Vrbo iCal sync not working: why, and what to check
If Vrbo shows a night as available that you already blocked elsewhere (or the reverse), it is almost always because Vrbo has not yet pulled the other platform's calendar on its refresh cycle, not a broken connection. A genuinely dead export link, expired or replaced, is the less common cause and easy to rule out by re-exporting.
What to check first
Re-export the calendar link from the source platform and re-import it into Vrbo. If the old link had expired or the listing was restructured, this fixes it immediately.
Check how recently the change was made elsewhere. If it was within the last few hours, the gap is likely just Vrbo's refresh cycle catching up, not a fault.
Free iCal sync refreshes on each platform's own schedule, typically every few hours, not instantly. Real-time sync closes this window to seconds.
If it keeps recurring
A one-off delay is normal for iCal sync. A recurring gap, nights staying open on Vrbo well after being booked elsewhere, is the structural lag of iCal-based sync, not something re-pasting the link fixes again. At that point, real-time sync through a channel manager addresses the cause rather than the symptom.
Check if this is already costing you a night right now, or fix it going forward with real-time sync.
How do I find my Vrbo iCal export link?
Open your listing on Vrbo, go to Calendar, then Import/Export calendars, and copy the export URL shown there.
Why does Vrbo show a booked night as open?
Most commonly, the platform where the booking happened has not yet been pulled by Vrbo's refresh cycle, which closes on its own within a few hours.
Can I check both calendars for overlapping dates right now?
Yes, use the free iCal conflict checker: paste both calendar links and it reports any dates currently booked on both.