As a hotelier it’s important to stay up to date with hospitality trends. Probably the most complicated trend and topic is that of Channel management. Our hope is that this blog will provide you with the top features to look for when choosing a channel manager, and hopefully debunk the mysteries surrounding this powerful add-on to your property management system (PMS). 

If you’re in the decision-making process to decide whether your property needs a channel manager, let us clear that up for you; Yes! You need a channel manager. Channel Managers are in integral part of your hotel operations because they allow you to distribute your room inventory across multiple online travel agents, tourist resources, and physical travel agents; making sure that your inventory is accessible by everyone who needs to see it. But as this blog implies, not all channel managers are created equal. Here is our list of the most important features of a channel manager:

Two-Way Connections

Optimal connectivity is what you’re looking for, and if a channel manager can receive and transmit your inventory in real-time (or close to real-time) the better off you and your hotel are. Also, if the channel manager integrates directly with your PMS to allow reservations to flow directly into the PMS, that’s also a huge advantage. 

Integration Capabilities

Obviously you’d want your channel manager to integrate with your hotel PMS, central reservation system (CRS) and revenue management system. But finding a channel manager that does this seamlessly is the key. Previously we mentioned that two-way connectivity is best, but full integration is recommended so that you and your property get the maximum benefits of the channel manager.

Pooled Inventory Method

Put simply, this means that your distribution will always show the maximum number of available rooms on all online channels without risking double bookings. This is because your channel manager integrates with your PMS allowing real-time inventory updates. If you’re searching for a channel manager that is not using pooled inventory, you need to keep shopping. 

What Reports Are Available

Hoteliers have many jobs, but one of the most challenging is learning where to spend money when they’re trying to acquire guests. Channel manager reports provide you with great insights into where you should be spending your advertising dollars, and what types of marketing campaigns you should be using. Reports such as reservation earnings, booking volume, and detailed data on which online travel agency booked the reservation help you to make informed decisions when marketing to future guests. 

Share Economy Capabilities

In today’s world of thrifty travelers, make sure that your channel manager can connect to share giants like AirBnB. AirBnB is becoming quite the popular site for online bookings with millennials and Gen X’ers alike. So, it’s imperative that your channel manager have a partnership with these types of sharing sites. 

InnQuest developed Stayfull a different kind of channel manager that meets all these criteria and then some.  With the ease of a single location to update rates and inventory, a company that you already trust, and the simplicity of combining your channel manager with roomMaster, now is a great time to try a channel manager.

Contact our Sales Team today to schedule a discussion to see how Stayfull channel manager can boost your sales and your bookings. 

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InnQuest Software is a leading technology provider for the hospitality industry. For over 25 years, innQuest has combined hotelier experience with innovative technology to deliver an all-in-one solution that empowers hotels to attract guests, drive customer loyalty, and increase profits. Our flagship property management software, roomMaster, helps manage over 5,500 properties across 100 countries. InnQuest develops scalable solutions ranging from a Hotel PMS, Cloud PMS, Channel Manager, Hotel CRM and helps properties enable guests to Book Direct. We believe that everyone deserves a great guest experience, whether they’re staying at a small B&B, a thousand-room resort, or anywhere in between.

Call us today at 1.813.288.4900, or email us at sales@innquest.com. We will be happy to walk you through innQuest’s solutions.