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Channel Managers
The channel manager is a technology that takes care of connecting and automating a hotel's inventory distribution to multiple hotel booking sites synchronously. It enables hoteliers to manage availability, rates and reservations at the same time i...
UpsellGuru
95Based on 24 reviews4.8UpsellGuru is a guest communication software focusing on generating revenue through upselling. As a first in the industry, UpsellGuru launched a bidding system for hotel upgrades in 2016. Today the system does more than just upgrades- e-guma voucher and ticketing system94Based on 20 reviews4.7The voucher and ticket management system e-guma offers a clear and fully responsive online shop, which opens an additional sales channel for you. The voucher shop is multilingual, adapted to the design of your website and can be linked to your webs
- dailypoint™ 360° – Central Data Management93Based on 25 reviews4.5dailypoint™ is the leading #abovePMS solution for individual hotels and hotel groups. dailypoint™ collects data from all relevant sources such as PMS, POS, website, newsletter or Wi-Fi and creates a central and consolidated guest profil
- RoomPriceGenie93Based on 13 reviews4.9RoomPriceGenie is the world's best-rated automated dynamic pricing software for independent hotels and hotel groups, apartment businesses and more. Built to be simple to use for non-experts, but with the flexibility for thos
- Rateboard92Based on 38 reviews4.8RateBoard was created to offer hotel managers a simple tool to optimise their revenue through customized price recommendations. Behind all this stands a complex technology, solving the big data problem, therewith illustrating all relevant market in
- Überblick92Based on 18 reviews4.8Überblick supports hoteliers and their teams in the day-to-day life. It features via web or mobile app task, communication, and knowledge manangement. Easy to use, direct and transparent. A typical use case with &Uuml
- Rezlynx PMS (Guestline)92Based on 14 reviews4.8The Rezlynx PMS provides you with the tools and insights to make your daily life easier by automating routine tasks and liberating your staff to focus on the guest. Fully configurable, PCI compliant, and featuring a comprehensive rate and
- Ariane Systems92Based on 19 reviews4.4Ariane is the world leader in providing self-check-in and out solutions for the hotel industry with 3.000 installations. They enable Mobile and Kiosk self-service solutions, including all required hardware, consultancy and support for services that
- Smart Host91Based on 16 reviews4.8Smart Host provides a CRM and data cleansing software to help you leverage the data you gather from different touch points with your guests. By connecting to your PMS, Smart Host allows you to segment and automate email campaigns, track p
- Revinate Marketing91Based on 26 reviews4.5Revinate Marketing helps hoteliers drive revenue, repeat bookings, and improve the guest experience. It’s easy to create personalized one-time or automated email campaigns, upsell rooms and amenities, and build lifetime guest relationships.
- better.guest tab (Betterspace)89Based on 19 reviews4.3The digital guest directory better.guest Tab offers all advantages of an information guide for your hotel room, combined with a high-end tablet. The smart guest directory is your digital concierge, sales manager, travel guide and much mor
- SIHOT.PMS88Based on 29 reviews4.4SIHOT.PMS offers the most complete hotel management software on the market. You can benefit from countless functions. But more importantly, you don’t have to, as our software is based on a modular approach. All front office, reserva
- Conversion & Personalization (The Hotels Network)2 months for free83Based on 8 reviews4.8The Hotels Network is an innovative technology company working with over 5,000 hotels around the globe. The company offers clients a full-stack growth platform to power their direct channel. By leveraging a series of integrated tools and analytics,
- ASA HOTEL82Based on 6 reviews5ASA’s PMS is the ideal tool to help you manage every process throughout the guest journey: extra services are recorded in the system either automatically or in just a few clicks; hotel departments like the restaurant, bar, housekeep
- INCERT Voucher Management & Ticketing Solution80Based on 8 reviews4.5The incert e-commerce system for selling vouchers, gift cards, tickets, take-away offers and shop products offers a professional and comprehensive all-round solution and generates sales with a direct cash flow to your bank account. We deliver and s
- Front Office Cloud (SiTec)79Based on 8 reviews4.9The award winning new cloud based system brings every hotel to the next level. Beside a classical PMS with built in AI, it combines a bunch of systems in one: Restaurant and POS system, mailing and marketing with graphical mail-designer hotel commu
- Branding & Advertising Strategy (Influence Society)79Based on 9 reviews4.8We grow compelling stories for our clients through a creative and insights-driven approach of your digital marketing strategy: brand content, social media, online advertising and mobile-first web development.
