Our Channel Management feature is extremely powerful and can greatly simplify your channel advertising. Learn how it works by reading our Channel Management overview article. The most powerful part of our Channel Management is the API Integrations we have with certain channel partners like Airbnb.
This article provides a list of common questions and answers for the Airbnb API integration that are not covered elsewhere. This article assumes you have already connected the Airbnb API to OwnerRez. If not, do that first.
Questions are added to this page if they are miscellaneous in nature and we have not already answered them in other Airbnb support articles. Please read the Airbnb overview, connecting and rules & settings support articles for Airbnb before coming to this page as those articles cover the normal workflow.
- Changing content on the Airbnb side
- How long do availability/rate updates take to show up on Airbnb?
- Can I take credit cards payments myself like other APIs allow?
- Collecting and remitting taxes
- How do resolutions work?
- There are no payments showing on new bookings
- Changing booking dates
- Is it necessary to run Channel Bridge with the API?
- How do I do discounts and have them available in Airbnb?
- How do I do weekly/monthly rates and have them available in Airbnb?
- Can I have same-day bookings, but not too last-minute?
- I have two separate Airbnb accounts, can I connect to both of them?
- How do I get my pet fees into Airbnb?
- Can I display a message to guests before they book on Airbnb?
- I want to use Super Strict cancellation and I'm getting an error.
- I am a cohost on an Airbnb account, can I connect to it using the API?
- When I try to connect, there is an error saying that I can only have one property management software connected to Airbnb.
- I want to use the API, but I don't want to do Book Now.
- I have an age limit field or max adults/children set in my Property Rules, but Airbnb isn't honoring it.
- Can I make a "special offer" for a prospective guest?
- I need to temporarily hide/deactivate my listing on Airbnb.
- Why is Airbnb creating blocks on my calendar?
- How do I get historical data for my past Airbnb bookings into OwnerRez?
- Why is Airbnb showing a "base rate", and how can I change it?
- Why is Airbnb ignoring my "min nights" settings, and letting guests request to book (RTB) shorter stays than I allow?
- I have a 'Plus' or 'Luxe' property - how do I maintain Plus or Luxe listings on Airbnb?
- I have several properties, and I want one of them to have different rules / rate adjustment / cancellation policy / lead time settings.
- My property exceeds Airbnb's max nightly rate of $10,000/night.
- Why do large cleaning fees require a minimum nightly price?
- How do I change my WiFi password on my Airbnb listing?
- What is Simplified Pricing and the 15% fee?
- Airbnb offers a 20% off discount for the first 3 bookings on a new listing. How do I turn that on?
- I want to move my guest - that is, change the guest from one property to another, or change the dates.
- I'm using real OwnerRez security deposit holds with Airbnb, and guests are complaining about offline payments.
- I have a long-term booking, and it's ignoring my cancellation policy selection!
- My booking has a weird little "special offer adjustment" in the charges, what's that?
- I want to create one of those cool strike-through discounts in Airbnb!
- I've heard of various tricks that can boost your listing on Airbnb, does OwnerRez do any of those?
- I configured my property rooms in OwnerRez, but they aren't showing up on Airbnb.
- I had automatic messages scheduled in my Airbnb account, but I don't see those in OwnerRez - what happened to them?
- An Airbnb guest with no ID booked my property, but that booking didn't appear in OwnerRez.
- How does shared listing access via Airbnb co-hosting or Teams work?
- Error connecting property - Please move the pin closer to your address to continue.
- Can I use Airbnb's Smart Pricing with the API?
- Why are my Nightly Rates on my Airbnb listing showing higher than what I set in OwnerRez?
- Airbnb is not collecting my newly changed tax rates for future bookings that arrive after the tax rate changes!
- Why do my rates display as rounded or whole numbers and do not include the decimals (cents) that are set in OwnerRez?
- Do reviews for Airbnb bookings left on OwnerRez sync to Airbnb?
- My property title is displaying duplicate names in the Airbnb app and on the Airbnb website. How do I fix that?
- How do I add my property registration/lodging license information to display on Airbnb?
- Does the OwnerRez autoresponder send quotes and inquiries to potential Airbnb guests?
- Airbnb offers a "Check-in window" instead of just a start time. How can I add that time frame in OwnerRez?
Changing content on the Airbnb side
Once you go API, Airbnb disables fields on their control panel and you can no longer modify most settings on their side. This is true for all property content, rates, rules and availability. OwnerRez becomes the master record for all information so the channel turns off the ability for you to edit that directly and only communicates with OwnerRez for changes. If you don't know how to set something on the OwnerRez side, please read our rules & settings article or ask us.
Users may see "Opportunity Cards" displayed in the Airbnb app for users to add additional information. OwnerRez believes that most of the items you complete in these "Opportunity Cards" is remaining in place when completed on Airbnb.
There are a few select settings that still can be changed on the Airbnb side because they are not available to be set in OwnerRez. Also, for some content in Airbnb, such as their step-by-step instructions for check-in, things get stuck in limbo when the API is turned on and the feed from OwnerRez doesn't update properly within Airbnb.
If you have old info in a field that can't be changed in either OwnerRez or Airbnb, and wish to update or delete it after an API integration:
- Go to Settings > API Integrations > click on the appropriate Airbnb API channel.
- Click the Change Property Mappings dropdown button, and select Change Sync Mode.
