Channel Manager benefits for Accommodation Providers
Channel Manager benefits for Accommodation Providers
In this blog we will outline five major reasons why using a Channel Manager benefits you as an accommodation provider.
What does a channel manager do for an accommodation business?
A channel manager connects you to online travel agents (OTAs) like Booking.com, Expedia and Airbnb. It tells them how many rooms you have available each day and what your prices are. When someone makes a booking through an OTA, a channel manager collects all the bookings together in one place.
Why should you be using a channel manager?
1. Connect to lots of channels
The best advantage a channel manager gives you is the ability to list with multiple online travel agents. The more channels you can connect to, the more people will see and book your property over others. A good channel manager will allow you to connect to all the big name channels, as well as many smaller channels. The goal is to get as many eyes on your property as possible.
2. Reduce overbookings
A channel manager will keep your availability consistent across OTAs and your website, greatly reducing the possibility of overbookings. Most channel managers also include availability managements tools so you can, for example;
- Prevent late night bookings after reception closes
- Block availability on OTAs on busy dates, and sell through your website only
- Easily adjust lead time availability - e.g. only receive bookings for arrival dates in the next 3 months
3. Keep consistent pricing across channels
If you’ve used big OTAs before, you may have noticed that they are very particular about properties displaying the same rate across all channels - they call this rates parity. Some will even incur punishments for not having rate parity - for example, they might place your property further down in their search results. If you are using a channel manager, it is very easy to send the exact same rate to all channels, and avoid these punishments
4. Give your website an edge
OTAs (Online Travel Agents) take commission from all bookings they receive for you. Ideally you want as many bookings as possible coming to your own website instead, so you pay out less commission. A channel manager not only provides a website booking screen for you to use, but will also let you set a lower price on your website to attract more direct bookings.
5. Easy rates management
One of the best things a channel manager can do for you is help manage your rates. Set minimum night restrictions on long weekends (to reduce your time spent cleaning!), link a non-refundable rate at -10% your normal rate, or set up an advance purchase rate. A channel manager makes all of these easy to do and easy to keep track of.
Seekom iBex Channel Manager is a great choice for accommodation providers looking to improve their businesses. Here’s why:
- iBex comes with its own Property Management System, so there is no need to integrate with another provider. This means bookings come in quicker, and your chance of accidental overbookings is greatly reduced.
- iBex is cloud-based, so you can access it from anywhere at any time. Check the day’s bookings on your phone before you’ve even got out of bed in the morning!
- iBex connects to hundreds of channels, so you can make sure your property is seen by everyone.
- Availability tools let you have full control over who can book your property and when.
- Allows easy management of rates being sent to different channels. Keep all channels at the same price, or have different modifiers on different channels.
- iBex comes with a free website booking screen to install on your website, to get you the most direct bookings. If you don’t have a website yet, or if it’s time for a new one, we also have in-house web designers ready to build you a custom website!
- We have a sophisticated rates management system which can automatically look at the data from your occupancy and current market trends, to adjust your rates for maximum profit. This is a delicate balance of having the rate low enough to entice enough bookings and high enough to make the most revenue possible - so you always want the best tool for this job.
- You could never touch your rates again, and be confident the best prices are being set each day for you.
One of our amazing business development managers will be in touch to showcase our product to you and talk you through how we can help grow your business.
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