What is a Channel Manager and why you would need it in 2023

What does OTA stand for?

• Booking.com
• Expedia
• Airbnb
• VRBO

Does this ring any bells to you? Yes, of course.

An OTA is a platform on which we can open an apartment to sell with its rates and availability, characteristics and photos, so that it can be booked online. However, OTAs also work as a guarantee for guests, as they ensure a series of benefits such as discounts, high security levels and the possibilities of making your evaluations in advance, thanks to other customers’ reviews.
In our blog we will use the words OTAs and Portals as synonyms, just so you.

In our blog we will use the words OTAs and Portals as synonyms, just so you.

What is a Channel Manager?

Ok, we have just spoken about OTAs and the fundamental role they play when it comes to online visibility. Now let’s get straight to the core of this article: what is a channel manager and what does a Channel Manager do?

Channel Manager definition

A Channel Manager is a software, which helps you automate and run precisely all the activities belonging to the hospitality sector, such as the rates and availability update in real time on the main existing OTAs and the online bookings management for what concerns their confirmation, cancellation and modification.

Additionally, an ical connection facilitates seamless sharing of availability on various OTAs, further enhancing the efficiency of channel management.

The advantages of a channel management system: a real situation

• If I want to update rates, I will have to do it on each portal and of course, in case I had set a specific price according to the portal, I’ll have to bear this in mind when editing rates.
• In case I make any modifications to the flat and so I need to update any pictures, this operation must be done on each OTA.
• What if I get a reservation from Booking.com? I’ll have to access Airbnb and VRBO to close availability manually, while taking the risk of getting an overbooking.

This happens during the whole day, every day – it is crazy!

Now you know already that a Channel Manager could make all these processes automatic!

To sum it up, here are the advantages of having a Channel Manager:

1. You can automate your daily management tasks
2. Rates and availability will be updated in real time
3. Spare time in the management of your business
4. You will not have to access to each OTA on a daily basis
5. It prevents you from getting overbookings

What is an overbooking?

The overbooking is the situation that comes up when the number of bookings made for a specific date exceeds the actual availability for that date.

This could happen, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, when you have to close availability manually on several portals. Let’s get back to the case mentioned above: I currently sell my property on three portals and I have just received a reservation coming from Booking.com, however I notice it 15 minutes after it’s been made.

During this time, the availability in the other two portals is kept open and that is why a customer has the chance to book the same date in Airbnb before I can close it manually.

I have two reservations, from two different portals, for the same apartment: that is an overbooking, and that is an overbooked hotel.

The Channel Manager was conceived to find a solution to this kind of problems, since the platform directly gets reservations on its calendar, closes availability and sends these modifications to all the connected portals.

The advantages of working with Octorate Channel Manager

In the Channel Manager calendar, you can update prices (read our article about hotel rates types and learn how to set the best prices) and availability and send them to all the OTAs connected at the same time.

Moreover, you can also set up a Price Ratio concerning each OTA that will automatically edit the price, before sending it to each specific portal.

If you get a reservation from one portal, this will automatically get to the system and close availability for the date in question on the Octorate calendar that will send this closing to the connected OTAs in real time.

Furthermore, the Channel Manager also provides you with specific tools created to avoid overbookings, such as the Autopilot, which makes a constant check between reservations and units available, so that the calendar can never show higher availability than reality.

Octorate Channel Manager also gives you the chance to manage photos, descriptions, booking options, in general the content of each listing on the main portals, all this from one single interface.

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