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How to Subscribe to Your Hovn Calendar Feed

Request your Hovn calendar URL from support, then subscribe in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook 365. Learn refresh delays, subscribe vs import, and other calendaring pitfalls.

Overview

Hovn can give you a live calendar feed (iCal) of your sessions. Once you subscribe in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook on the web, new classes, reschedules, and instructor changes appear in your personal calendar — on a refresh schedule set by your calendar app, not by Hovn.

Available for: Service Provider Admins (and team members who receive a feed URL from Hovn Support)

Before you start

  • Ask Hovn Support for your calendar feed URL — it is not available as a self-serve link in the admin app yet.

  • Decide which calendar app you will use for day-to-day scheduling (this affects how quickly changes appear).

Note

Opening the feed URL in a browser, clicking it to “download,” or using an online iCal validator often fails or shows a security challenge page. That does not mean the feed is broken. Always subscribe to the URL inside your calendar app.

Step 1: Request your calendar URL

  1. Message Hovn Support (in-app chat or [email protected]) and ask for your organization’s calendar feed.

  2. Save the HTTPS URL they send — it looks like https://hovn.app/api/calendar/ical?provider=….

  3. If you need a filtered feed (for example, one location or one instructor), tell Support when you request it.

Tip

Prefer the plain feed URL Support gives you. Avoid optional filters such as hideEmpty=true unless you specifically want empty (no-registration) sessions hidden — that setting can make brand-new classes look “missing” until the first student books.

Step 2a: Subscribe in Google Calendar (Gmail)

Use this if your team lives in Gmail / Google Calendar.

  1. Open Google Calendar on the web (this works best from a computer).

  2. On the left, next to Other calendars, click the + and choose From URL.

  3. Paste the HTTPS calendar URL from Hovn Support.

  4. Click Add calendar.

  5. Turn on the new calendar in your list so events are visible.

Google’s own guide: Subscribe to someone else’s calendar (see Use a link to add a public calendar / From URL).

Important: Google refresh delay

Google Calendar decides when to re-check subscribed feeds. In practice, updates often take 12–48 hours, and you cannot set a faster refresh interval. If you need same-day visibility when you add or move sessions, Apple Calendar (below) is usually a better fit.

Step 2b: Subscribe in the iOS Calendar app

Use this if you want faster updates for daily class operations.

On iPhone or iPad

  1. Open Settings → Apps → Calendar → Calendar Accounts (wording can vary slightly by iOS version; look for Accounts or Calendars under Calendar).

  2. Tap Add Account → Other → Add Subscribed Calendar.

  3. Paste the HTTPS calendar URL from Hovn Support into the server / URL field.

  4. Save the subscription. Give it a clear name (for example, Hovn sessions).

  5. Open the Calendar app and confirm the subscribed calendar is turned on under Calendars.

On Mac (Apple Calendar)

  1. Open the Calendar app.

  2. Choose File → New Calendar Subscription… (or add a subscribed calendar from the calendar list).

  3. Paste the HTTPS calendar URL and subscribe.

  4. Open the subscription’s info / settings and set Auto-refresh to Every 5 minutes or Every 15 minutes.

Apple’s own guide: Subscribe to calendars on Mac.

Tip

Hovn updates the feed as soon as session data changes (with a short cache of about five minutes). Your calendar app then polls on its own schedule. Apple lets you choose a short refresh interval; Google and Outlook do not give you the same control.

Step 2c: Subscribe in Outlook 365 (Outlook on the web)

Use this if your team uses Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 Outlook on the web.

  1. Sign in to Outlook on the web or Outlook.com.

  2. Open Calendar from the navigation pane, then click Add calendar.

  3. Choose Subscribe from web (not Upload from file).

  4. Paste the HTTPS calendar URL from Hovn Support.

  5. Click Import to finish adding the subscribed calendar.

  6. Confirm the new calendar is visible in your calendar list.

Microsoft’s own guide: Import or subscribe to a calendar in Outlook.com or Outlook on the web.

Important: Outlook refresh delay and import vs subscribe

Microsoft states that subscribed calendars can take more than 24 hours to refresh (updates are often on the order of a few hours, not minutes). Use Subscribe from web, not a file upload — uploading an .ics file is a one-time import and will not auto-update. Some desktop Exchange or older Outlook setups may still block internet calendar subscriptions; if Subscribe from web is unavailable, try Outlook on the web or ask Support for help.

Calendaring challenges to know about

  • Subscribe ≠ import. Subscribing keeps the calendar live. Clicking the link and importing a file (or choosing “Add to Calendar” as a one-time file) only loads a snapshot and will not auto-update.

  • Refresh is controlled by the calendar app, not Hovn. Same-day ops usually work better on Apple with a 5–15 minute refresh. Google and Outlook subscribed calendars are often delayed for many hours or a day or more.

  • Browsers and validators can look “broken.” Hovn’s security layer may challenge casual checks from a browser or validator site. Calendar apps that subscribe correctly can still receive a valid feed.

  • Empty sessions. If your URL includes hideEmpty=true, newly created sessions with zero registrations will not appear until someone books. Ask Support for a feed without that filter if you want empty classes visible.

  • No native push plugins. There is no separate Google or Outlook plugin today — the iCal subscription is the cross-platform method.

  • Outlook / Exchange. Prefer Subscribe from web in Outlook on the web. If your organization only allows a file import, that path will not refresh — use Google or Apple instead, or contact Support.

Example scenario

You schedule Heartsaver for Saturday and assign an instructor. With Apple Calendar set to refresh every 15 minutes, the new session appears on your phone within about that interval after Hovn’s short cache clears. If instead you only imported a downloaded calendar file, Saturday never updates when you reschedule or cancel — you would need to re-import every time.

Troubleshooting

I don’t see a calendar URL in Hovn

That is expected. Request the feed from Hovn Support. There is no self-serve calendar URL in Settings yet.

New or updated sessions don’t show up

  1. Confirm you subscribed (live feed), not imported a one-time file.

  2. On Apple, check Auto-refresh is 5 or 15 minutes — then wait at least one refresh cycle.

  3. On Google or Outlook, allow up to 12–48 hours before concluding the feed is wrong.

  4. If your URL includes hideEmpty=true, add a registration or ask Support for a URL without that filter.

Apple says subscription failed / “validation failed”

Use the exact HTTPS URL Support sent (not a shortened or email-rewritten link). Prefer Add Subscribed Calendar in Settings over tapping the link in Mail or Messages, which can trigger a static import. If it still fails, reply to Support with the URL you are using so they can test the subscription path.

Opening the URL in a browser looks wrong or validates as HTML

This often happens because of security checks meant for scrapers and bots. Do not rely on browser view or online validators. Subscribe inside Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook on the web instead. If those apps also fail, contact Support.

Google or Outlook accepted the feed but updates are too slow

That is a limitation of how those apps poll subscribed (non-native) calendars. For same-day schedule changes, subscribe with Apple Calendar and set a short auto-refresh interval.

Outlook won’t let me subscribe from the web

In Outlook on the web, choose Add calendar → Subscribe from web (not Upload from file). If Subscribe from web is missing or blocked by your org’s Exchange policy, try Google Calendar or Apple Calendar instead, or ask Support to help validate your feed.

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