What a channel manager is and why you need one if you manage several properties

If you list your property on Airbnb, Booking and another platform or two, updating the calendar by hand on each one is only a matter of time before bookings clash: someone books a date on Booking that was already taken on Airbnb, and you end up with an overbooking that you have to sort out at the last minute. A channel manager exists precisely so that this doesn't happen.

What is a channel manager?

A channel manager is software that connects your property's inventory with the main booking portals (Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia and others) and keeps availability, prices and bookings synchronised in real time across all of them.

How it works

Every time a booking comes in through any of the connected channels, the channel manager automatically updates the calendar on the other platforms, without you having to touch anything. The same happens with cancellations, date changes or price changes: they are pushed to every channel at once.

Main advantages

• Prevents overbooking: it removes the risk of double bookings caused by calendars getting out of step.
• Saves time: it automates a task that, done by hand, has to be repeated on every platform each time something changes.
• Widens your visibility with no extra effort: adding a new channel (for example, Vrbo as well as Airbnb and Booking) means hardly any extra work once your channel manager is set up.
• Centralises management: you see and control all your bookings, messages and prices from a single dashboard, instead of logging into each app separately.

Do you need one if you only have one property?

If you manage a single property on one or two platforms, updating the calendar by hand may be manageable. But as soon as you add a third channel, or manage more than one property, the risk of human error grows quickly, and a single overbooking usually costs more time (and more trouble with the guest) than you save by doing it manually for months.

What to look for when choosing a channel manager

• That it integrates natively (not through workarounds) with the channels you actually use.
• That it syncs in real time, not with delays of minutes or hours.
• That it lets you manage dynamic pricing and minimum-stay restrictions per channel.
• That it includes a centralised calendar and, if you manage several properties, a multi-property view.

Would you rather someone took care of it for you?

At beBalmy we manage the synchronisation of your property across every channel and all the day-to-day operations. Tell us about your situation and we'll tell you how we can help.