The Best Hotel Channel Manager
Before delving into the features which will help you choose a suitable hotel Channel Manager, it is essential to know what the term means. The definition of a hotel Channel Manager is that it is a tool that promotes a simultaneous and consistent selling of all the rooms you have indicated on each of the digital booking sites. It automatically updates the availability and booking status of your hotel rooms on each corresponding site in real-time when someone makes a reservation and makes bulk changes to your inventory.
What is the need for a Channel Manager?
In the absence of a Channel Manager, you will be the one responsible for updating calendars, current rates, and the current occupancy status of each room on all the digital platforms you have chosen for your hotel bookings. Imagine this additional hassle with your job role presently and the inconvenience it must cause.
That is where a Channel Manager enters the scene to save your day. It preserves time and money by automating recurring operations and allowing you to earn higher with channelized hotel revenue management that has no leakage. Investing in the monthly subscription of a Channel Manager is indeed one of the profitable investments you might make.
Tips for Choosing the Right Channel Manager for Your Hotel
Once you’ve decided to hand over the responsibility of keeping track of your online distribution channel to a hotel Channel Manager, the next trail is to choose one that suits your needs well. With hundreds of available options and varying prices, you need a full-proof plan to narrow down your prospects. Here’s how you can do it.
1. Study the Funds Required
Ensure that you don’t go over-budget by checking what the entire quoted price includes. It should offer your required channels, maybe some additional ones, an appropriate monthly or commission-based fee structure, relevant features, and a decent fee for any extra features you might need.
2. Ensure PMS Compatibility
Intelligent hotel channel management software will allow two-way integration. That means your existing Property Management Software should be allowed to successfully communicate the presently available number of rooms to the Channel Manager. And the channel manager should send bookings to your PMS too.
3. Review the Channels
While most Channel Managers get integrated with the big names, for instance, Booking.com & Expedia, it is exceedingly crucial to check that it connects your booking engine as well. The additional channels it connects with might be potential sales opportunities for you.
4. Ascertain Ease of Handling
This aspect involves a user-friendly experience that can be understood and used by anyone. Some of the required features could be easy updates on current pricing strategy, efficient and advanced inventory management, handling other details as per your business goals.
5. Determine Revenue Management Functions
If you cater to dynamic pricing for your rooms, you will need a Channel Manager that supports it along with other complex revenue management functions. Check the process of updating room costs in the system along with some advanced functionalities.
6. List of Tools Offered
Your shortlisted Channel Manager should present reports, analytics, and other features as an optimization to your channel mix. From keeping an eye on competitor rates tracking parity discrepancies, it should allow you to analyze performance efficiently.
To conclude, when choosing the right Channel Manager for your hotel, focus on the needs, strategy, and goals you have for your business. Each compatibility factor, concise training, and ongoing dedicated support to your team that the channel presents will ultimately decide its effectiveness for your hotel business.
