Before Channel Manager, the online booking process used to be that the guest chooses the desired hotel and room and registers their personal details through the website of travel agencies.

The travel agency user inquired about the guest’s hotel room registration request through a phone call, and after receiving the hotel’s confirmation, the message “The final registration of the desired room reservation was successfully completed” was displayed on the guest panel. (Of course, there was a possibility of non-confirmation of the reservation from the hotel side, and the overbooking error happened a lot.)

The hotel sales channel management system or channel manager is a technology-based solution that solves the problems of many hoteliers active in the online field.

If you are promoting hotel rooms through several different online channels such as online travel agencies or your website, you must have a regularly updated list of the rooms’ status so that there is no interference in booking the rooms. Sales channel manager can be a suitable solution to solve this problem.

Full definition of channel manager or hotel sales channel management system

The sales channel manager is a tool that allows the hotel to connect all the rooms simultaneously in all the sales channels (reservation sites – online travel agencies) to the PMS hotel inventory system and manage all these channels. As a result, when one of the hotel rooms is booked on one of the websites, the channel manager applies the changes instantly. For this reason, the availability of rooms on all sites is automatically updated and avoids overbooking errors.

In recent years, the behavior of travelers has become such that they prefer to book their accommodation online. Therefore, the management of hotel sales channels or channel managers have been created to manage the reservation process.

With the help of managing sales channels, hotel managers can increase the occupancy rate of their hotel to the best possible state. In fact, a hotel sales channel manager can increase the hotel’s capacity to book more and maximize profits.

In the rest of this article, we will further examine the definition, benefits and application of the reservation channel manager.

What is channel manager or hotel reservation channel management system?

Channel management in the hotel industry can be defined as follows:

Channel management is a simple function that refers to using the channel manager tool to list rooms and manage their inventory in different booking channels.

Sales channel management can also be a management strategy. With the help of this strategy, you can analyze the performance status of the different reservation channels that you have, which of the travel agencies had more bookings for our hotel, or which of the sales channels were more effective in order to ultimately earn more. do it

With the help of channel management, you can sell your rooms all over the country or the world through the different distribution channels you have. The right distribution channels for you may be OTAs, retail travel agencies or direct channels (hotel website or social media).

Therefore, managing hotel sales channels is a process through which you can sell hotel rooms and related services more easily and quickly.

Channel manager strategy of hotel sales channel management system

Managing the hotel reservation channel will also provide your hotel with an opportunity to implement sales and marketing strategies. One of the main goals of any hotel is to increase bookings and revenue. Therefore, to achieve these goals in the modern world, you need a sales network. This sales network should include a variety of reservation channels to attract many guests to your hotel.

Reservation channel management technology enables you to create a powerful network for your hotel. Using manual methods will limit you to a few channels and you can only keep a few of them accurately. In this case, you easily miss out on many profitable booking opportunities. But with the help of a hotel sales channel manager, you can connect different reservation channels.

As a hotel manager, you should carefully check each of the reservation channels and know which of the reservation channels are worth cooperating with. For example, one of the online travel agencies (OTAs) may register an average number of reservations for you, but on the other hand, the number of cancellations through the same online travel agency (OTA) is also high. In this case, cooperation with this OTA will not have many benefits for you.

Collecting and analyzing data is a valuable step for investigating business partners. With the help of data analysis, you can make better decisions about maintaining cooperation with hotel sales channels and choose and maintain the best options for cooperation.

A hotel sales channel manager records all the data related to your hotel reservation and saves it in the hotel account section, and at the end of each month, you can check the monthly report. As the distribution network increases, these analyzes will become a vital part of hotel management.

Companies providing management of hotel sales channels

In the hotel industry, technology is developing rapidly. Therefore, many companies are currently working in the field of managing hotel sales channels around the world.

In order to know which channel manager is suitable for your hotel, you must pay attention to various factors. Some of these factors are:

• Total number of rooms
• Types of rooms
• The number of channels connected to the hotel
• The target market of the hotel
• Other applications that are used. (such as reservation engines or hotel management system)
• Hotel budget

Lamasoo is a leading sales channel management company in Iran. And they use the most advanced and safest technologies to meet your needs.

