Availability & Channels

F1. How test bookings and notification emails work

Blueground will place a test booking during onboarding or integration checks. This ensures that your integration is correctly syncing availability and sending notifications.

If you did not receive the test booking email

Confirm you are checking the reservation notification email address you provided during onboarding
Check your spam or junk folder
If the email is still missing, contact:
partner-onboarding@theblueground.com

Why Blueground uses test bookings

To verify booking notifications work
To confirm that your PMS/iCal correctly blocks and unblocks calendar dates
To ensure all listing data syncs as expected

Test bookings are cancelled shortly after creation and do not affect payouts.

F2. How test bookings affect your calendar

When a test booking is created, your calendar should block dates correctly.

For PMS-integrated partners

Calendar should automatically block at test booking creation
When the test booking is cancelled, the calendar should unblock automatically

For non-PMS integrated partners

Bookings will not automatically block your calendar on your PMS or other channels. You will need to add the blocked dates manually. If you would like your calendar to be automatically blocked on your PMS or other channels to avoid overbookings, please contact partner-onboarding@theblueground.com to request the Blueground iCal links. Once the Onboarding team shares the links with you, follow these steps:

Copy the Blueground Bookings Calendar iCal link
Paste it into the relevant field on your PMS / Other channel (if supported)

F3. Troubleshooting calendar sync & missing bookings

If a booking appears in Blueground but not in your PMS or other channels' calendars, check the following:

For PMS-integrated partners

Ensure your PMS calendar is updated and accurate
Blueground can only reflect PMS availability; outdated PMS data = outdated BG data
If PMS looks correct but Blueground does not, contact onboarding support

For non-PMS integrated partners

Verify that the Blueground iCal is correctly added to your PMS / other channels
Confirm the iCal has been placed in the correct listing
Remember that iCals sync every few hours. If iCal was added just hours before a booking, the calendar may not have updated in time.

F4. Does Blueground support changeover or check-in/check-out restrictions?

Some PMS tools allow rules like:

No same-day turnovers
No Sunday check-ins
Mandatory gaps between stays

Current Blueground capabilities

Blueground supports move-in and move-out restrictions (changeover rules) at listing level. Restrictions you set in your PMS — such as allowed check-in or check-out days — are synced and enforced on Blueground bookings automatically. If a rule doesn't appear to apply, first verify it is set correctly in your PMS and allow a sync cycle to complete before contacting support.

F5. Where else are my listings advertised? (Third-party channels)

When a listing is published on Blueground, it may also be advertised on selected third-party platforms depending on the market.

Automatic channels

Nestpick (all markets)

Additional channels by region

United States
Zillow, Apartments.com, Zumper, Domu

Canada
Apartments.com, Zumper

United Kingdom
Zoopla

Portugal
Idealista

Spain
Idealista

Germany
Immoscout24, Immowelt

Switzerland
SMG

Luxembourg
Athome, Immotop

Austria
Immoscout24, Willhaben

France
Seloger, Bienici

Opting out

You control which channels each of your listings appears on, directly from the portal: open the listing, go to Channel Distribution, and toggle individual channels on or off. Changes apply from the next sync. For questions about a specific channel's requirements, contact partner support.

F6. How to confirm your listing is published

Open the Partner Portal
Go to Listings
Select the Blueground URL next to your listing

This opens the live guest-facing listing page. If your listing has no URL, it may still be pending or unpublished. Even if a listing is published and available, it may not appear in search results.

Why this happens

Blueground's search algorithm prioritizes units based on:

Competitive pricing
Availability
Location
Demand
Unit similarity (e.g., multiple identical apartments in one building).