What Are Composite Units?
In the short-term rental industry, composite units are properties that consist of multiple individual units or rooms managed as a single entity. These units can be rented out either separately or together, offering flexibility for property managers to maximize occupancy and revenue.
Example Scenario:
Imagine you have a villa with:
Upper Floor
Lower Floor
You want to allow guests to:
Book the entire villa
Book only the upper floor
Book only the lower floor
To achieve this, you will need three separate calendars that are synchronized. This ensures that if the entire villa is booked, the upper and lower floors become unavailable and vice versa. This synchronization is managed through iCal connections.
How to Create & Manage a Composite Unit
Step 1: Create Separate Properties
You can either import your property or manually create it.
Using the villa example, you need to create three properties:
Main Villa – Represents the entire villa (6 bedrooms total).
Upper Floor – Represents only the upper section (e.g., 3 bedrooms).
Lower Floor – Represents the lower section (e.g., 3 bedrooms).
Key Note: Ensure the room count for the composite units reflects the actual split (e.g., 3 bedrooms on each floor if the villa has 6 total).
Step 2: Export the Main Property's iCal
Go to PMS → Select the Main Villa.
Navigate to Distribution → Export iCal.
Choose Bookings Only and copy the iCal URL.
Step 3: Import the Main Villa iCal to Composite Units
Go to PMS → Select the Lower Floor (repeat for the Upper Floor).
Navigate to Distribution → Import iCal.
Paste the Main Villa iCal and give it a recognizable name (e.g., "Main Villa iCal").
Step 4: Export Composite Units' iCals and Import to Main Villa
Go to PMS → Lower Floor (repeat for Upper Floor).
Navigate to Distribution → Export iCal.
Copy the URL.
Return to the Main Villa and Import both the Lower Floor and Upper Floor iCal links.
This step ensures that if a composite unit is booked, the entire property is automatically updated to unavailable and vice versa.
Best Practices for OTA (Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo) Integration
When connecting to Online Travel Agencies (OTAs):
Connect the Main Property first (e.g., the entire villa).
Afterward, connect the composite units (e.g., the Upper and Lower Floors).
This prevents calendar conflicts and ensures a smooth synchronization process across all platforms.
By following these steps, your composite units will be synced and ready for bookings across all platforms!