How to Build an Airbnb and Excel MCP Server with Cursor IDE

Setting Up Dependencies

To create an MCP server that integrates Airbnb listings with Excel, several tools must be installed: Node.js (which includes npx), the uv package manager, Git, and Cursor IDE. Cursor IDE is necessary because Claude desktop does not support SSE-based MCP servers.

Install Node.js from nodejs.org using the default settings. For the uv package manager, use the following commands:

For Mac/Linux:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

For Windows (Powershell):

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

Git is used to clone the Excel MCP server repository:

git clone https://github.com/haris-musa/excel-mcp-server.git
cd excel-mcp-server

Alternatively, download the ZIP file manually from the repository and extract it.

Download Cursor IDE from https://cursor.com; it has a free 14-day trial and supports connecting to MCP servers via natural language prompts.

Within the excel-mcp-server directory, install Python dependencies by running:

uv pip install -e .

Configuring the MCP Server

Open Cursor IDE and navigate to File > Preferences > Cursor Settings > MCP. Add a new global MCP server by editing the mcp.json file with the following configuration:

{
    "mcpServers": {
      "airbnb": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "@openbnb/mcp-server-airbnb",
          "--ignore-robots-txt"
        ]
      },
      "excel": {
        "url": "http://localhost:8000/sse"
      }
    }
}

Running the MCP Servers

The Excel MCP server uses Server-Sent Events (SSE) and must be running in the terminal to communicate with Cursor IDE. To start it:

Open your terminal.
Navigate to the excel-mcp-server directory.
Run:

uv run excel-mcp-server

Both Airbnb and Excel servers should now appear in Cursor's settings.

Using the Integration

You can use natural language commands in the Cursor IDE chat panel to fetch Airbnb listings for specific dates and locations and have the data automatically added to Excel. For example:

"Get me Airbnb listings in Bengaluru for the first week of June and add them to an Excel sheet."

All generated Excel files are stored in the excel_files folder within the excel-mcp-server directory.

The Excel MCP server also supports basic data analysis through chat prompts, though this tutorial does not cover that feature.

Troubleshooting

If the Airbnb server does not respond or fails to fetch listings, it may be due to website restrictions. Include "ignoreRobotsText": true in your prompt to bypass these limitations. Example:

"Get Airbnb listings for Bengaluru from 5th May to 10th May for 2 adults. Use "ignoreRobotsText": true."