What is a Channel Manager? Quick Guide for Hotels
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Are you wondering what is a channel manager? It is an efficient tool that can help you avoid double bookings and increase sales. With a diverse range of online travel agencies and booking platforms, it becomes increasingly hard to manage your bookings using all of them at once. A channel manager can help you automate this process and give you more precious time for the core hotel management tasks. In this article, we’ll take a look at the benefits and features of this solution and will help you choose the right one for your hotel.
What is a Channel Manager?
A channel manager is a software designed to automate and synchronize multiple booking channels for your hotel.
Channel managers solve numerous tasks at once by allowing you to manage your hotel bookings efficiently. From saving your time to improving your online presence, these apps help you to reach more clients at once without needing to keep track of how multiple booking channels work.
You may be wondering how to work with hotel channel manager but in reality, it is quite simple. Its core functionality is all about simple and efficient syncing with popular online booking platforms. From Airbnb to Expedia and a multitude of other OTAs, there are multiple websites where you may want to sell your accommodation services. All of them can give your hotel a considerable boost in bookings. With a properly chosen and set up channel manager, you can not only reach more potential guests but also improve your hotel’s reputation.
For example, as WordPress developers, we provide a built-in iCal-based channel manager with our Hotel Booking plugin. This means you can accept direct bookings from your own hotel site on WordPress + sync your availability with external channels like Airbnb thanks to the fact that both our plugin and Airbnb support the iCal file format. As a result, you have your accommodation listed on several platforms (including your own site), and when a property gets booked on one of them, it’s automatically blocked on another. This eliminates the need for manual updates and ensures consistent availability across all platforms.
So, is MotoPress a channel manager? No, it’s a booking engine that includes a simplified channel manager as one of the top features. Why simplified? Because it works only via iCal and requires some manual configuration of links exchange.
Benefits & Features of a Hotel Channel Manager System
Now that we know about what is a channel manager, let’s learn more about the common features it provides. The main purpose of channel manager hotel software is to provide connections with various third-party hotel booking platforms. However, it can do more than that. For example, some apps in this category help with the security of your booking management data as well as allow you to set rates automatically depending on your preferences. Certainly, it is just a part of what these solutions have in store. For example, professional channel manager apps also come with these advantages:
- Inventory & rate management;
- Performance analysis for booking channels;
- Automatic availability updates;
- Better brand awareness;
- Integration with key hotel systems.
Top 10 Tips for Choosing a Channel Manager
When you search for a channel manager in hotel industry, you may be impressed by the variety of available solutions. To help you make a thoughtful decision, we have prepared some useful hotel channel manager tips that will guide you to the most fitting app for your hospitality business. Numerous factors may influence your choice of the right hotel software. From pricing to security options & user-friendly UI, you’ll need to take lots of things into account, for example:
- Your personal requirements and available budget;
- Compatibility with property management systems;
- Supported booking channels;
- App’s security and reliability;
- Integration with your hotel’s booking engine.
1. Set Your Goals and Requirements
If you have decided to boost your hotel’s performance with a channel manager, the first step towards choosing one is closely connected to your requirements. When you ask yourself “What is a channel manager?”, you should also question your goals and demands as they define the key features of a channel manager software. Depending on the necessary functionality for your hotel, the pricing options may also differ. Possible requirements for channel manager may include:
- Rate management tools;
- Automatic property listing via popular platforms;
- Functional integrations with your hotel’s software;
- Fast booking confirmations & verifications.
2. Define Your Budget
When choosing a channel manager for independent hotel as well as for a well-developed hotel chain, you need to consider the available budget. It is mostly defined by your needs and available pricing options offered by the software developers. Some apps come with hidden costs and fees so unless you have a worthy alternative, you need to take all costs into account, such as:
- Monthly subscription fees;
- Costs for initial setup, integrations, and software configuration;
- Possible discounts for yearly payments;
- Additional payments for extra booking channels.
3. Aim for PMS Compatibility
Talking about features that come with modern channel manager hotel software, we need to mention one of the key advantages to which any hotel manager needs to pay attention. Running a hotel requires you to not only wonder what is a channel manager but also use a property management system (PMS). Combining these two apps and enabling synchronization between them can offer your hospitality business a considerable boost in performance and property management due to:
- Automated rate & reservation management;
- Powerful analytical tools;
- Guest communication solutions;
- Maintenance request tracking.
