Recommended setup path

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  1. 01 Orient Get your bearings Start with welcome
  2. 02 Account Create the account and workspace Create account
  3. 03 Workspace Confirm company settings Set company profile
  4. 04 Listings Add or import one listing Current guide
  5. 05 Operate Use it for a real booking Follow day-one checklist

How to Import Airbnb and Connect OTA Channels

Updated August 8, 2026
ListingsAirbnbBooking.comImportOTAChannel Manager

What Is OTA Import?

OTA stands for Online Travel Agency — platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, VRBO, MakeMyTrip, and Trip.com where your listings may already be published. SympleHost supports two related workflows:

  • Importing from Airbnb to pull an existing Airbnb listing into SympleHost.
  • Connecting channels through Channel Manager after the property exists in SympleHost.

For most hosts, the best first step is Airbnb Import. Once that property is in SympleHost, you can connect the same property to Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, VRBO, MakeMyTrip, Trip.com, and other enabled channels through Channel Manager.

When to Use This

  • You already have listings on Airbnb and want to bring them into SympleHost
  • You want to connect Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, VRBO, MakeMyTrip, Trip.com, or another supported OTA through Channel Manager
  • You’re setting up SympleHost for the first time and want to bring over your existing portfolio
  • You’ve added a new listing on an OTA and want to sync it into SympleHost

Which Setup Path Should I Use?

If you already have Airbnb

Use Airbnb Import first. This creates the property in SympleHost using the Airbnb listing as the source. After that, connect other OTAs through Channel Manager.

If you run a direct-booking business

Create the property manually in Listings → + New Property → Manual. Then set up direct booking settings, payments, calendar, and pricing.

If you want to start from Booking.com

Start in Channel Manager, choose Booking.com, and follow the Booking.com connection flow. You will still need the property to exist in SympleHost so you can map Booking.com rooms or room types to the correct SympleHost listing or units.

Before SympleHost can verify the connection, Booking.com must be set to use Channex.io as the connectivity provider in the Booking.com Extranet.

Where Channel Connectivity Is Managed

Use Channel Manager as the central place for OTA connectivity. This is where hosts can:

  • see connected OTA accounts and sync health
  • check which properties, rooms, or units are covered by each channel
  • open the channel connection to review mappings
  • connect another OTA account
  • manage channel-level actions such as reconnecting or disconnecting

For day-to-day property setup, think of it this way:

  1. Create or import the property first.
  2. Open Channel Manager to connect the OTA account and map the property, room, or unit.
  3. Open the listing’s Channels tab when you need listing-specific controls such as per-channel markup.

In the listing Channels tab, each OTA row shows the channel status, listing ID, listing URL, markup, and actions. The Markup chip lets hosts set the percentage adjustment sent to that connected OTA. The action area lets hosts connect the channel, manage the connection in Channel Manager, or disconnect legacy mappings.

How to Import from Airbnb

  1. Click Listings in the sidebar.

  2. Click + New Property in the top right.

  3. Select Import.

  4. On the Import Property screen, click the Airbnb card or continue through the Airbnb authorization popup.

  5. Click Authorize with Airbnb. This opens a pop-up where you log in to your Airbnb account and grant SympleHost permission to access your listings.

Airbnb authorization popup shown during the import flow

  1. Once authorized, you’ll see a list of your Airbnb listings. Tick the ones you want to import.

  2. Click Import.

SympleHost will pull in the listing details, photos, and settings. You’ll see a summary showing how many were imported, how many were skipped if already in SympleHost, and if any failed.

How to Connect Booking.com

Booking.com connects through Channex.io (the connectivity provider that syncs your reservations, availability, rates, and room mapping between SympleHost and Booking.com). Booking.com only allows one connectivity provider at a time, so this step matters.

The SympleHost flow has four stages:

  1. Pre-flight — confirm the property exists in SympleHost, Booking.com is open and bookable, no other PMS or channel manager is connected, and Channex.io is approved as the connectivity provider.
  2. Connect — enter the Booking.com Hotel ID.
  3. Map rooms — map Booking.com rooms to the correct SympleHost listing, unit, and rate plan.
  4. Sync — push rates, calendar, and room mappings to Booking.com through Channex.io.