- For the desired property, on the far right, click the dropdown and choose Limited. Then, scroll down and click Save.
- That change will unlock the descriptions, etc. for editing on the Airbnb side. Go into your Airbnb account and modify as needed. Note that some of these items cannot be modified in the Airbnb browser-based control panel either, only in the Airbnb app.
- Once you're done, go back into OwnerRez Follow the first three steps above, and put the sync back to Everything mode.
Alternatively, you can make updates to some of these items using the Airbnb mobile app under the listing you need to update.
Known elements that need to be changed this way:
- Amenity details (e.g., parking, facilities, safety)
- Check-in instructions
- Airbnb custom URL
- Snorkeling
- Location
- Changing the Guest Requirement of Profile photo required
- EV Charger Description. Note that the presence of an EV charger must still be set in OwnerRez, on the Accommodations page of the Property.
- Laptop Friendly Workspace
- Promotions and Rule-sets (sometimes)
- Pool details
- Private
- Public or shared
How long do availability/rate updates take to show up on Airbnb?
Once your account is live, we will push updates in about 20 minutes after you finish making changes in OwnerRez. Additionally, availability is checked instantly just before booking so there is no risk of a double booking against the information in OwnerRez.
If you have made a change and want to trigger an immediate sync, go to the Airbnb channel in OwnerRez and use Actions > Trigger Full Sync. That will queue the update for the next push which will go through within a minute or two.
Can I take credit cards payments myself like other APIs allow?
No. Airbnb does not allow this and will still be the merchant of record for all payments even after you go API. We discuss this in more detail on the overview article and functional comparisons article.
Collecting and remitting taxes
Airbnb has several different possible tax collection modes -- some where they remit all taxes, some where you remit all taxes, and some that are a hybrid where they remit some taxes and you remit some taxes. We've broken the details out to a separate Airbnb Taxes article -- read that and make sure you've got the taxes set up accordingly in OwnerRez.
⚡ WARNING:
DO NOT enable the custom taxes option directly in Airbnb! If you do it in Airbnb, the setting will be overwritten next time OwnerRez syncs.
How do resolution requests work?
If enabled, Airbnb Resolution transactions now come in via the Airbnb Transactions Sync.
Airbnb Resolution Center Transactions may result in the payment properly being recorded in OwnerRez under the booking transaction but without any corresponding charge entered. This leaves the possibility of the booking transactions displaying a guest overpayment.
OwnerRez recommends the following.
- Regularly check your booking transactions, especially bookings that appear to have an apparent guest overpayment.
- If a guest overpayment is found, users need to manually correct the overpayment by entering the appropriate charge.
However, you can still create resolution requests on Airbnb and the same process will continue to work. The resolution simply will not push into OwnerRez automatically. Instead, use our Channel Bridge tool to find and download payments from Airbnb and import them into OwnerRez.
Channel Bridge will continue to work even after you go API.
When you channel bridge, the payment will be imported in the Transactions tab and a generic charge will be added as well on the Charges tab. If you want to use a specific surcharge type, go to the Charges tab of the booking, hit "change charges" and "convert to manual charges". This will keep Channel Bridge from doing any further updates to the charges for that booking. Then you can set the specific information you want for that adjustment.
There are no payments showing on new bookings
If users have enabled Airbnb Transaction Sync, transactions may take time to appear (up to 3 days) in OwnerRez.
OwnerRez users that have not enabled Airbnb Transaction Sync should use our Channel Bridge tool to find and download payments from Airbnb and import them via Channel Bridge into OwnerRez.
Changing booking dates
You cannot change the booking dates (ie. arrival, departure) in OwnerRez. Even after going API, the dates must be changed from the Airbnb side in the same way you did it before going API.
Find the booking in Airbnb and click the option to make changes or alterations. Click the "Change Reservation" option.
After the alteration page loads, change the dates first and then set the new price (if the price needs to also change). The price may automatically change after you change the dates, so make sure to change the dates first before fixing the price.
Once you have the new dates and price entered, click Continue and Airbnb will send a request to the guest to confirm on their side. The guest has to approve it in order for the booking to actually change. Once the guest approves it, the change will push into OwnerRez automatically.
Per Airbnb policy, bookings that are longer than 28 days and arrive more than 30 days in the future can be changed by the guest without your approval.
Is it necessary to run Channel Bridge with the API?
When you connect the Airbnb API, it will automatically pull over information on all your bookings past, present, and future. You do not need to run Channel Bridge to pre-populate your old bookings into OwnerRez. Also, the API automatically brings in all reviews past, present, and future with no further action required on your part.
However, you still need to run Channel Bridge occasionally, because payment data is not pushed to OwnerRez by Airbnb via the API (it's just not a supported feature). The charges are automatically brought into OwnerRez, but payments are not.
If you leave the API bookings in their default state, they will all show that the guest has an open balance because no payments were recorded. Running Channel Bridge will find the payouts in Airbnb and bring them over into OwnerRez so your accounting reports will be correct.
How do I do discounts and have them available in Airbnb?
Learn more about Airbnb discounts by reading the following.
OwnerRez users should be aware that Airbnb does not necessarily interpret the discounts exactly as designed in OR, due to the limitations of Airbnb's rate engine.
- Airbnb does not support the Booked on Date criteria for discounts.
- Season criteria are supported for Airbnb discounts.