4. Research the OTA Connectivity
One of the main functional advantages that define the best hotel channel manager is its connectivity with popular OTAs. Before you pick your channel management solutions, it is necessary to know what channels you need your website or hotel management software to sync with. Based on that, you can then choose the right software for your hotel. The amount of supported OTAs also influences the pricing plan. Many app providers deliver various pricing options based on the channels they support. These channels may include:
5. Learn About Pricing Options
As we mentioned above, many app developers offer diverse pricing plans. To make the right choice we recommend you go for solutions that meet your needs regarding functionality and pricing options. Besides, if you haven’t worked with such a solution before and wonder what is a channel manager, it’s better to test out the chosen software first. For example, look for channel management apps with quotes or free trials. This way you’ll be able to learn how such apps work before going for any financial commitment. The most common pricing models for a hotel PMS channel manager include:
- User-based pricing;
- Tiered pricing;
- Performance-oriented pricing;
- Subscriptions.
6. Consider Solutions with Top-Notch Data Security
Another key feature of any channel manager in hotel industry is data security. No hotel manager, employee, or guest wants any sensitive data leaked due to a hack or any other kind of security breach. When making a hotel channel manager comparison or just looking for the proper software for your hotel, make sure that the chosen app or cloud-based solution provides quality protection of your guests’ data. Even if you are using a channel manager hotel free, it is mandatory to have your hotel’s cybersecurity at the proper level to ensure the protection of vital financial and personal data. There are diverse ways of protecting your hotel from various security threats:
- Regular security audits;
- Limited access to guest data;
- Security training of your hotel team;
- Data encryption.
7. Combine the Hotel’s Booking Engine with a Channel Manager
In case you want to know what is a channel manager and its advantages, the integration with your hotel’s website booking engine may be one of the main selling points. Besides providing synchronization with popular online booking platforms, a channel manager can automatically synchronize with your website’s booking plugin & calendar. As a result, you can not only boost reservations via OTAs. You’ll also encourage potential guests to book directly from your site. This will provide your hotel with the following benefits:
- Direct bookings through your hotel website;
- Instant booking calendar synchronization;
- Better guest experience;
- Support of secure online payments.
8. Pick an App with a User-friendly UI
One of the first things you notice when using a hotel PMS channel manager is its interface. No wonder it’s necessary for any hotel app to have a user-friendly UI. With an accessible user interface design, your employees can manage reservations faster and perform their work more efficiently than with an app that has a cluttered interface. Besides, having channel manager hotel software with a well-designed interface can help in other, not-so-obvious ways:
- Enhanced productivity;
- Improved client acquisition;
- Higher customer retention;
- Faster app development and updates.
9. Don’t Overlook Analytical Features
Analytics is one of the primary elements when it comes to successful hotel management. It provides valuable data that can help your hotel team to adjust its marketing strategy. Moreover, powerful analytical tools are an essential part of any business software suite as well as a part of the answer to the question “What is a channel manager?”. Many hotel channel manager tips hint at using analytical solutions as they allow you to:
- Create unique experiences;
- Monitor and outrun your competitors;
- Improve your hotel’s revenue management;
- Predict your sales and gather feedback.
10. Mobile App is a Nice Bonus
One of the optional yet steadily becoming more common features is the availability of a mobile app for hotel guests and employees. Such an app helps your team to make necessary changes to reservations on the go as well as track current bookings and cancellations. When choosing a channel manager in hotel industry, consider picking software with this feature as it will make booking management more flexible. Additionally, having a mobile alternative to a traditional channel manager app helps you with:
- Improved connectivity;
- Easier remote access;
- Real-time inventory management;
- Flexible rate management.
Conclusion
We hope this overview helped you answer the question of what is a channel manager. Whether you are looking to simply sync with popular OTAs or speed up booking management, using a channel manager can save you a lot of time and money. Besides, with some hotel management & PMS apps, you can get integrated channel management features at no additional cost. As a result, many apps and plugins developed for hotels can help you with managing your bookings as they:
- Increase booking efficiency: With multiple booking channels connected to a channel manager for independent hotel, you can get the most out of each booking platform without having to manage your accounts manually.
- Help you avoid overbooking: When your hotel management software is synced with other booking channels, the front desk staff doesn’t have to deal with overbooking. It is especially useful when all rooms are already booked. This way your team will avoid unnecessary complaints from guests & customers.
- Save time: One of the most obvious advantages of the best hotel channel manager apps is their time-saving ability. When you sync all your booking accounts with your PMS software or hotel website, you won’t have to manually edit the availability calendars on all platforms to make sure everything is up to date.
- Reduce manual work: Finally, the hotel channel manager system helps your hotel employees reduce manual work that takes time and effort. This is possible due to the integrated automation tools that come with many popular channel management apps. Some of them are also provided with a channel manager hotel free. As a result, your employees will have more time for your clients, which will improve the guests’ experience in return.
