March 5, 2022

In-Depth Guide to Channel Management for the Hotel Industry

Gaining prominent online visibility in the crowd is tough for hoteliers. Working with channel distribution across top players is a promising marketing strategy for the hospitality industry.

However, managing portfolios is not an easy task when you have to deal with 50+ channels every day. The manual working system and outdated technology only mean delays and errors in entries. 

The difference in rates and availability creates confusion. You are losing potential leads to competitors.

A secure cloud-based channel manager is an effective solution to manage the hotel distribution system efficiently and in a hassle-free way.

What is a hotel distribution channel manager

A channel manager is a software system to integrate all marketing channels into a channel management platform. The program with a set of advanced algorithms allows a user to sync data across all distribution platforms from the channel manager dashboard.

Suppose a hotel uses 25 distribution channels to promote the rooms and services. Integrating all 25 accounts into a single channel manager helps the hotel staff to update availability and rates from a single account.

It eliminates the need of logging into separate channel accounts to update information every day. Besides saving users from the hassles of manual work, it helps to prevent any possible errors when updating inventory status and prices.

Is channel management right for your business

Before you invest in channel manager software, it is worth understanding the types of businesses that can benefit the most from such integrations. A channel management solution helps:

  • Hotels
  • Restaurants & cafes
  • Small guest houses
  • Apartment accommodation providers

From large hotels to small lodging services, everyone can find potential customers through an organized channel distribution management.

Sync all distribution channels to single platform

Integrating all channels into a channel manager eliminates the need to log in to individual accounts and update info. You can do it all from a single secure and dedicated channel manager dashboard.

Fast and seamless operation

The facility to update room availability and rates across multiple channels from a single dashboard allows the hoteliers to speed up the process. Update your availability and rates in a few clicks.

Accuracy and reliability

Customers value accuracy during their search for a hotel room. More than 90% of travelers do online research before proceeding to bookings. Most clients prefer to explore options across Expedia, Bookings.com, Tripadvisor, Google Hotel Ads, and other platforms. Info mismatch can be a vital factor driving customers to competitors.

Accuracy in data across various platforms raises trustworthiness to win a traveler’s confidence.

Direct bookings

Channel management software with a booking engine takes increases revenue by 10-20% by taking zero-commission bookings through it.

Maximise reservations to boost revenue

An effective channel management system enables hoteliers to boost their online presence through popular platforms while eliminating errors. Quick rate and availability adjustments, accurate information, and presence across multiple channels help property owners to build and reach potential customers with greater assurance and reliability.

Escalate business performance

Channel management systems help lodging businesses in various ways to improve performance and efficiency for greater client satisfaction. Using a centralised channel manager for all metasearch engines and OTAs saves time by eliminating the need for manual entries across platforms. The hotel staff can leverage efforts during this period to manage customers.

Track data and metrics

Marketing a hotel across multiple channels is an investment to grow the business. A channel management software with analytics allows hoteliers to compare their performance across different platforms. View real-time data and metrics reports to track:

  • The platforms driving maximum traffic to the hotel website
  • Channels leading to maximum reservations
  • Low/non-performing channels

Analytic reports help the hotel marketing team to develop strategies to improve sales, get more bookings, grow revenues, etc.

Add or remove distribution partners

Depending on the performance metrics, hoteliers can add new channels or remove non-performing ones from the settings. Optimizing for powerful platforms offer greater ROI on advertising initiatives.

Technical assistance

Does the channel manager provider offer 24x7x365 support?

Unexpected glitches can happen anytime. If an error occurs, it has to be addressed at the earliest to regulate seamless workflow. If the provider is not available for round-the-clock support, it can be a cause of concern in case of failure.

A responsive provider offers immediate support to fix the problems whenever required.

Efficiency

Speed and accuracy make a channel manager efficient for your day-to-day tasks. When you enter new rates and availability, this should immediately feature on all channels at the same time. Delays in the process may raise issues like overbooking, errors during reservation, etc.

Access all features during the trial period to check the efficacy of the channel management system.

What's next?

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