A hotel channel manager is an indispensable tool. It helps manage your processes in a fast-paced hospitality industry. But what is a hotel channel manager? This software solution allows hotels to update their:
- Availability
- Rates
- Inventory
This is in real-time, preventing overbookings and ensuring rate parity and works across:
- All online travel agencies (OTAs)
- Websites
- Other booking platforms
The benefits? Increased efficiency, maximised occupancy, and enhanced revenue management. But how do you know which to choose from? A hotel channel manager should have the following 6 features!
1. Hotel Channel Manager includes a Booking Engine
A booking engine integrated into your hotel channel manager allows direct reservations through your hotel’s website.
Feature Benefits
This essential feature offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies the booking process for guests. It also significantly reduces dependency on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). This means cutting down on commission costs. The booking experience is enhanced by enabling the creation of
- Diverse room types
- The addition of customizable extras
- The strategic categorization of rooms
This serves to elevate guest satisfaction. But it also has the potential to substantially increase the volume of direct bookings. This provides a direct boost to the hotel’s bottom line and improves its market position.
2. Rate Manager
A comprehensive rate manager allows you to:
- Set dynamic pricing
- Add surcharges and taxes
- Apply restrictions
- Offer discounts or coupon codes
Feature Benefits
This flexibility is instrumental in optimising revenue streams. How? By strategically adjusting rates based on demand fluctuations, seasonality influences, and prevailing booking trends, you ensure competitive pricing.
It also plays a crucial role in maximising profitability. How? By enabling hotels to capitalise on peak periods while maintaining steady occupancy during slower times. This means you can balance market dynamics with your revenue goals.
This pricing strategy not only enhances the hotel’s appeal to a broad spectrum of guests but also solidifies its financial stability and growth potential in a competitive marketplace.
3. Hotel Channel Manager has a Booking Channels Integration
It allows for integration with major OTAs like Booking.com, Expedia, and Airbnb, as well as niche platforms.
Feature Benefits
Expanding your market reach becomes more achievable with this approach.
Features like Google Hotel Ads and iCal import/export capabilities further amplify your hotel’s visibility across the digital landscape. And other solution such as SiteMinder can profoundly streamline distribution processes. This means that accurate and consistent information is shared across all booking channels. And this improves the potential for increased bookings.
These integrations facilitate smoother operations but also position your hotel more favourably in the competitive market. This creates a potential for attracting a wider array of guests and enhancing overall revenue opportunities.
4. Communications
Customisable communication templates for email and SMS.
Feature Benefits
These features guarantee that guests receive personalised, timely updates about their bookings. Automated messages serve to significantly improve guest engagement and satisfaction. They are customizable for each stage of the guest journey—from the initial booking confirmation to the moment of check-out and even post-departure.
This continuous, tailored communication fosters a positive relationship with guests. It also demonstrates your hotel’s commitment to exceptional service, potentially turning first-time visitors into loyal, returning customers and amplifying positive word-of-mouth referrals.
A study by Cornell University underscored the significant impact of guest loyalty on hotel stability, with a mere 1% increase in loyalty resulting in a substantial decrease in performance volatility. This shows the important role of guest loyalty in your hotel’s success.
5. Hotel Channel Manager supports Booking Management
A centralised calendar overview and the ability to change, cancel, or manage group bookings.
Feature Benefits
Streamlining the reservation management process becomes effortless with these tools. Advanced features improve operational efficiency, these include:
- Scheduling cleaning tasks
- Generating printable booking PDFs
- Managing detailed booking information.
This approach means that every aspect of guest service remains top-notch, from the cleanliness of rooms to the seamless provision of reservation details.
By organising and automating these critical tasks, hotels can maintain a high standard of service. This helps to meet guests’ expectations. And builds the establishment’s reputation for excellence and attention to detail in all operational facets.
6. Payment Processing & Invoicing
Integration with online payment providers facilitates secure transactions.
Hotel Channel Manager Feature Benefits
Taking payment at the time of booking significantly enhances cash flow. To further streamline financial operations it is key to have the capability to efficiently
- Create invoices
- Process various forms of payments
- Employ advanced tokenization methods for secure payment information storage
This comprehensive financial management approach contributes to the guest experience by simplifying transactions. It makes the hotel’s financial dealings both secure and guest-friendly. And minimises potential payment-related disruptions. This fosters trust between the hotel and its guests.
Conclusion
A hotel channel manager equipped with these essential features can significantly boost revenue for hotels. By choosing a hotel channel manager like Sirvoy, which offers these functionalities and more, hotels will manage their distribution effectively. And gain a competitive edge in the hospitality market.
