What is a channel manager?

Channel managers are an essential pillar of every short-term rental property manager’s tech stack. They can help you save time, reduce manual mistakes and increase your occupancy and bookings. Let’s explore what a channel manager is, how it works and what it can do for your business!

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What is a channel manager?

What is a channel manager?

A partnership with Rentals United gives your business a fantastic opportunity to go to the next level by integrating to our vast network. With over 150,000 properties distributed through Rentals United today, our customer base covers 6 continents and includes Enterprise Property Managers, Real Estate Companies, B&Bs, and large “Hotel 2.0” Rental companies.

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The benefits of using a channel manager: what can it do for your business?

Every property manager with more than a handful of vacation rentals needs to use a channel manager to avoid double bookings and keep their listings up-to-date.
1. Save time

1. Save time

One of the biggest benefits of using a channel manager is that it can save you a lot of time. In fact, Rentals United users have managed to save 5-50 hours a week!

By automating your channel distribution, you eliminate repetitive tasks that you’d otherwise have to do manually. For example, updating your calendars, pricing and property descriptions one-by-one on each platform you advertise on.

This leaves you enough time to focus on other aspects of your property management business - like growing your inventory or expanding to new markets.

2. Prevent overbookings

2. Prevent overbookings

Double bookings can be a nightmare – if you’ve ever had to cancel a guest booking, you’ll know that. But if you use channel management software, you’ll never have to worry about getting overbooked again.

Stable, two-way synchronisation is the key. With a channel manager, your availability gets instantly updated across all your sales channels every time you receive a reservation. This drastically diminishes your risk of overbookings.

3. Increase your bookings, occupancy and revenue

3. Increase your bookings, occupancy and revenue

Another advantage of channel managers is that they allow you to diversify your distribution.

They can give you access to distribution channels that you never considered getting listed on but fit your business perfectly. Rentals United, for instance, has 60+ channels to choose from!

Once you’ve improved your vacation rental marketing mix, you’ll be able to reach new audiences, gain more visibility and target niches that correspond with your rentals’ profile.

Ultimately, more eyes on your listings will lead to an increase in bookings, occupancy and revenue.

4. Get exclusive access to alternative channels

4. Get exclusive access to alternative channels

Some of the best-performing alternative channels out there don’t accept listings uploaded manually by property managers. If you want to advertise on them, you need to go through a channel manager.

Google, for example, works with a select number of tech partners - including Rentals United - who can get you listed. Right now, there’s no other way to have your listings appear directly in Google search results. This is worth considering because Google is a channel with huge potential.

First of all, it’s the biggest search engine in the world where millions of travellers search for accommodation every day. Secondly, it gives vacation rentals a chance to compete with hotels directly in search results. And thirdly, it’s still extremely underused by property managers, so you can be among the first to start getting bookings from Google!

Check out the 50+ channels connected through Rentals United

5. Seamlessly integrate with other software

5. Seamlessly integrate with other software

These days, software is all about connectivity. Different platforms need to communicate with each other so that you can work efficiently with a seamlessly integrated tech stack.

Channel managers integrate with a variety of tools like PMSs, yield managers, housekeeping apps, etc.

When buying a channel manager, make sure it integrates with other vacation rental software you use. Or, if you haven’t built your tech stack yet and you’re looking to add new solutions to your toolbox in the future, check if the channel manager integrates with providers you’d consider working with.

As an example, Rentals United integrates with operational tools like HelloHere, Doinn and Wishbox, dynamic pricing tools like Beyond Pricing and PriceLabs, and over 50 property management systems.

Check out all the PMS connected through Rentals United

How to choose the best channel manager

We can’t stress this enough: reliable API connections are the heart of a successful channel management strategy.

When speaking with channel management providers, inquire if they have the most recent updates in place for each online travel agent they work with.

A good way to do this is by checking your preferred online booking site’s product update log for new features. Then, ask the channel management company whether their users have access to those features.

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