- OwnerRez recommends that users view their property on Airbnb to be assured that any discounts configured in OwnerRez are displaying correctly on Airbnb.
To create discounts in OwnerRez, navigate to Settings > Pricing > Discounts. Create a Discount to be applied automatically. Then use the Booking Fields to specify the criteria for when that discount should apply.
- This example would create a fixed (and taxable) $10 discount off per stay.
- Alternatively, users can create a Percentage of Rent or Percent of Subtotal discounts by selecting those.
- Weekly/monthly discounts will show in the week/month discounts settings on Airbnb if they are exactly 7 or 28 nights and have no date criteria.
Note that Airbnb does not necessarily interpret the discounts exactly as you design them, because of limitations in their rate engine. Your discounts as programmed into OwnerRez are mapped to Airbnb in the following ways:
- Weekly/monthly discounts will show in the week/month discounts settings on Airbnb if they are exactly 7 or 28 nights and have no date criteria. Otherwise (if they have date criteria or target a different length of time) they will be set as rules on the calendar.
- Other length of stay discounts will also be sent as rules to Airbnb. They must have a criteria of "number of nights" greater than and not be a 7 or 28 night discount. They may have date criteria. They can't have any other criteria than date and number of nights or they won't apply as rules in Airbnb -- you can't combine length of stay and other sorts of criteria like last minute or early bird.
- Last minute discounts will be sent as rules to Airbnb. Learn more by reading Last Minute Discounts on Airbnb. They must have a criteria of "arrival days from now" less than, where the number is 28 or less. They may have date criteria, but can't have any other criteria than date and arrival days from now or they won't apply as rules in Airbnb -- you cannot combine length of stay and last minute criteria.
4. Early bird discounts will be sent as rules to Airbnb. Learn more by reading Early Bird Discounts on Airbnb. They must have a criteria of "arrival days from now" greater than or equal to, where the number is a multiple of 28 or 30. They may have date criteria, but can't have any other criteria than date and "arrival days from now" or they won't apply as rules in Airbnb -- you can't combine length of stay and early bird criteria.
How do I do weekly/monthly rates and have them available in Airbnb?
Generally, Airbnb doesn't support weekly/monthly type rates. Instead they support length-of-stay discounts.
If you do not have weekly or monthly rates, just use LOS discounts and leave it at that, they'll work in Airbnb and in your direct bookings.
If you already have weekly and/or monthly rates and are configuring the Airbnb API, you have two recommended approaches:
- Make the length-of-stay discounts only apply to Airbnb, by setting the Listing Site criteria on the discount to "only Airbnb". That way direct bookings will remain using the weekly/monthly rates you have set in your Seasonal Rates, and Airbnb will use the LOS discount.
- Use length-of-stay discounts everywhere, and remove all weekly and monthly rates from your Seasonal Rates.
⚡ WARNING:
Make sure you don't have both weekly/monthly rates and LOS discounts applying to direct bookings! If you do, both discounts will be applied - they will stack, and your direct-booking guests will get a super double discount. They'll be happy but you, not so much.
Can I have same-day bookings, but not too last-minute?
Unlike most channels, Airbnb supports same-day bookings. You don't have to accept them - you can prohibit them by setting your Property Rules to require 1 day minimum in advance.
But if you do want really last-minute bookings, Airbnb lets you set a time cutoff so you at least have a little warning - say, noon. You set this time in the Airbnb API configuration settings:
Don't forget that this setting can also be overridden on a per-property level, under Properties > pick a property > Channel Rules:
"Use Channel Setting" means what it sounds like - whatever is set in the main Edit Airbnb Channel screen will be used. But it can be overridden to a specific different time for an individual property.
I have two separate Airbnb accounts, can I connect to both of them?
Yes, our API connection supports multiple Airbnb accounts! Simply create two separate Airbnb API connections, one for each account.
- Make the connection to your first Airbnb account in the usual way, and map the properties that are in that account. Do not map any properties that are in a different Airbnb account.
- In a different tab in the same browser, open Airbnb. Log out of all Airbnb accounts. Then, log in to the second Airbnb account, that is not currently connected to your OwnerRez account via API.
- Switch back to the browser tab with OwnerRez in it. Go to Settings > API Integrations > Connect a Channel button > Connect another Airbnb button.
- You will be brought through the same Airbnb connection authentication, but this time, a second Airbnb API connection to the other account will be created.
- In this second account, map the properties that are in that account. The properties that are mapped to the first account will be marked accordingly, and will not be available - one OwnerRez property cannot be mapped on more than one Airbnb API connection.
Both (or more) of these Airbnb API connections will display all your properties. But some properties will display a message that they are associated with a different account, as appropriate. They won't overlap or get mixed up.
How do I get my pet fees into Airbnb?
You can configure a pet fees that apply to Airbnb just like any other channel, with one important caveat: Airbnb only supports per-stay pet fees! Per-night pet fees will be ignored and excluded from your Airbnb listing. Also, Airbnb only charges one fee regardless of how many pets are coming -- so you may want to note any limitations or additional fees for additional pets in your house rules. Last, Airbnb requires your pet fee to be no higher than your lowest nightly rate - so at most, you can charge the cost of one additional night as a pet fee.
The OwnerRez setting of "no pets" or "pets allowed" is also transmitted to Airbnb via the API. Note that the setting is in the Rules of the property listing. Make sure to check a button to show if pets are allowed or not. If you select "Allowed but up to a maximum" you will need to enter a number in the "Maximum pets allowed" field and provide any relevant "Pet policy details" in the field below.
