Have you ever wondered what makes guests choose a particular hotel over thousands of similar options?
To stand out in the tourism market, hotels need to offer unique experiences and an innovative online presence, focusing on trends like technology and sustainability.
Ready to revolutionize your hotel’s operations and guest experience?
Dive into our comprehensive guide on the 5 best hotel channel manager software.
Discover how these tools can transform your unique management challenges into opportunities for growth and exceptional service!
What is Hotel Channel Manager Software?
Hotel channel manager software simplifies and optimizes hotel room inventory distribution across online booking channels.
Most hotels list their rooms on multiple online platforms, such as OTAs, GDS, and their own websites, to raise their visibility and expand their reach.
However, managing these channels manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors.
And that’s where hotel channel manager software steps in.
It is a centralized platform enabling hoteliers to update room availability, rates, and other information across all connected channels in real time.
This automation not only saves time but also helps prevent overbookings or discrepancies in pricing, ensuring that the hotel’s online presence is consistent and up-to-date.
Why Should You Consider Using Hotel Channel Manager Software?
Besides streamlining operations, enhancing online visibility, and ultimately boosting revenue, hotel channel manager software provides additional perks and benefits.
1. Get Real-time Updates
By enabling real-time synchronization of room availability, rates, and other details across all connected online channels, hite channel managers minimize the risk of overbookings.
2. Reduce The Risk of Errors
Manual data entry increases the likelihood of errors, leading to room availability or pricing discrepancies.
Thus, a hotel channel manager minimizes such risks by automating the updating process, enhancing the accuracy of information across all channels.
3. Expand Online Reach
A Hotel Channel Manager expands a hotel’s online reach by connecting with multiple online travel agencies (OTAs), global distribution systems (GDS), and other platforms.
Furthermore, it allows you to manage bookings from multiple sources through a centralized platform seamlessly.
In addition, you can integrate it with social media platforms to allow for direct bookings and encourage user-generated content and reviews to build credibility.
As a result, the increased visibility can attract a broader audience, reaching potential guests who prefer booking through different channels.
4. Optimize Revenue Management
Hotel Channel Managers often come with features that allow dynamic pricing based on:
- market demand,
- seasonal variations, and
- competitor rates.
This dynamic pricing strategy helps hotels maximize revenue by adjusting rates in real-time to capitalize on demand peaks and fill gaps during low-demand periods.
5. Have Centralized Control
A hotel channel manager software provides a centralized dashboard where you can manage all connected channels from one platform.
Consequently, you can streamline the management process, making it easier for staff to control room inventory, rates, and promotions without logging into multiple systems.
6. Find Out Performance Analytics
The software often includes analytics tools that allow you to monitor the performance of each channel.
Thus, these insights can help you make informed decisions regarding marketing strategies, pricing adjustments, and overall revenue management.
5 Best Hotel Channel Manager Software To Try This Year
1. OTA SYNC
OTA SYNC is a cloud-based hospitality solution that helps facilitate and automate hotel bookings and management from a centralized platform.
One of the main aims of OTA SYNC is to empower hotels and travel partners to elevate their services and redefine the guest experience.
OTA SYNC’s versatile features span the 6 categories:
- Channel Manager,
- Property Management,
- Booking Engine,
- OTA Payments,
- Multi-Property Hub, and
- Guest App.
Furthermore, OTA SYNC provides a 2-way connection with OTA channels, such as Booking.com, AirBnB, Expedia Group, CTrip, etc.
Moreover, you can customize the widgets OTA SYNC provides or use its open API
to develop your own solution.
Key Features
✨ Channel Manager tools – Allow you to connect and synchronize your OTA channels.
Furthermore, channel manager tools sync OTA channels with your activities in the PMS, all from a centralized dashboard.
✨ Calendar option – Provides different calendar layouts and views, depending on your parameters.
Thus, you can see the room status, number of nights, floor plans, etc. In addition, you can also set prices, availability, and restrictions.
