Weekly as a habit, and immediately whenever something changes.
Immediately
Update the moment any of these happen:
- You take a booking on another platform or directly
- You decide to use the property or vehicle yourself
- Maintenance, repairs or a repaint take it out of service
- You are travelling off the island and cannot host
The gap between a booking elsewhere and blocking it here is when double bookings occur. Same day, every time.
Weekly
A quick check that the coming weeks look right, and that you have opened enough dates further out for people planning ahead.
Seasonally
Before peak season, open your calendar as far forward as you are willing to commit. Travellers book Siargao's September to November window months in advance, and a calendar that only goes two months out simply does not appear in those searches.
Same for Christmas, New Year and Holy Week.
Why this matters more than anything else on your listing
A description that is slightly out of date costs you a little credibility. A calendar that is out of date costs you a cancellation, and cancellations are what damage a hosting account.
Consequences of cancelling a confirmed booking include an automated review marker visible to future guests, financial penalties, and suspension. Repeated cancellations escalate quickly.
If you use a channel manager
Syncing through something like Hospitable removes most of this work, because a booking on any connected platform blocks the dates everywhere. Still worth checking it periodically rather than trusting it blindly.
If you are going to be away
Block the dates rather than hoping nothing comes in. Because bookings confirm instantly, any date you leave open is a booking you have already agreed to take. An unhosted arrival is far worse than a few blocked days.
If you have already double booked
Contact [email protected] immediately rather than cancelling on the guest yourself. The earlier we know, the more we can do about rehoming them.