Please note that the pet fee is not enumerated separately like cleaning or service fees. The pet fee is added to the nightly rate like management, resort, and other types of fees. If you're looking to double-check that your pet fee is working, first select some nights without any pets and record what the nightly rate is. Then select a pet and compare the new nightly rate. You should see the price per night increase exactly by the amount of your pet fee.
Can I display a message to guests before they book on Airbnb?
Yes! It's called an "IB Message". You can set it in your Airbnb API connection settings.
Note that only plaintext is allowed (no HTML) and only 300 characters. This message will only be displayed if you have activated Instant Bookings on Airbnb.
I want to use Super Strict cancellation and I'm getting an error.
Like this?
Airbnb only allows you to use their Super Strict cancellation policies if you have identified and verified your business account with them (BAVI), so they know you're real and aren't a scammer. This must be done by Airbnb and generally will happen if you take the following steps when that "Business Account Verification" box appears. (Please follow the steps exactly.):
- Click on the green words "Airbnb Business Account Verification & Identification (BAVI).
- A screen should open in your Airbnb account.
- If it does, simply click on the "Back Arrow" at the top, left of the screen and you will go back to the OwnerRez API setup.
- You can then continue with the remaining items on the Airbnb API page.
If the above process does not work, you can usually do this through your Airbnb dashboard, or by calling Airbnb support. Note that Airbnb support docs suggest that there may be an additional charge for using this option, but, we have not found this to generally be the case.
I am a cohost on an Airbnb account, can I connect to it using the API?
No and yes.
It is not possible to connect to an Airbnb account using cohost login credentials.
However, if you are a cohost, presumably you are on good terms with the actual owner of the Airbnb account. If they'll share their actual main credentials with you, you can use them to set up the API connection in OwnerRez using the main account, and it'll work thereafter.
When I try to connect, there is an error saying that I can only have one property management software connected to Airbnb.
This happens when you were previously using a different property management software, such as LiveRez. It is not possible to be connected to more than one such PMS at a time - so if you are now going to be using OwnerRez, make sure you've canceled your service with the old one so you aren't paying for both!
Having done that, here's how to disconnect the old one so you can connect Airbnb to OwnerRez.
- Go to Airbnb, in the account section
- Click on the "Privacy & sharing" section.
- Click over to the "Services" tab.
- Is there a connected app for anything other than OwnerRez there? If so, hit the "Remove access" link and remove the app.
- You should now be able to connect the Airbnb API in OwnerRez without errors.
I want to use the API, but I don't want to do Book Now / Instant Booking.
You can do this, with certain requirements - here's how.
However, you may not need to. Airbnb offers you several choices as to exactly who is allowed to Book Now in the OwnerRez API - Settings > API Integrations > Airbnb entry > Change button > look for the Instant Booking selection:
Carefully read that third option. How many unsuitable parties will still qualify if they
- Have verified government ID
- Have traveled on Airbnb before
- Have been recommended by other hosts
- Have no negative reviews
Probably not many. So even for highly selective owners, it is almost always possible and safe to use the Airbnb API. Just use the most restrictive setting as described above - everybody else will still have to Request To Book. :-)
To select this option, go to Settings > API Integrations > select your Airbnb API channel > Change button > look for the Instant Booking dropdown selector, and select the desired option > Save.
I have an age limit field or max adults/children set in my Property Rules, but Airbnb isn't displaying it.
That's right - they don't. Airbnb doesn't support an age limit field like OwnerRez, Vrbo and some others. They also don't have a separate rule for adults and children -- just one total max guests rule.
OwnerRez does allow you to specify which OwnerRez value to push for the Airbnb max guests rule -- you can either push max guests (the default) or max adults to Airbnb. To control that option, change the Max Guests Rule in the Airbnb channel settings in OwnerRez.
The only way to get more specific than that is to add a sentence to your House Rules about the detailed rules you have. Go to Settings > API Integrations, click on the Airbnb channel, and change the settings.
Airbnb won't automatically enforce this policy, but it will be displayed to your guests, and if you have problems or need to cancel a booking because it does not comply, Airbnb may honor it then - though depending on what it is, you may fall foul of Airbnb's nondiscrimination policies.
If you have different requirements for different properties (or other differing rules), you can set them separately for each property. Go to Properties > Pick a property > Channel Rules, in the left side menu. Scroll down to House Rules and elect "Override Global Rules". Then enter the House Rules you want for that specific property.
Can I make a "special offer" for a prospective guest?
Yes! You can create a one-time "special offer" for an Airbnb guest from either the Airbnb app or directly in OwnerRez which will result in a Quote for the special offer in OwnerRez.
If you modify this quote in OwnerRez, the changes will be pushed back into Airbnb via the API, until the guest accepts the Quote and a Booking is created.
I need to temporarily hide/deactivate my listing on Airbnb.
You can do this under Settings > API Integrations > click the Airbnb entry > Change Property Mappings > Unpublish Listings. You'll get a list of active listings; click the checkbox to unpublish the ones you want to turn off, and Save your changes.
Note that this is not deactivating the API connection. This is deactivating the actual listing, so your property listing will now not appear in Airbnb searches by guests.
Why is Airbnb creating blocks on my calendar?