✨ Customizing Options – You can customize the look of your online booking forms, emails, invoices, and settings, including custom logos and colors.
✨ OTA Payments – A fully automated system that accepts online, in-store, or mobile payments.
✨Statistics & Reports – Provides valuable analytics and metrics regarding occupancy by month, average and maximum revenue, arrivals by countries and channels, etc.
Overall, OTA SYNC is a versatile hospitality solution you can use as an all-in-one or modular add-on.
Pricing
Prices depend on the number of properties and rooms, starting from €22.08 per month for 1 property with 1 room.
In addition, each pricing plan comes with a 14-day free trial.
OTA SYNC: Pros & Cons
Pros:
🟢 Versatile channel manager.
🟢 A centralized and user-friendly dashboard.
🟢 Easy onboarding without needing account manager assistance.
Cons:
🔴 Currently lacks Online check-in and Upselling features, but they are coming soon.
2. Cubilis
Cubilis is a channel manager that helps you manage diverse OTAs from the centralized dashboard.
In addition, it also provides the Booking Engine, which integrates with any website and enables commission-free bookings.
Regarding integrations, Cubilis integrates with:
- Online booking channels, such as Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb, etc.,
- Payment systems like Mollie, Stripe, KBC, Worldline, etc., and
- PMS apps, such as Mews, Bookingplanner, Protel, Fidelio, etc.
Key Features
✨ Ratebox – A price comparison tool that highlights your best value price and compares it to the prices offered via OTAs.
✨ Rate Management – Provides real-time synchronization of prices and automatically exchanges data between Cubilis and the PMS of your choice.
✨ Add-ons & Extras – Enables to book things like hiring bicycles, having flowers in the room, special package deals, etc.
✨ Insights and Reports – Show which booking channel gives the best turnover, show turnover figures based on room type, arrangement, etc.
✨ Optimised Payments – Automates the payment process, accepts direct payments or payment guarantees when booking online, offers multiple payment options, etc.
Pricing
Pricing plans vary according to the number of rooms, so the prices range between €40 per month for 1 room to €610 per month for 100 rooms.
Cubilis offers a free trial, too.
Cubilis: Pros & Cons
Pros:
🟢 Multiple integrations with various OTAs.
🟢 A price comparison tool.
🟢 Advanced reporting options.
Cons:
🔴 Complex to get used to for non-tech savvy users.
🔴 Not so optimal for advanced revenue management and distribution.
🔴 Can get pricey for small hotels.
3. Hostaway
Hostaway is a channel manager software for vacation rentals, offering a variety of features that fall into 8 main categories:
- Property Manager
- Channel Manager
- Automation Tools
- Communication
- Marketing
- Operations
- Services, and
- Analytics and Reporting.
One of Hostaway’s strongest suits is the flexibility and customization it offers to hoteliers due to its open API.
Thus, you can use the open API to build additional tools and also use Zapier to connect any platform to Hostaway.
Regarding integrations, Hostaway integrates with Airbnb, Expedia, Vrbo, Booking.com, HomeAway, Stripe, etc.
Key Features
✨ Multi-Calendar – Provides a color-coded overview of reservations based on your selected parameters. You can also do bulk updates.
✨ Multi-unit Support – Enables you to connect multiple room types to single properties under one listing.
However, bear in mind that multi-units have to be at the same address, with the same amenities and price strategy.
✨ Automated Payments – Automate guest payments such as bookings, taxes, extra fees, extended stays, and damage deposits.
✨ Analytics and Reporting – Provide customizable reports for your KPIs, occupancy reports, owner statements, financial reporting, etc.
✨ Revenue Management – Enables you to maximize your revenue during low and high seasons by setting up your discounts, special offers, etc., with bulk edits.
Pricing
Hostaway has customized pricing depending on your needs and no free trial.
Hostaway: Pros & Cons
Pros:
🟢 Great customer service.
🟢 Customizable financial reports.
🟢 Open API and multiple integrations.
Cons:
🔴 A steeper learning curve.
