What is a channel manager?
Updated
A channel manager is software that connects a hotel’s rates and availability to the sites it sells through, so one change updates every channel at once.
Why does it matter to a small hotel?
Without one, a hotel selling on several booking sites has to update each separately, and the risk of a double booking or a stale price grows with every channel. A channel manager sits between your property system and those sites. You change a rate or close a night once, and it passes the change on; when a room sells on one site, it removes it from the others. It does not decide your price. It only carries it. That is why people mix it up with revenue management software, which helps choose the price, while the channel manager delivers it.
A worked example
The 24-room hotel sells on its own site and two agencies. On a Friday, the last double is booked on the website. Without a channel manager, someone must log in to the two agency extranets and close the night, and until they do, the room can sell twice. With one, the room closes everywhere within moments, and a rate change from £110 to £120 reaches all three channels from a single entry. If you want pricing guidance to go with your channels, try RatePulse free.
Related terms
Questions people ask
Do I need a channel manager for two or three channels?
It is worth it once manual updates start causing errors or take real time. Many hotels find that point at about two agencies.
Is a channel manager the same as a property management system?
No. A property management system runs reservations, check-in and billing. A channel manager connects your rates and availability to outside sites. Some products combine both.
Does a channel manager set my prices?
No. It sends the prices you choose. Deciding them is a separate job.