Like any online purchasing process, it takes time for a guest to complete a booking online. When a guest begins the process, they know what dates and property they want. Airbnb checks with OwnerRez to make sure they are available.
It may take a few minutes for the guest to complete the whole process, though. We want to make sure the requested dates are still available when the reservation is finalized, so we block off those dates to hold the calendar open until the guest is finished and the booking is made.
Normally, these blocks will not be visible for very long - they'll quickly turn into a real booking. Occasionally, however, a block may remain active for a few hours - such as, if there are issues with the guest's credit card. The guest is given an opportunity to provide a different payment method, and in the meantime, their dates are held available for them.
Note that this only occurs while an actual booking is in progress. Airbnb also offers guests the ability to make a "request", and blocks the dates for 24 hours. OwnerRez does not honor these requests or block your calendar for them. Don't worry about double bookings though - Airbnb does a final check before confirming a completed booking when a "request" is accepted, and if the dates have already been booked, it'll notify the guest and not allow the booking process to be completed.
How do I get historical data for my past Airbnb bookings into OwnerRez?
Sometimes, the Airbnb API is very generous that way - as soon as you have connected a property via the API, almost all historical booking information for that property is automatically brought into OwnerRez. Only two important data aren't:
- The guests' real email addresses - and there's no way to get those, either, because the Airbnb proxy email addresses that are provided stop working after the guest departs. You do get their name, mailing address and phone number though.
- Records of the guests' payments, since the Airbnb API doesn't support this. So all your OwnerRez reports will show none of your Airbnb guests as having paid. This can be fixed using Channel Bridge, which is able to get payment records and import them into OwnerRez.
No double-bookings or collisions will occur - OwnerRez will automatically merge new information into existing bookings if they match, or skip entries that don't.
And other times, the API will bring in nothing about past bookings at all. Airbnb seems to be starting to consider this a security risk. In this case, you'll have to use Channel Bridge to collect all your historical data. But, you have to do that anyway to bring in past payment records, so it's no real difference.
💡 Note that connecting the API does not bring in any information about blocks you may have created in Airbnb - just bookings. The blocks will not be imported for you. If you haven't already put them into OwnerRez, they'll be deleted from Airbnb.
Why is Airbnb showing a "base rate", and how can I change it?
The base rate is a number OwnerRez has to supply - it's required by the API integration - but it's not really used, since a nightly rate is pushed for every night of the year. But to satisfy the requirements of the API, we set the base rate to the highest rate of your year to be safe. That way, if for some reason the nightly rates fail, the base rate will not give out too low of a rate.
This rate will also include any rate increase that you have set for the Airbnb channel specifically in your API settings.
To be clear, it is not normally visible to guests or used for quotes.
Why is Airbnb ignoring my "min nights" settings, and letting guests request to book (RTB) shorter stays than I allow?
Airbnb isn't ignoring your rules, exactly - it honors them, in the sense that it won't allow guests to make Instant Bookings that violate them.
However, it still allows guests to Request to Book stays that violate your rules. You can decline these requests without penalty.
It is not possible to prevent receiving these requests.
I have a 'Plus' or 'Luxe' property - how do I maintain Plus or Luxe listings on Airbnb?
Congratulations on getting Plus or Luxe rated on Airbnb! That's a great benefit to attract more guests.
Unfortunately, there is no way to control or manage the content side (photos, descriptions) of Plus and Luxe listings via API. This is a limitation on the part of Airbnb, not OwnerRez. Once an Airbnb listing is flagged as Plus or Luxe, the Airbnb API will not override it with content changes from a PMS system (like OwnerRez).
Because of this, you should use the 'limited' connection type for Plus or Luxe properties in OwnerRez, which will update rates and availability, but nothing else.
I have several properties, and I want one of them to have different rules / rate adjustment / cancellation policy / lead time settings.
You can do this! First, make sure that you have these settings configured in the Airbnb API Channel settings for your regular defaults.
Then, for the property that needs to be different, go to Properties > pick the property > Channel Rules, in the left menu > Change button. You will see a list of options for the APIs that property is connected to. By default they are all set to "Use Global Rules", which means whatever is set in the main API channel settings.
But, you can override them for each property individually in this screen. Make your changes and save, and they'll be transmitted to Airbnb via the API connection.
Rate adjustment: This one doesn't have an override under Channel Rules. Instead, create a Surcharge, and use the Criteria to set it to be used for the specific property and channel you want different. Don't forget that the surcharge will be added to any Rate Adjustment already in place on the channel - so if you regular Airbnb API rate adjustment is 10%, and you have one property that you want to be 15%, create a Surcharge for that property, Airbnb channel only, for 5%.
My property exceeds Airbnb's max nightly rate of $10,000/night.
Our API connection has a max nightly rate too, but a much higher one - $25,000 per night. If this is insufficient, please reach out to the Helpdesk for assistance.
BTW, the minimum nightly rate allowed on Airbnb is $10.
Why do large cleaning fees require a minimum nightly price?
This is a hard restriction from Airbnb. The cleaning fee can be no more than $600.00 + 25% of the min nightly rate. If your min rate is low and your cleaning fee is high, you can run into an error message such as this:
Based on your cleaning fee of $900, the minimum nightly price you can charge is $1,200.
This means that you either need to decrease your cleaning fee or increase your nightly rate
There are 3 ways to solve this issue:
A) increase your rates
B) decrease your cleaning fee
C) add another fee -- for example, set your cleaning fee lower and add a management fee for the difference. Learn more by reading the How do I do surcharges that are available in Airbnb support article.
