Channel Manager – Choose Wisely For The Best Results

Without a channel manager, motels must create or update inventory and availability on each channel, which is a time-consuming and inefficient procedure that frequently results in discrepancies between channels. A channel manager also gives hotels more flexibility over their channel mix. Revenue managers can set channel-specific objectives and then alter inventory and/or price on individual channels to maximise revenue. Revenue managers may more accurately control a hotel’s distribution and prioritise the most profitable channels at any given time by employing this dynamic technique.

Only around 50% of hotels in the world now use specialised channel managers to assist with automating, managing, and maximising online distribution. The finest online channel manager for your hotel should meet the following top characteristics if your hotel is thinking about hiring one.

• A channel manager is a simple yet powerful bit of hotel technology that enhances direct reservations, increases occupancy, and maximises online revenues. It enables a hotel to broaden its reach and online bookings, as well as manage its pricing, availability, and reservations more efficiently. Hotels may connect to hundreds of online distribution channels in real-time using a channel manager. This allows the hotel to increase exposure with little danger of being overbooked.

• Real-time connection is one of the key advantages of hotel channel managers; without it, there is still a risk of overbooking. Through two-way XML communication, this real-time synchronisation may be accomplished most effectively. Instant sync makes sure that all channels are up to date-and correct with regard to room pricing and availability. A channel manager won’t be as successful at growing your bookings and subsequent income if you don’t have that certainty.

A pooled inventory approach, which implies that your room inventory is shared between channels rather than being assigned on a channel-by-channel basis, is also necessary for effective channel management. Pooled inventory guarantees precise availability so that rooms may be promoted simultaneously across all channels without concern for overbooking.

• To distribute merchandise on the most effective channels for your hotel, you must first determine which channels are most important. Examine which channels a possible channel manager supports. Consider switching vendors if any of your most crucial channels are missing. Channels vary greatly depending on location. Also, consult your visitor personas (or take the effort to create them!) to discover which channels will assist you to reach those types of people. Consult your CRS records to uncover the most popular booking channels among your target groups.

The finest channel manager enables you to make the most of your most profitable channels while also experimenting with less obvious channels that could introduce you to untapped demand from difficult-to-reach regions. Additionally, it doesn’t hurt to ask vendors for suggestions on what other channels you should take into account; the response will reveal how the business handles customer support.

• Users will have questions and face difficulties that require troubleshooting, as with any new system, therefore training and ongoing assistance are required. This might be a make-or-break item depending on the size of your property. You must understand what training is accessible, how much it costs, and whether it is available in the relevant time zones and languages for your company. The same is true for continuing assistance; you should be able to obtain a response within a few hours at most through chat, e-mail, or phone.

The road to creating a channel manager has five checkpoints. An introduction, group training, setup, private follow-up, and go-live are all part of the package. Free trials normally last approximately two weeks, during which the hotelier may test out the whole feature set and, following completion, can either instantly activate their membership or choose to invest at no further expense.

• Channel managers give vital data that revenue managers may use to dynamically change their distribution strategy. The correct channel manager for your hotel will provide you with the information you need to improve your channel mix. It is just distributing merchandise among channels is insufficient; superior channel managers spend extensively on complex analytics and simple statistics that indicate occupancy, reservations, and income for specified time periods.

With this knowledge, revenue managers may set prices in accordance with supply and demand. For further inspection, the reports will highlight under and over-performing channels. It could be useful to address underperformance with pricing modifications to promote more reservations for channels when the marketing cost per booking is cheap. An increase in reservations may have a negative impact on a hotel’s Net RevPAR for channels with high commissions or other customer acquisition expenditures.

• Channel managers are valuable revenue managers’ friends because they balance profit-per-booking objectives with goals for gross room income. spreading your product to as many linked channels as possible maintains visibility and boosts your chances of bookings. The option to choose online channels selectively allows you to maintain control over the ideal channel mix and profitability at the booking level.

• With this data, revenue managers may set prices depending on supply and demand. The reports will identify underperforming and overperforming channels for more research. when the cost of promoting each reservation is low, addressing underperformance with pricing modifications to attract new reservations for those channels may be beneficial. A surge in bookings may have a negative impact on a hotel’s Net RevPAR in channels with high commissions or other customer acquisition expenditures.

To optimise revenue on each channel, hotels should also be able to set pricing and availability guidelines. These include establishing stop-sells for rooms and packages after a particular channel has reached its goals, establishing the minimum number of days that a booking may be made (to encourage particular behaviours on certain channels), and providing discounted rates before guests arrive.

From the above article, people can clearly understand the importance of choosing the best channel manager. Above mentioned points will definitely help people to get the best channel manager for their business or organization. A good channel manager will definitely help the hotel by providing channel management solutions in various sectors. Therfore, everyone should wisely choose the best channel manager for themselves.