Step 1: Set up Channex.io as your connectivity provider

Before connecting in SympleHost, update the connectivity provider in the Booking.com Extranet:

  1. Log in to your Booking.com Extranet at admin.booking.com.
  2. Open the account menu and go to Connectivity provider.

Booking.com Extranet account menu with Connectivity provider highlighted

  1. If another PMS or channel manager is connected, disconnect it first. Booking.com only allows one connectivity provider at a time.
  2. Search for Channex.io.

Booking.com Extranet provider search showing Channex.io

  1. Confirm Channex.io as the connectivity provider.

Booking.com Extranet connection request waiting for Channex.io provider confirmation

Tip: If you’re not sure how to do this, SympleHost has a built-in setup guide — you’ll see it when you start the connection process.

Step 2: Connect in SympleHost

  1. Make sure the property already exists in SympleHost. If it started on Airbnb, import it first. If it is direct-only, create it manually.

  2. Open Channel Manager.

  3. Find Booking.com and click Connect. A wizard will open.

  4. Enter your Hotel ID.

    Your Hotel ID is the numeric code in the Booking.com Extranet URL, for example admin.booking.com/hotel/1234567. Click Where to find your Hotel ID in the wizard if you need help locating it.

SympleHost Booking.com connection modal where you enter the Hotel ID

  1. Click Connect & verify.

Step 3: Verify and sync

  1. SympleHost verifies the Booking.com connection through Channex.io. You’ll see the status progress:

    • “Creating connection…”
    • “Verifying with Booking.com…”
    • “Connected!” (with a green checkmark)

  2. Click Continue.

  3. Map each Booking.com room or room type to the correct SympleHost listing, unit, and rate plan.

  4. Click Save & continue, then start the sync.

  5. Wait for the sync to queue. First sync usually takes a few minutes.

Your Booking.com listing is now connected. You can review the connection later from Channel Manager, where connected properties, sync health, price rules, and last sync status are shown.

Connecting Expedia, Agoda, VRBO, MakeMyTrip, and Trip.com

After the property exists in SympleHost, connect additional OTAs from Channel Manager:

  1. Open Channel Manager.
  2. Choose the OTA you want to connect.
  3. Follow the pre-flight checklist for that OTA.
  4. Approve Channex.io as the connectivity provider in the OTA’s extranet or partner portal when the flow asks for it.
  5. Enter the required hotel ID, hotel code, account details, or verification details.
  6. Map the OTA’s rooms or rate plans to the correct SympleHost listing or units.
  7. Start sync.

Each OTA has slightly different requirements, but the pattern is the same: property in SympleHost first, connectivity provider approved on the OTA side, then mapping and sync in Channel Manager.

Verifying Your Import

After importing, it’s a good idea to check that everything came over correctly:

  1. Go to Listings and open each imported listing.
  2. Review the name, description, and photos — make sure they match what’s on the OTA.
  3. Check capacity (bedrooms, beds, bathrooms, max guests) — these sometimes need adjusting.
  4. Set up pricing and review the Pricing Calendar — imported listings may still need SympleHost pricing and availability checks. See: How to Set Up Your Pricing & Rate Rules.

Important: Importing a listing does not automatically sync future changes between the OTA and SympleHost. If you update a listing on Airbnb, you’ll need to update it in SympleHost too (or vice versa).

Troubleshooting

I don’t see the “Import” option

The + New Property button and import options are only visible to roles that can manage listings — typically Account Owner, Account Admin, or Account Manager. If your role is Booking Coordinator or Staff, ask your account owner to update your role under Settings → Team Members.

Authorization failed for Airbnb

Make sure you’re logging in with the correct Airbnb account — the one that owns the listings. If you manage listings on behalf of someone else, the account owner needs to authorize the connection.

Some listings show as “skipped”

This means those listings were already imported into SympleHost. You won’t have duplicate listings — SympleHost recognizes them and skips the re-import.

Booking.com connection failed

Check that your Hotel ID is correct — it should be a numeric ID up to 10 digits from the Booking.com Extranet URL. Also make sure you’ve approved Channex.io as your connectivity provider in Booking.com first. If the connection still fails, click Try Again in the wizard.

Booking.com sync failed

If the sync step fails, click Try Again in the wizard, or return to Channel Manager → Booking.com and re-open the connection.

My photos didn’t come through

This can happen if the OTA’s image links have expired or if there’s a temporary connection issue. Try re-importing the listing. If photos still don’t appear, upload them manually from the listing’s edit page.