TourCMS is confusing. How should it look?

 

  • Modifications in Airbnb are handled as cancel + new booking in TourCMS:
    • You’ll see the original booking cancelled plus a new booking with the updated details.
    • Both share the same Agent Reference (Ref#) and have audit trail notes linking them.
  • Cancellations are sent directly from Airbnb without asking permission:
    • If a cancellation fails in TourCMS, a “Cancellation failed” email is sent using the channel’s template (make sure this template is enabled).
  • Any future bookings created in Airbnb before the TourCMS connection cannot be modified or cancelled via TourCMS – they must be managed directly in Airbnb.

 

➕ I’ve connected Airbnb, but my Experiences don’t show in TourCMS. What should I check?

 

  • Make sure you’re logged into the correct Airbnb host account and your products are created as Experiences (Services are not supported).
  • Confirm the Experiences are fully configured in Airbnb and not in draft.
  • Account must have a timezone defined: New style account timezone

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➕ My departures are not syncing to Airbnb (no dates or times appear / some dates missing). Why?

 

  • Check each departure has a valid start time (no “Not applicable” time): Airbnb requires a defined start time.
  • Ensure the start times are in 15‑minute increments (00, 15, 30, 45). Any other times will fail to sync.
  • Confirm you are only expecting one offer type per Experience. Complex TourCMS products (e.g. with/without lunch, per language) must be split into multiple Airbnb Experiences.

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➕ Prices or capacity look wrong on Airbnb compared to TourCMS. What could cause this?

 

  • Airbnb only supports Adult, Child and Infant bands, with fixed age rules (Adults 13+, Children 2–12, Infants under 2). Differences from your TourCMS bands may appear.
  • Child and infant prices can’t vary by date/time in Airbnb; they’re set at the Experience level.
  • Airbnb only allows updating the adult price per departure; changes to other rates in TourCMS won’t trigger instance updates.
  • Check your default price in Airbnb: it must not be higher than any corresponding TourCMS departure price, otherwise instance creation/updates can fail.
  • Maximum instance capacity in Airbnb is 16; higher capacities in TourCMS will be capped.

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