How do I change my WiFi password on my Airbnb listing?
The API connection now supports this, so you can set your WiFi password in OwnerRez and it will automatically be pushed to Airbnb via your API connection.
This is done in the Guest Instructions area of Properties. Go to the main Properties screen, select the desired property, then select Guest Instructions from the menu at the left. Click the Change button at the top to enter in information, including the WiFi password. You can also enter your WiFi network name here.
What is Simplified Pricing and the 15% fee?
As of December 7th 2020, Simplified Pricing (15% host fee) is the only available fee structure to all software-connected hosts on Airbnb globally (excludes US, Canada, Mexico, Uruguay, The Bahamas, Argentina and Taiwan).
Airbnb's fee structure, known as Simplified Pricing, deducts a flat 15% host service fee from each payout and charges no service fee to the Airbnb guest.
Your Airbnb SettingsIf you wish to convert over, go into your Airbnb account in the "Payments & payouts" section and switch the service fee tab to "include all Airbnb service fees in your price". Here's a direct link: https://www.airbnb.com/account-settings/payments/api-host-service-fee
If you have chosen this option in Airbnb, you should also select the Professional Hospitality Business = Yes option in your Airbnb API settings screen in OwnerRez.
If your goal is to keep your final Airbnb host payout, users will need to increase their rates accordingly on Airbnb.
This is the formula to use:- Split Fee model (Before)
Hypothesis: The guest paid an average 14.2% service on Airbnb. Also, let’s imagine that the guest has to pay a 10% city tax where the property is located.
Current base rate: $200.00
Host Payout (97% of nightly rate): $97.00
Airbnb Commission (3% + 14.2% of nightly rate): $17.20
City Tax (10% of nightly rate + fees): $11.42
Guest Pays: $125.62 - Host-only Fee Model (After)
New base rate: $114.12 (i.e. $100 x 1.1412)
Host Payout (85% of nightly rate): $97.00
Airbnb Commission (15% of nightly rate): $17.12
City tax (10% of nightly rate + fees): $11.41
Guest Pays: $125.53
Airbnb offers a 20% off discount for the first 3 bookings on a new listing. How do I turn that on?
You can't activate that discount from OwnerRez.
If you are setting up a new listing in Airbnb, there may be a point during that creation process where you have a checkbox option to have (or not have) that discount:
If you are pushing the new listing up to Airbnb from OwnerRez via the API connection as we recommend, you won't see this screen. In that case, you may still be able to activate the discount directly on your Airbnb control panel.
If you've activated the discount either way and decided you don't want it anymore, you can remove promotions from your calendar in the Airbnb control panel.
I want to move my guest - that is, change the guest from one property to another, or change the dates.
The underlying problem here is that Airbnb has tight rules surrounding making changes to existing bookings, and so we (OwnerRez) don't want to get you into trouble where your guest is going to the wrong place or you're penalized by Airbnb.
Airbnb has an "alteration request" page you should use on the booking, to ask the guest to approve moving properties. Once the guest has approved and confirmed this request, Airbnb will perform the move in their system.
The moved or changed booking will automatically have the changes transmitted to OwnerRez via the API, which will update to booking display in OwnerRez. However, there's no telling exactly when this will happen - the guest may or may not be in a hurry to approve the change, and once they do, it may take Airbnb a bit to actually perform the change in their system and send it to OwnerRez.
If you're trying to force the guest to change properties against their will, there's no way to do that without starting something pretty messy that is not recommended - it is possible to "unhook the calendar" on the Booking > Channel tab in OwnerRez, but then you'd be on your own when it came to updating any changes from Airbnb for the booking. And you might get into a nasty dispute with the guest and Airbnb security.
I'm using real OwnerRez security deposit holds with Airbnb, and guests are complaining about offline payments.
This is a new capability that most Airbnb guests, and even many Tier 1 Airbnb support staff, are not familiar with.
If you have configured your offline security deposits in accordance with our instructions, you are in full compliance with Airbnb requirements, and you can enforce the requirement on your guests as it is properly stated in your configuration and rules and displayed to them prior to booking. We do additionally recommend clearly stating your Security Deposit requirement within your Airbnb House Rules.
During the Airbnb checkout process, guests will see the following as shown below stating that this property requires a security deposit that will be collected separately.
If you encounter an Airbnb support member who disagrees, sides with the guest, and tells you this is not allowed, here's what you can do:
1. Refer them to this Airbnb article. Note that, as described in the article, you are a "software-connected host" (that's OwnerRez), which specifically allows you to directly collect a "security deposit / refundable deposit" as long as it is "detailed in the listing description and included in the price breakdown before guests book" - which it is, if you've followed our instructions. This article is even more clear that this is allowed.
2. Tell them to check their internal system for your account and take note of the “Collects offline fees” flag on your account. If you've correctly followed our instructions, that will be set (you can't see it, but Airbnb support can). As its name implies, that gives you authorization to, well, collect offline fees - like your security deposit. :-) If they say that flag is not set on your account, let us know - we have contacts at Airbnb that can get that fixed.
3. If this doesn't persuade the Airbnb support member that you are in the right, please forward their entire message to the OwnerRez Helpdesk. This will include their name and other identifying information. We'll pass it on to our Airbnb contacts, who can reach out to them and educate them on the new program to clear up the confusion.