Online distribution of hotel rooms and management of hotel reservation channels

Now online distribution has become a necessity for every hotel and online travel agencies have become a necessity for hoteliers who can no longer sell their hotel rooms.

OTAs or online travel agencies are an example of hotel online sales channels that guests go through before arriving at the hotel room. Your hotel website is also a sales channel.

Compared to OTA, the hotel website is a short channel because it leads to the direct sale of the room to the traveler. Longer channels may include going through online travel agencies, wholesale or retail travel agencies, and the like.

Some of the hotel’s distribution channels are:

• Online Travel Agencies: Online travel agencies or OTAs are the most effective channel for hotels. OTAs expose your hotel to many visitors and travelers. As a result, travelers who haven’t found you yet can easily get to know your hotel and book a room with the help of OTAs.
• Wholesalers: Wholesalers contract with hotels to purchase rooms and then sell the hotel rooms to travel agencies.
• Metasearch: Metasearch is an advanced search engine that allows travelers to compare hotel room rates from different OTAs.
• Global Distribution System: Global Distribution Systems or GDSs offer travel deals around the world. With the help of this system, you can easily book various flights and hotels.

When you decide to use different channels to reach a new market and increase your hotel bookings, you will need different strategies and better management.

Therefore, you must specify that:

• What channels are ideal for you?

• How many channels do you want to use?

• How do you optimize your profile?

• How often do you adjust hotel room rates?

• What advertising are you planning to do?

• How will you fight against your competitors?

• What other services do you offer in your direct channel?

The answer to each of these questions is different and unique for each hotel. Therefore, you must have a proper plan to implement your strategies and know what tools you need.

This is why channel managers have become an essential part of hotels’ online distribution strategies. For example, if you want to announce a new rate, you should spend several hours to announce the new rate to the different channels you have. While a channel manager can do this with just a few simple clicks.

5 key points about the channel manager or sales channel management system in the hotel industry

• Channel Manager is a tool that allows you to sell all your rooms simultaneously on all your booking sites.
• A channel manager can increase hotel capacity to attract bookings and maximize profits.
• Online distribution channels may include OTAs, retail travel agencies, Metasearch, global distribution systems, or direct channels.
• Channel management technology enables you to create a wide sales network for your hotel.
• Channel managers are becoming an essential part of hotel online distribution strategies.

How to use hotel reservation channel manager to improve business?

Booking channel management allows you to manage various tasks and get more bookings and income in return. It also enables you to have long-term planning for your hotel business.

Advantages of using Channel Manager for hotels:

• Increasing online bookings

While phone and travel bookings are on the decline, online bookings are still on the rise. Channel Manager (hotel sales channel management system) allows your hotel to connect to more online channels. Channels (travel agencies) that more travelers use.

• Increase hotel income

Due to the fact that the channel manager simultaneously shares the rates of the room in all channels and updates them automatically, reservations are accepted faster. In addition, through the sales channel management system you can analyze your data to have more optimal rates and use the most profitable channels. For this reason, the overall income of the hotel will also increase.

• Reducing the risk of overbooking

Without a channel, the reservation manager of each hotel must divide its inventory between different channels. Such a system may lead to overbooking. Also, since there is no automatic update, the hotel will definitely face many problems. The sales channel management system will automatically update the room inventory and its rate instantly and prevent such problems.

• Increasing awareness of the hotel brand

A powerful hotel reservation channel manager has access to hundreds of reservation channels. As a result, even travelers who are not familiar with the brand name of your hotel can see your hotel and even book a room.

• Increasing direct hotel bookings

This advantage may seem illogical, but you should know that it is completely true. When travelers get to know your hotel through different channels, they seek to learn more about the hotel before making a reservation. As a result, they refer to your main website. For this reason, he may book a room directly through your site.

• Eliminate manual processes

Entering information manually is tedious and time-consuming. With the help of Hotel Channel Manager or hotel sales channel system, you can save your time and be more efficient.

• Create an integrated system

Instead of updating information in several external networks, Channel Manager (Hotel Sales Channel Management System) can integrate hotel management system, central reservation system, revenue management system and hotel reservation engine to have a unified control system for all hotel activities.

