Hotel channel management software is used in hospitality to update multiple online booking sites automatically every time a change in availability, pricing, or stay restriction occurs. In hospitality, well-known channel management providers include, Cloudbeds, Siteminder, RateGain and more.

While a channel manager distributes inventory across sales channels, a property management system (PMS) is the control system used in hotel management and hosts to organize and execute operations and day-to-day activities, such as reservation management, guest communication, housekeeping, pricing, and more. A single platform that incorporates both PMS and channel management, like Cloudbeds, simplifies managing inventory, rates, and reservations.

A channel manager system works by updating your property’s distribution data (room availability and rates) across different channels you connect to in real time. Its functionality lets technology complete the update for you whenever there’s a booking or cancellation.

The best channel manager systems use two-way connectivity via XML to connect to each channel’s extranet and import reservations/cancellations into your Channel Manager, PMS, and/or CRS dashboard. API connections are best since they allow data to flow seamlessly and accurately across systems that may be owned and operated by different companies. There are also iCal, or calendar-based, channel connections. However, even if the iCal connection is two-way, calendar channels are only able to connect to one room type at a time.

All types of hospitality properties, large, small, boutique or independent hotels, hostels, and even vacation rentals, can benefit from using a channel manager because they eliminate the need to update your availability, rates, and inventory manually, saving you time and increasing your opportunity to get more hotel bookings by allowing you to easily manage more channels.

Channel managers also help prevent accidental overbookings, which can negatively impact your guest experience. They ensure that when a guest enters an OTA website or app to input their credit card info and book a room, the room is indeed available for the date and price they booked it.

Channel Management is the process of actively managing the distribution of rates and availability onto multiple online distribution sites. These sites may vary to include online travel agencies (OTAs), travel metasearch engines, global distribution systems (GDSs), bed banks, or online travel agents and marketplaces such as Booking.com, Expedia, Vrbo, Tripadvisor, Agoda, and more.

Real-time channel synchronization is a must for hotels looking to expand their distribution strategy without incurring overbookings. It ensures that room availability and rates are instantly updated across all distribution channels.

For example, if a room is booked on Booking.com the availability is immediately updated across all other connected channels (like other OTAs and your booking engine). With real-time synchronization, hoteliers eliminate the need to update rates and availability across channels manually, saving time and minimizing the risk of human error.

Not only does this streamline processes for staff, but it prevents double bookings, significantly improving the guest experience.

Without channel management software, whether it’s an all-in-one solution or standalone, distribution can be extremely tedious and time-consuming. It ensures that any changes in room availability or rates are instantly updated, eliminating overbookings and saving your team time.

It allows hotels to expand their distribution strategy and connect to more online channels due to automation. Hotels can connect to multiple online travel agencies (global, regional, and niche), along with the GDS, wholesalers, and more.

A channel manager provides a single source of truth for room availability and connects with other hotel technology like the property management system, revenue management system, and booking engine to ensure accurate and consistent data across platforms. Your channel manager can also provide valuable insights to help analyze booking patterns and top connected channels – helping hotels optimize their distribution strategy.

All-in-one booking channel software helps hotels automate manual tasks and provides a seamless booking experience across various channels for potential guests. It simplifies operations for hotels by integrating various functions into one system and provides detailed insights to help make improvements.

Managing a hotel without a channel manager is challenging. Adding a user-friendly channel manager to your hotel tech stack can significantly improve your bottom line by helping you get your hotel rooms and rates out to the right people on the right platforms.

A channel manager helps properties improve their bottom line in the following ways:

• Real-time updates of availability and rates ensure you’re properly pricing your rooms across channels
• Maintains rate parity across channels
• Connect to more channels and discover the most profitable booking sites
• Integrations across your hotel tech ecosystem help increase visibility for better business decisions
• Improve the guest experience by eliminating overbookings and being available on the channels of travelers choice
• Streamline distribution management empowering your team to focus on higher-value tasks

A channel manager automates inventory management, enabling hotels to expand their reach across multiple OTAs and other distribution channels. With real-time synchronization, hotels can push out rates and availability across OTAs at once, preventing overbookings and maintaining rate parity.

With a channel manager, hotels can connect to a wide variety of global, regional, and niche OTAs to reach travelers wherever they are online. Being active across multiple channels also contributes to the Billboard Effect, where travelers find your property on an OTA but, upon further research, visit your hotel website to book direct.