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How do I publish a listing to Airbnb or Booking.com?

Create a new Airbnb listing or a new Booking.com room from a Host Tools listing: what you need first, what gets sent, and when it can be booked.

Written by Tom Krones

Summary

If a listing is in Host Tools but isn't on Airbnb or Booking.com yet, you can publish it there from Host Tools instead of building it again on the channel. On Airbnb, Host Tools creates a brand-new Airbnb listing. On Booking.com, it adds the listing as a new room on one of your connected Booking.com properties. Once publishing finishes, the channel shows as one of the listing's channels, like any channel you connect yourself.

Before you start

  • Connect the Airbnb account or Booking.com property under Settings > Channels first.

  • Airbnb needs the listing's name, street address, city, country, map location, currency and base price. An Airbnb account connected in setup mode can't publish a new listing, so reconnect it with full access first.

  • Booking.com needs the listing's beds and maximum number of guests. The listing must be at the property's address: Booking.com only adds rooms at a property's own address, so a listing somewhere else needs a Booking.com property of its own.

If anything is missing, the publish window tells you what to add before you can publish.

How to publish a listing

  1. Go to the Listings page and click the + button next to the listing to open Connect Channels.

  2. Next to Airbnb, click Publish new listing. Next to Booking.com, click Publish as new room.

  3. Pick the Airbnb account or Booking.com property to publish to.

  4. For Airbnb, choose what guests book under Guests book: Entire place, Private room or Shared room. For Booking.com, choose the Room type, such as Apartment, Holiday home or Studio. Only the room types the property accepts are shown.

  5. Click Publish. You can close the window while it works.

What gets published

Airbnb: Host Tools creates the listing with your listing's name, address, base price, content and photos, then lists it with every date closed. It usually takes a minute or two. Content sync is turned on for the listing. If content sync was off and the listing is on other channels, those channels get your Host Tools text and photos at the same time, and the publish window names them before you confirm.

Booking.com: Host Tools adds a room with your listing's rooms and beds, number of guests, room amenities, bathrooms, fees and photos, and Booking.com then checks the room. The property's name, address, description, property photos, check-in and check-out times, pets and children policies and property amenities stay as Booking.com has them, because every room on the property shares them. It can take up to half an hour while Booking.com processes the photos. Content sync is turned on for the new room.

💡 The publish window also lists any issues Booking.com reports for the property itself, such as an unsigned contract. They don't stop the room from being published, but they can keep every room on the property from selling until you fix them on Booking.com.

Prices and availability

A newly published listing can't be booked until calendar sync is on for it. On Airbnb, every date starts closed, and calendar sync opens the dates that are free in Host Tools. On Booking.com, the room starts without a rate, and calendar sync gives it prices and availability. If calendar sync is already on for the listing, this happens right away; otherwise it happens as soon as you turn it on.

FAQ

What happens if publishing fails?

Host Tools removes whatever it created on the channel and shows the channel's reason in the publish window and on the Errors page, so you can fix it and publish again.

Can I publish a listing that's already on Airbnb or Booking.com?

No. Publishing is only offered for a channel the listing isn't on yet. If the listing already exists on the channel, connect it instead.

Can I publish through the Host Tools API or MCP server?

Yes. Both can publish a listing to Airbnb or Booking.com in the same way.

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