• Becoming a powerful business platform

A good hotel sales channel management system provides access to data across all systems and channels. With the help of data analysis, you can identify which channels or rooms perform better. As a result, you can constantly update your business strategy.

• Reducing trust in traditional booking channels

Since you don’t have to worry about rooms filling up with the help of online booking, you can reduce your inventory in traditional booking channels. As a result, you will have more rooms to offer on online booking sites.

• Easier notification

It is very easy for administrators to use the high-quality channel manager. On the other hand, hotels also have several employees in the reservation department who use the hotel’s sales channel management system. Therefore, all people will be easily informed about the change of room rates, room reservations or similar things.

Other systems that can be used together with the reservation manager channel in the hotel

Hotels have different management systems. Some of these systems will be more beneficial when connected to a channel manager or may even increase the effectiveness of the channel manager. Therefore, integration between systems will have a great impact on maintaining the accuracy and flawless operation of your hotel.

Some of these systems are:

• PMS hotel management software

PMS hotel management software includes all the actions that are taken to manage the hotel. Actions such as reservation management, check-in/check-out, guest profiles, maintenance, availability, etc.

When PMS hotel management software is integrated with a sales channel management system, communication will be two-way. Therefore, the same information will not be entered more than once in different systems.

• Online booking engine

The online booking engine will make it easier to accept reservations directly through the website or social networks. When you use the sales channel management system or Hotel Channel Manager, the booking engine is also considered as a third party site. So you can easily track its performance, update rates and maintain accurate inventories.

• Smart pricing tool

By using smart pricing tools, you can ensure that room rates are optimized and revenue is maximized. This system is also used to track competitors and market changes based on supply and demand. Therefore, by using this tool and integrating it with the sales channel management system, you can set competitive rates.

Advantages of using Hotel Channel Manager (hotel sales channel management system)

You might imagine that paying a separate fee to use the hotel sales channel management system and paying commissions to OTAs, along with other expenses you have, will lead to a decrease in your income. But you should know that the positive effect of Hotel Channel Manager on improving hotel income has been proven.

For example, if you have a lot of empty rooms, the hotel sales channel management system can greatly increase the amount of bookings and income of your business by simplifying the management processes.

If you are hesitant to use a hotel sales channel management system, ask yourself how valuable the following results will be for your hotel business:

• You no longer need to spend a lot of time managing and coordinating external networks.
• You’ll spend significantly less time updating room inventory data.
• There will be no human error while setting the rate and room availability.
• Increasing awareness of the hotel brand
• Increase employment and hotel income
• More transparency on booking data and performance of sales channels
• Two-way integration of existing systems in the PMS hotel
• Creating a single, reliable and stable distribution platform

How to choose a channel manager or hotel sales channel management system

As we said, there are many hotel sales channel management systems in the market, some of which are suitable for small hotels. While some other systems are robust enough to handle large hotels.

Therefore, if you intend to choose a suitable hotel sales channel management system, you must find the answers to the following questions:

Can sales channel management system be integrated with PMS hotel management system?

Does it have a user-friendly interface?

Does the team provide strong support and adequate training?

Do they use a consolidated inventory model?

Is comprehensive reporting defined as part of the system?

Can it be integrated with the online booking engine?

Will all hotel inventory be updated automatically?

How long does it take to install this software?

Does this software support multiple users?

Is it possible to use it for free for a limited time?

What is the pricing model?

Hotel sales channels management system: pricing, regulation, training and support

If you intend to find a sales channel management system for your hotel, you should check various factors.

Some considerations include:

Price

If you are an independent hotelier, your budget will have a big impact on your decision. Of course, it goes without saying that the pricing model of each booking channel management system can be different. Some of them may charge fees like OTAs. while others may charge a separate fee for each connected channel. So you can adjust your monthly budget based on the type of pricing.

Click to know the method and pricing of Lamaso channel management services.

Setup and training

Most hotel sales channel management systems offer a free training course. During this period, your hotel’s sales channel management system will be launched and you will receive the necessary training. You can select multiple employees to participate in the free training course. Depending on the training conditions, it can be group or individually. In general, training courses do not last more than a few days.

Support

A hotel sales channel management system should have fast and 24-hour support to solve the problems that happen.