There is a difference between a channel room type and a channel room rate. A room type represents one or several physical rooms. A rate represents a certain type of price for that room type. For example, a room type called “Double room” could be offered at $100 (rate A), but, at the same time, could also be offered at $125 (rate B).

Different offerings for the same room type should be set up as “rates” on the channel, not as different room types.

Example: Let’s say you only have one physical room in your hotel but you want to offer it as a “Double room” and as a “Double room with breakfast”. If you (incorrectly) set it up as two different room types in the channel, the channel will believe that you actually have two physical rooms.

The above example could result in overbooking if a guest books both rooms at the same time. To avoid this, please register rates instead of room types in such cases. See picture below:

room rate3

Tip: We recommend having at least two rates in the channel – a standard rate and a non-refundable rate. This provides flexibility both to you and to your guests. We also recommend mapping both these rates to Sirvoy room types. This makes it possible for you to close one of the rates for bookings while keeping the other one open. Please read this article for a full guide on how to map different channel rates. Your channel account manager can help you better understand what rates might benefit your business.