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This article covers how to spot and manage a double-booking.
Use this article if you notice bookings that have overlapping dates either on the same property in Hospitable, or listings for the same physical property (the same property listed on multiple channels.
Use the Merging Properties article if you haven't yet combined matching listings from multiple channels (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com) on Hospitable.
This article outlines
What a double-booking is.
How to recognize when a double-booking has occurred.
How to manage a double-booking.
How to prevent a double-booking from happening in the future.
Before You Troubleshoot
Before diving in, gather these four pieces of information. They will save you time and help our support team resolve things faster if you need to reach out.
The property and listing(s) affected — Which Hospitable property(s), and which platform listing(s) show the double-booking?
The specific dates — Which dates are overlapping? Note the exact date ranges.
How to identify a double-booking
A double booking occurs when two reservations are confirmed for the same Hospitable property on overlapping dates. These are highlighted in red. If you don't see reservations highlighted in red, you may not have merged matching listings into one property on Hospitable and Reservation sync wouldn't be active.
While Hospitable is designed to prevent this, it can still happen in certain situations, such as sync delays, reservations being booked seconds apart, configuration issues, or disconnected channels.
Review the reservations
Start by confirming the details of the overlap.
Check:
Which property is affected
The two conflicting reservations (guest names, dates, and channels)
Which reservation was accepted first - you can see the accepted time by going to the Inbox, opening the conversation, and scrolling to the Accepted event in the conversation.
The reservation created first is usually the one you'd want to keep.
The below situations are some more common causes for a double-booking when your matching listings are already merged into one Hospitable property.
Double-booking: Airbnb booked first, other channel second:
Vrbo
If an Airbnb booking was booked first and Vrbo is booked second, this could be due to a channel disconnection from Vrbo, or a Reservation sync fails to push to Vrbo due to errors on Vrbo. See more here. If a you have another PMS connected to Vrbo, Vrbo won't allow Hospitable to interact with the calendar.
Booking.com
If Airbnb was booked first and Booking.com is booked second, most likely there is more than one parent rate plan on Booking.com, and only one parent rate plan can be connected to Hospitable. See more here.
Direct booking
A double-booking between Airbnb and Direct bookings is uncommon with API connections, but if it occurs, check whether the direct booking was created outside of Hospitable or via an iCal-connected source. If not, reach out to Hospitable support.
Double-booking: Booking.com booked first, other channel second:
Airbnb
If Booking.com was booked first, and Airbnb is booked second, this could be due to delays from Airbnb in processing the block, then the booking on Airbnb happens within few seconds after the Booking.com booking. Another possible situation is that there is more than one parent rate plan on Booking.com, and only one parent rate plan can be connected to Hospitable. If the booking on Booking.com is made on another rate plan that is not connected to Hospitable, it may not be detected by Hospitable. See more here.
Vrbo
If Booking.com was booked first, and Vrbo is booked second, the most common cause could be due to a channel disconnection from Vrbo, or a Reservation sync fails to push to Vrbo due to errors on Vrbo. See more here. If a you have another PMS connected to Vrbo, Vrbo won't allow Hospitable to interact with the calendar.
Direct or manual bookings
If Booking.com was booked first, and a Direct booking is booked second, there could be a small window where the reservation is still being sent over to Hospitable and a Direct booking is made within seconds of the first booking. Creating a Manual reservation over booked dates should not be possible, if this occurs, contact support.
Double-booking: Vrbo booked first, other channel second:
Airbnb
If Vrbo was booked first, and Airbnb is booked second, this could be due to delays from Airbnb in processing the block, then the booking on Airbnb happens within few seconds after the Vrbo booking. This could also be due to a channel disconnection from Vrbo.
Booking.com
If Vrbo was booked first and Booking.com is booked second, most likely there is more than one parent rate plan on Booking.com, and only one parent rate plan can be connected to Hospitable. See more here. This could also be due to a channel disconnection from Vrbo.
Direct or manual bookings
If Vrbo was booked first, and a Direct booking is booked second, there could be a small window where the reservation is still being sent over to Hospitable and a Direct booking is made within seconds of the first booking. Creating a Manual reservation over booked dates should not be possible, if this occurs, contact support.
Double-booking: Direct or manual bookings, other channel second:
Airbnb
If a Direct booking was booked first, and Airbnb is booked second, this could be due to delays from Airbnb in processing the block, then the booking on Airbnb happens within few seconds after the Direct booking.
Vrbo
If a Direct booking was booked first, and Vrbo is booked second, the most common cause could be due to a channel disconnection from Vrbo, or a Reservation sync fails to push to Vrbo due to errors on Vrbo. See more here. If a you have another PMS connected to Vrbo, Vrbo won't allow Hospitable to interact with the calendar.
Booking.com
If a Direct booking was booked first and Booking.com is booked second, most likely there is more than one parent rate plan on Booking.com, and only one parent rate plan can be connected to Hospitable. See more here. This could also be due to a channel disconnection from Vrbo.
Decide which reservation to keep
In most cases, you should keep the reservation that was confirmed first.
You may also want to consider:
Cancellation penalties on each channel
Whether one guest is easier to relocate
The value of each booking
Some channels (like Airbnb) may apply penalties for host cancellations. Contact the channel if the issue was caused by a sync error.
Cancel the other reservation
Cancel the later reservation using the correct method for the booking channel.
Airbnb
Open the reservation in the Inbox
Click Cancel reservation and follow the steps
Booking.com
Cancel from the Inbox (if available), or
Log in to the Booking.com Extranet and cancel from Reservations
Vrbo
Cancel directly in your Vrbo account (not currently available in Hospitable)
Direct or manual bookings
Open the reservation in the Inbox
Click Cancel reservation
Issue a full refund
Message the Affected Guest
Contact the guest as soon as possible, and if you're able, send a message before cancelling so they're not surprised.
Focus on:
Being clear and honest
Apologizing and taking ownership
Offering alternatives where possible
Check why the double booking happened
After resolving the booking, review your setup to prevent it from happening again.
Common causes include:
iCal sync delays - iCal connections do not update in real time, which can allow overlapping bookings.
Disconnected channels - If a channel is disconnected, availability will not sync.
Listings not merged - Listings for the same property must be merged into one Hospitable property.
Multiple systems managing availability - Using more than one PMS or channel manager can cause conflicts.
Booking.com rate plans - Some rate plans may not follow availability set in Hospitable.
Parent-child setup issues - Incorrect configurations can allow overlapping bookings.
Overlapping reservations will be highlighted in red:
Prevent future double-bookings
Use this checklist:
Use channel connections via API (through Hospitable) instead of iCal wherever possible
Make sure all listings are merged into the correct property
Confirm all channels are connected and syncing
Manage availability from Hospitable (not directly on channels)
Disable any other channel managers
Review your calendar after making changes
If you choose to rely on iCal connections, consider turning off Instant Book to reduce risk.
Need help investigating?
If you're unsure why the double booking happened, you can contact Hospitable support and include:
Property name
Reservation codes
Booking channels
Screenshot of the overlap in your calendar
Any recent changes to your setup
This helps the team identify the cause and recommend a fix more quickly.