- Hotel Connect79Based on 10 reviews5In a time where big online travel agencies and property management systems are not treating independent hotels as equal partners, our mission is to give power to independent hotels. Give them back control over their own hotels, their rates and inve
- FairPlanner (Fairmas)78Based on 7 reviews4.5FairPlanner is the software solution created by hoteliers for hoteliers. Fairmas tailored the software to address the unique financial planning and reporting needs of the hotel industry.
- happyhotel78Based on 7 reviews4.8The happyhotel revenue and yield management system has a simple dashboard that supports the hotelier in the data analysis of the most important hotel KPI’s. happyhotel is a cloud-based hotel software specially designed for smal
What is a channel manager?
The channel manager is a technology that takes care of connecting and automating a hotel's inventory distribution to multiple hotel booking sites synchronously. It enables hoteliers to manage availability, rates, and reservations at the same time in a single system without needing to log-in and update your information in the different extranets. Thanks to a channel management system, hotels can list their inventory to hundreds of online booking portals such as OTAs (like Booking.com), Global Distribution Systems, and alternative accommodation channels like Airbnb. Depending on the desired rules set by hoteliers, the channel manager will update all platforms in real-time based on a pooled inventory model. Pooled inventory is a modern principle enabling hotels, hostels, and vacation rental companies to maximise occupancy while limiting the potential for overbookings.
What are the benefits of using a channel manager?
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Save time and reduce space for error: with a single point of entry, a channel manager will allow hoteliers to centralise rate settings. It will also be able to analyse your performance on the various channels. This data will help you in your revenue and distribution strategy.
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Take advantage of the billboard effect: thanks to a channel manager, hotels can list their rooms on hundreds of booking websites, almost instantly. Some bookers search for their preferred accommodation on OTA but visit the hotel’s brand.com to book directly. Use OTAs to broaden your visibility to other regions and traveler types.
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Protect your direct rates: a channel manager, on top of connecting to indirect channels, can connect to the hotel’s booking engine. With specific rules and restrictions, hoteliers can ensure their direct rates are better than those on OTAs.
What are the most important features to look for in a channel manager?
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2-way XML integration: a 2-way XML integration is one of the most essential features. It will automatically add bookings made on various channels onto your PMS and will save you a lot of time otherwise spent on this manual data entry.
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Pooled inventory: it’s crucial in order to minimise overbookings and maximise sales as it will allow hotels to show all available rooms across all your distribution channels at the same time. It will also instantly update all channels when a booking is made or canceled.
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Connectivity to existing booking platforms and a wide range of new channels: hoteliers need to ensure the channel management provider offers interfaces to its existing distribution channels as well as new potential sites to diversify. Generally, providers should allow hoteliers to connect to as many channels as wanted at no extra cost.
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Channel performance analytics dashboard and reporting: Being able to analyse the performance of each channel is key to refine revenue and distribution strategies with data like booking volume & revenue.
What are the key integrations you should look for when selecting a Channel Manager for your hotel?
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Property management system (PMS): Finding a channel manager which can have two-way sync with the hotel's property management system (PMS) is a must for synchronization of booking data at all times.
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Hotel/internet booking engine (IBE): Your channel management software needs to integrate with your booking engine in order for you to have one view of inventory and bookings at any point in time.
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Revenue management system (RMS): If your property is already doing revenue management, you’ll want your RMS and your channel manager to be interfaced in order for the two to share data enabling the distribution team to effectively manage revenue and profit.
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Central reservation system (CRS): your channel manager should be integrated with your CRS for coherent operations. The channel manager will then automatically add data to the CRS, which will then link it to other systems enabling unified property management.
What is the typical pricing for a Channel Manager?
Typically, there are two different payment models either commission-based (this model is less and less common) or a monthly flat fee. We recommend having a flat monthly fee, as this will help your budgeting and as you perform better allow you to increase your margins. Flat fees per property can start from €30 for small properties and go above €100 per month as the number of rooms increases. You can also expect a setup fee starting at €59. Some channel managers can be packages with a booking engine or other product type and therefore increase the cost.
What to expect when implementing a Channel Manager?
The implementation generally takes place in 5 steps: an introduction, group training, setup, private follow-up, and set live. A lot of providers offer a 2-week free trial period, which lets the hotelier test out the various features of the software and then decide to activate their subscription right or decide to find something else that suits them better.