I have a long-term booking, and it's ignoring my cancellation policy selection!
True - that's Airbnb's policy.
If you have an Airbnb booking that is longer than 28 days, no matter what cancellation policy you have selected in your Airbnb API settings or control panel, the actual cancellation policy for the booking will be:
- Reservations are fully refundable for 48 hours after the booking is confirmed, as long as the cancellation occurs at least 28 days before check-in (3:00 PM in the destination’s local time if not specified)
- More than 48 hours after booking, guests can cancel before check-in and get a full refund, minus the first 30 days and the service fee
My booking has a weird little "special offer adjustment" in the charges, what's that?
Because of the way Airbnb rolls surcharges into rates rather than separating them out, their rounding practices, and the sometimes unpredictable order in which they calculate taxes, sometimes the charges as Airbnb views them won't be exactly what OwnerRez thinks they should be. When this happens, OwnerRez automatically enters an adjustment charge like this, to make the totals come out correctly:
In most cases, they can be ignored, unless you see one that's large enough to actually care about. If you do see a large adjustment, check your per stay fees to make sure they are all either supported by Airbnb or excluded by the surcharge criteria.
I want to create one of those cool strike-through discounts in Airbnb!
The only way to do this in OwnerRez is by using discount rule. It must comply with the following restrictions:
- A percent type discount
- At least 10% discount
- No multiplier
- Use a single booking criteria - that is, one of the following:
- Number of nights (Length-of-Stay discount)
- Arrival days from now less than (last minute discount) -- must be less than 30
- Arrival days from now greater than or equal to (early bird discount) -- must be a multiple of 28 or 30
If you want to have a special discount for specific dates that generates the strike-through display in Airbnb, you can do that as well. This has the following restrictions:
- A percent type discount
- At least 10% discount
- No multiplier
- Use Season or Arrival Date criteria to define the date range
- No other criteria
I've heard of various tricks that can boost your listing on Airbnb, does OwnerRez do any of those?
At one time, it was possible to "goose" your listing ranking on Airbnb by using various tricks, like automatically making minor changes to the listing description or calendar to fool their algorithm into thinking you updated something.
OwnerRez doesn't do anything like this - because Airbnb got wise to them, and they don't work anymore, so there's no point.
I configured my property rooms in OwnerRez, but they aren't showing up on Airbnb.
Did you select "Common Areas" as the room type? Airbnb doesn't display those in the usual room tiles at the top of your listing. You'll need to select an actual room type instead.
I had automatic messages scheduled in my Airbnb account, but I don't see those in OwnerRez - what happened to them?
They're still where they were, configured in your Airbnb account. While our API connection is integrated with the Airbnb internal messaging system, so you can send and receive messages that way using OwnerRez, we don't connect to your scheduled messages in Airbnb.
Generally, it's best to just turn them off and instead use the OwnerRez message template and triggers so that you're not confused by messages sending from multiple systems. You have to go to Airbnb to disable the scheduled messages -- it doesn't happen automatically. So if you had scheduled Airbnb messages before you connected the API, and haven't turned them off - they're still there, and will keep working the same as before.
An Airbnb guest with no ID booked my property, but that booking didn't appear in OwnerRez.
If you require Airbnb guests to have an ID on file with Airbnb, and someone who doesn't tries to book your property, Airbnb will tell them they've booked and give them 24 hours to provide their ID.
But, this isn't really true - Airbnb hasn't actually created a booking and sent it to OwnerRez. This only takes place after the guest has provided their ID as required.
So, in theory someone else could book the property from a source other than Airbnb. Then, when the Airbnb guest does provide their ID to Airbnb, the dates won't be available anymore.
This won't create a double-booking though - Airbnb performs a last-minute check at this point, and will notify the guest that their booking is no longer available. You won't be involved in that.
How does shared listing access via Airbnb Co-Hosting or Teams work?
Airbnb has two different ways to share listing access with other Airbnb users -- Co-Hosting and Teams. Co-Hosting was the original model which has a offers a specific and limited set of permissions, while Teams has a much more granular set of permissions.
From an API and OwnerRez integration perspective, the difference between listings shared via Co-Hosting vs. listings shared via Teams is that you can't API connect OwnerRez to listings shared with you via Co-Hosting while you can API connect OwnerRez to listings shared via Teams as long as you are the owner of the team.
For listings shared with you via Co-Hosting, the only way to API connect OwnerRez to those listings is get the listing's owner Airbnb login and connect that account to Airbnb (rather than just your Airbnb account that you co-host through). The main account must be API connected to OwnerRez to manage listings and reservations. You can still message via a Co-Host account, and if you have some listings of your own and some co-hosted listings you can connect your account and API connected to OwnerRez to manage listings that you own, but you won't be able to API connect the Co-Hosted listings.
For listings shared with you via Teams, make sure you are attempting to connect the Airbnb account that originally created the team. Airbnb does not support API connecting any other account that's a team member -- even if they've been granted the Listing Management and Guest Management permissions. Airbnb only supports API connecting to the team owner account.
