Many hosts believe that once they connect calendars using iCal, their job is done.
We believed the same.
When we were running our own properties across different platforms, we trusted calendar sync completely. Airbnb, Booking.com, Agoda — all connected through iCal.
At first, everything looked fine.
But slowly, we started losing bookings — without even realising it.
The Biggest Misunderstanding About iCal
Most hosts think iCal works in real time.
It doesn’t.
iCal is not a live system. It updates calendars with delays. Sometimes minutes. Sometimes hours. Sometimes not at all.
And when bookings increase, these delays become dangerous.
The Real Problem Is Not Double Booking
Yes, double bookings are stressful.
But the bigger loss happens quietly.
This is what we faced:
- A booking comes in → dates get blocked everywhere
- The booking gets cancelled later
- The calendar does NOT reopen properly
- Dates stay blocked
- You never notice
- You miss new bookings completely
This is silent revenue loss.
No alerts. No warnings. Just empty rooms.
Why Hosts Never Realise This Loss
Because no system tells you:
- “Your dates are blocked wrongly”
- “A cancellation did not sync”
- “Your availability is incorrect”
You simply assume demand is low.
But in reality, your room was never available to book.
iCal Breaks Even More During High Demand
Peak season makes this worse.
Multiple platforms pulling and pushing data at different times leads to:
- Missed updates
- Overlapping sync cycles
- Cancelled bookings not reopening dates
- Manual errors
This is exactly when hosts lose the most money.
This Is Why We Built Rukiye Zara
We didn’t plan to build software.
We built Rukiye Zara because we were hosts first.
We were tired of:
- Manually checking calendars
- Second-guessing availability
- Forgetting to reopen dates
- Losing bookings without knowing why
So we fixed the core problem.
What We Changed at Rukiye Zara
Instead of delayed calendar sync, we built:
- Real-time inventory updates
- Automatic reopening of dates after cancellations
- One source of truth for availability
- No reliance on fragile iCal sync
Once a booking cancels, availability opens automatically.
No forgotten dates. No silent losses.
Why This Matters for Growing Hosts
The more properties you manage, the harder it becomes to notice small mistakes.
And small mistakes compound into big losses.
Hosts don’t fail because of bad hospitality.
They fail because systems don’t support growth.
A Simple Reminder for Hosts
If you are:
- Managing multiple listings
- Listed on more than one platform
- Relying only on iCal
You are already at risk — even if everything looks fine today.
Final Thoughts
Calendar sync should protect your revenue — not quietly leak it.
We built Rukiye Zara to solve a problem we lived through ourselves.
Because hosting should feel rewarding, not stressful.
