A stale iCal feed is one that stopped updating or is showing outdated information. When your booking system and PlanAhead fall out of sync, cleanings may not appear on your schedule, or you might see old jobs that should have been removed. This creates confusion about which properties need attention and when.
Calendar-feed refresh can be delayed by third-party systems, and diagnosing the problem requires checking a few specific places. Understanding what a stale feed looks like and how to fix it helps you keep your schedule reliable and your team informed.
Why Calendar Feeds Stop Updating
An iCal feed is a live connection between your booking system and PlanAhead. When a guest books or cancels through your booking platform, that change should flow into PlanAhead automatically. A stale feed breaks that connection, so new bookings don't appear and cancellations linger on your schedule.
Feeds can stop updating for several reasons. Your booking system may have changed its feed URL or authentication method. The feed URL itself might be incorrect or incomplete. Your booking platform could be experiencing downtime or maintenance. Sometimes a feed is temporarily unavailable but will recover on its own within a few hours.
In other cases, a feed URL becomes permanently invalid—for example, if your booking system was upgraded or if you switched to a different account tier that no longer supports iCal export. Knowing which scenario you're facing determines your next step.
- Check your booking system's settings to confirm the iCal feed URL is still active and hasn't changed.
- Note the date and time you last saw a new cleaning appear in PlanAhead.
- Look for any error messages or warnings in PlanAhead's calendar-health indicators.
- Contact your booking system's support team if you're unsure whether the feed is working on their end.
How to Spot a Stale Feed in PlanAhead
PlanAhead surfaces calendar health and cached feed data to help you notice when a feed isn't updating. In the Schedule view, look for any alerts or status indicators tied to the house or feed. If a feed hasn't refreshed in several hours or days, you'll see a signal that something is off.
Compare the dates on your schedule with your booking system directly. If your booking platform shows a new reservation for next Tuesday but PlanAhead still shows that day as open, the feed is stale. Similarly, if a guest cancelled a booking in your booking system but the cleaning still appears in PlanAhead, the feed isn't syncing.
A stale feed doesn't mean the feed is broken forever—it may just be temporarily delayed. However, if you notice the same jobs appearing unchanged for more than a day, or if new bookings consistently fail to appear within a few hours, you should investigate further.
- Open the house details in PlanAhead and review the connected iCal feed information.
- Log into your booking system and check whether new reservations are being created there.
- Compare the most recent cleaning date in PlanAhead with the most recent booking in your booking system.
- Note whether the feed shows any error status or last-refresh timestamp.
Immediate Steps to Take
If you suspect a stale feed, start by checking whether the problem is temporary. Wait 15 to 30 minutes and refresh PlanAhead. Many feeds update on a schedule, so a short delay is normal. If new bookings appear after a refresh, the feed is working and you can move on.
If the feed still looks stale after a refresh, verify the feed URL in your booking system. Log into your booking platform's settings and locate the iCal or calendar-export option. Copy the full URL exactly as it appears. Then go to PlanAhead, find the house settings, and check whether the URL you have matches what's in your booking system. A single missing character or an outdated URL will break the connection.
If the URL is correct but the feed still isn't updating, try disconnecting and reconnecting the feed. In PlanAhead, remove the iCal feed from the house, then add it again using the current URL. This forces a fresh connection and often resolves temporary glitches. After reconnecting, wait a few minutes and refresh to see whether new data appears.
- Refresh PlanAhead and wait 15 to 30 minutes to rule out a temporary delay.
- Verify the iCal feed URL in your booking system matches what's stored in PlanAhead.
- Disconnect the feed from the house and reconnect it using the current URL.
- Check your booking system's status page or contact their support team to confirm the feed service is running.
When to Add Cleanings Manually
If a feed is stale and you can't reconnect it quickly, don't wait for the sync to fix itself. Your team needs to know what's scheduled, and urgent turnovers can't be delayed. PlanAhead lets you add cleaning jobs manually and organize them by house, so you can keep your schedule current while you troubleshoot the feed.
Manual cleanings are especially important for time-sensitive turnovers. If a guest is checking in tomorrow and the booking hasn't appeared in PlanAhead yet, add the cleaning manually and assign it to your cleaner. You can always delete the manual entry later if the feed eventually syncs and creates a duplicate.
When you add a cleaning manually, include the property, date, time window, and assigned cleaner. If the feed later syncs and creates the same cleaning, you'll have two entries for the same job. Remove the duplicate to keep your schedule clean. This is a safer approach than waiting for a stale feed to update and risking a missed turnover.
- Add a manual cleaning for any urgent or time-sensitive turnover that hasn't appeared in the feed.
- Assign the cleaner and set the date and time window clearly.
- Check back after the feed is fixed to remove any duplicate entries.
- Use manual cleanings as a temporary bridge while you resolve the feed issue.
Preventing Stale Feeds Going Forward
Once you've fixed a stale feed, a few habits can help prevent the problem from happening again. Check your booking system's settings periodically to confirm the iCal feed is still enabled and hasn't been disabled by an automatic update or account change. Some booking platforms disable feeds after a period of inactivity or during system upgrades.
Keep a record of your iCal feed URL in a safe place—a notes app, a shared document, or your workspace settings. If you need to reconnect the feed or troubleshoot it later, having the URL handy saves time. If your booking system changes its feed URL, you'll need to update it in PlanAhead right away.
Use PlanAhead's calendar-health features as part of your weekly routine. A quick glance at the feed status tells you whether everything is syncing normally. If you notice a feed hasn't updated in several hours, investigate early rather than waiting until a cleaning is missed.
- Review your booking system's iCal feed settings monthly to confirm it's still active.
- Store your iCal feed URL in a secure, shared location your team can access.
- Check PlanAhead's calendar-health indicators weekly as part of your schedule review.
- Set a reminder to verify feed status after your booking system updates or undergoes maintenance.
Limitations and checks
- Calendar-feed refresh can be delayed by third-party systems; urgent changes should be confirmed directly with your booking platform or cleaner.
- PlanAhead is not a booking system or property-management system and does not control how or when your booking platform exports calendar data.
- A calendar event or assignment status does not by itself prove that a cleaner accepted or completed a job; always confirm critical details directly.
- Feed availability, refresh rates, and troubleshooting steps can vary depending on your booking system's design and your account configuration.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a calendar feed usually take to update?
Most iCal feeds update within a few minutes to an hour after a booking is created or cancelled in your booking system. If you don't see a new cleaning in PlanAhead within two hours of booking it, the feed may be stale. However, some booking platforms batch updates or refresh on a schedule, so a short delay is normal. Check your booking system's documentation to understand its refresh rate.
Can I have more than one iCal feed connected to a house?
Yes. PlanAhead lets you connect multiple iCal feeds to a single house when needed. This is useful if you use more than one booking platform or if different team members manage reservations through separate systems. Each feed will sync independently, so you can pull cleanings from multiple sources into one schedule.
What happens if I delete a manual cleaning after the feed syncs?
If you added a manual cleaning as a temporary placeholder and the feed later syncs the same job, you'll see both entries on your schedule. Delete the manual entry to remove the duplicate. The synced cleaning from the feed will remain. This is safe because the feed-synced cleaning is the authoritative record from your booking system.
Should I contact my booking system's support team if my feed is stale?
Yes, if you've verified the feed URL is correct and reconnected it without success, contact your booking system's support team. They can confirm whether the feed is working on their end, check for service outages, and help you troubleshoot authentication or configuration issues. Provide them with the feed URL and the date you last saw an update.
This article provides general operational guidance. Calendar-feed timing depends on third-party systems; confirm urgent changes directly.