You can start a new Team owner account by following these instructions:
- Create a new Airbnb account
- With that new Airbnb account, create a new team
- Connect the new Airbnb account to OwnerRez via API
- Share listings from other accounts with the team
- Now you will be able to map those listings in OwnerRez via API
One thing to note is that Co-Hosting and Teams are mutually exclusive -- you can't be both a Co-Host and a Team member. If you try to be both, Airbnb will throw up a warning message when you try to accept an invite such as "you are already part of a team". If you're a Co-Host now and want to switch to teams, first remove yourself as a Co-Host from the listings you currently Co-Host. If you're now a Team member and want to switch to Co-Hosting, first leave the Team. Once you've disconnected your Airbnb account from one method of sharing, then you'll be able to accept invites from the other style.
Error connecting property - Please move the pin closer to your address to continue.
Airbnb has recently started attempting to verify your property address against various sources. If they think your address as stated in OwnerRez is not near the lat/lng you've set, they won't allow the listing.
Unfortunately, it's not clear what data source they are using, because it's often wrong, and in particular, isn't the same as Google Maps.
- Check in the OwnerRez Properties area, Location page, for the property. Is, in fact, the pin displayed on the map in the proper place? We've also seen situations where Google is wrong when it tries to determine the lat/lng from an address. If the pin is in the wrong place, then, use other sources to determine the correct lat/lng coordinates for your property, and manually enter those into OwnerRez.
- If the pin location and address are correct in OwnerRez, contact Airbnb support. Let them know the address and lat/lng, and they may be able to help - or maybe not, in which case try to push for a supervisor.
- If all else fails, you may have to first create the property (at least the bare minimum) directly in Airbnb, and then connect that listing to the OwnerRez property. Airbnb does not update a property location based on OwnerRez data once it has been created. So, if Airbnb is content with the location once, it won't get confused later.
Can I use Airbnb's Smart Pricing with the API?
Unfortunately you cannot - Airbnb's Smart Pricing is not compatible with API usage.
We do however integrate with several other dynamic pricing systems you can use instead.
Airbnb is supposed to automatically turn off Smart Pricing when you are using an API connection - but, this doesn't always work properly. You can end up in a situation where Airbnb's Smart Pricing is fighting with OwnerRez' API data push for control of your rates, with wildly unpredictable results. But, since you're using the API, you may not be able to get at the Airbnb controls to turn off Smart Pricing manually, nor can Airbnb tech support staff.
If this happens to you, try the approach explained here. That may not work either - we've had reports that the "Nightly Pricing" tag is still greyed out, not allowing you to edit. In this case, go to the Airbnb calendar on a desktop (not the mobile app), click on specific dates (e.g. including the whole year). Then it allows you to turn off Smart Pricing.
Why are my Nightly Rates on my Airbnb listing showing higher than what I set in OwnerRez?
There are two possible reasons why your nightly rates are displayed higher than what you have set in OwnerRez.
- Airbnb rolls any additional surcharges besides your cleaning fee into the nightly rate displayed to Airbnb guests. For more details read the Airbnb API Surcharge Rules & Settings support article.
- Perhaps you set a Rate Adjustment in Airbnb API Channel Settings as shown below.
Airbnb is not collecting my newly changed tax rates for future bookings that arrive after the tax rate changes!
Changes to Airbnb tax rates will only be applied to new bookings as they come in. They do not retroactively apply to any bookings that already exist, even if their dates of applicability would otherwise mean that they should.
- Airbnb does not support future tax rate changes. This means that bookings placed prior to the date of the tax change will continue to be charged the current (old) tax rate until the date of the tax rate change--even if the arrival occurs in the future changed tax rate.
- The only way to collect additional taxes is by using Airbnb's Resolution Center.
Why do my rates display as rounded or whole numbers and do not include the decimals (cents) that are set in OwnerRez?
Airbnb does not support rates that include decimals (cents) so all rates pushed to Airbnb will be in rounded or whole numbers.
Do reviews for Airbnb bookings left on OwnerRez sync to Airbnb?
No. Reviews for Airbnb bookings that are left on an OwnerRez Hosted Website are not able to be pushed to Airbnb. Airbnb requires that only reviews left on their platform be displayed.
My property title is displaying duplicate names in the Airbnb app and on the Airbnb website. How do I fix that?
Sometimes Airbnb displays both the internal name and the listing title together. Users can fix this by logging into their account on Airbnb.com and editing the Listing Title under Listing Basics (on the Airbnb website) and deleting the Internal Name.
How do I add my property registration/lodging license information to display on Airbnb?
You'll have to do that in Airbnb. It's not possible today to enter that info in OwnerRez and have it sync over to Airbnb. Users can log into their Airbnb account to manually add their property registration/lodging information details. To do so, navigate to your listing > Policies and Rules > Edit Regulations.
Does the OwnerRez autoresponder send quotes and inquiries to potential Airbnb guests?
No. Airbnb's messaging platform is not quite as robust as OwnerRez's software capabilities, therefore Airbnb guests will not be able to receive Inquiry templates via an Autoresponder.
Airbnb offers a "Check-in window" instead of just a start time. How can I add that time frame in OwnerRez?
Airbnb now offers a "Check-in window" instead of just a start time. This is not currently configurable through OwnerRez, and cannot be utilized unless the property is switched to a Limited Sync mode (and kept there).
Even if users set that "Check-in window" in Airbnb, it will be reset to a Flexible arrival time for the window end the next time your listing syncs.
The only option to add a "Check-in window", would be switching to a Limited Sync mode for Airbnb.As a workaround, users could put the "Check-in window" in your House Rules as a requirement.