An external inventory block is a read-only hold created from an iCal event. It uses the shared Free inventory path so a public availability search counts it alongside ordinary bookings. It is not a customer booking and does not carry guest identity, payment, confirmation, cancellation or refund fields.
Interval and quantity
The stay interval is check-in inclusive and check-out exclusive. An event from 10 September through 12 September blocks the nights of the 10th and 11th; the 12th is available for a new check-in. Each event blocks the source’s configured quantity, bounded by the room type inventory. Multiple sources can consume the same physical quantity, so review mappings before activation.
The external block identity combines the source ID and a one-way UID hash. Repeated events update the same block instead of creating duplicates. A successful full snapshot releases an event that disappeared or was cancelled; a failed or partial snapshot preserves the last known good blocks.
Staff actions
In Hotel Booking → Bookings or the Pro Booking Calendar, look for the channel label and External calendar block read-only presentation. Do not select Confirm, Cancel, Record Payment, Refund or customer email actions for that row. Change the reservation on the OTA, then wait for a successful sync.
If a block conflicts with a website booking, stop further retries, preserve the timeline and escalate the source label, dates, quantity and health reason. Do not release a block manually to make a room appear available.