🔴 Takes a long time to upload the info and connect to every channel.
🔴 Not all systems are integrated with the initial setup.
4. STAAH Channel Manager
STAAH is cloud-based channel management software focusing on revenue management to monitor competition and adjust room prices based on demand and occupancy.
STAAH also functions as an online global distribution system (GDS), connecting you to multiple travel agents via the 4 major GDS systems:
- Sabre,
- Amadeus,
- Worldspan, and
- Galileo PLUS IDS Channels.
In addition, the metasearch engine displays the room rates from multiple online channels within a single platform.
STAAH is also rich when it comes to integrations, and it provides integrations with diverse OTAs, PMS, payment gateways, etc.
Key Features
✨ Channel Manager – Covers automation and distribution processes via the centralized dashboard.
✨ Inventory Management – Provides a variety of features to keep your real-time inventory accurate, gradually release your inventory to channels, cap inventory, etc.
✨ Rate & Revenue Management – Offers adjustable and dynamic pricing features based on demand, seasons, or channel commissions
✨ Central Reservation System (CRS) – Provides a centralized dashboard with a calendar view of your inventory with bookings across channels.
✨ Insights – Analyze performance data across booking channels so you can track bookings, revenue, and lead time by channel.
Pricing
The pricing isn’t listed on the website, but according to Capterra, the prices start from $80 per month, and there is a free trial.
STAAH: Pros & Cons
Pros:
🟢 Real-time update of pricing and room allocations.
🟢 A part of a GDS hotel booking system to expand your visibility and reach.
🟢 A single management dashboard to overview multiple reservations.
Cons:
🔴 Not always intuitive to set certain parameters.
🔴 The sync can lag sometimes.
5. eZee Absolute
eZee Absolute is an entirely cloud-based hotel PMS system that automates all hotel operations, from front and back office over reservations to billing and housekeeping.
The software is guest-centric and provides various features to boost the guest experience.
Some of eZee’s products include:
- eZee Centrix – Hotel Channel Manager,
- eZee Reservation – Hotel Booking Software
- eZee Panorama – Hospitality Website Builder Software, etc.
In addition to being fully cloud-based, eZee Absolute encourages contactless services from check-ins to check-outs and all the steps in between.
eZee integrates with metasearch engines, such as TripAdvisor, Trivago, Google Hotel Ads, etc., with various payment gateways, major OTAs, food delivery portals, etc.
Key Features
✨ A Single-point Dashboard – Manages all the channels and your online bookings from one place.
✨ OTA synchronizer – Instantly distributes the entire hotel’s rate and inventory across all the channels, all connected metasearch engines, GDS, the hotel’s website, and the FB page.
✨ Revenue Management Tool – Automatically derives the pricing strategy and evaluates the BAR (Best Available Retail Rate).
✨ Rate Shopper Tool – Monitors your competitor’s inventory rates and provides real-time info on those rates.
✨ Analytics Tools – Collect all the relevant data to create reports such as Revenue Analysis-OTA wise, revenue monthly breakdown, channel-wise bookings, etc.
Pricing
Prices range between $30 to $450, depending on the number of rooms, and each plan comes with a 14-day Free Trial.
eZee: Pros & Cons
Pros:
🟢 Multi-property management from a single dashboard.
🟢 A variety of integrations.
🟢 A mobile app for contactless services.
Cons:
🔴 Can sometimes lag due to fully cloud-based PMS.
🔴 Lacks more advanced reporting options.
🔴 Change in guest details impacts all earlier bookings of the same guest.
Wrapping It Up
Choosing the best hotel channel manager software depends largely on your budget and property needs.
Thus, see if the software’s key features and functionality align with your business needs.
The above options are all stars in their respective ways, each catering to specific needs.
Nonetheless, if we can give you a nudge, we’ll go for OTA SYNC.
Why Should You Opt For OTA SYNC?
OTA SYNC is the all-in-one channel and property management software that facilitates and automates everyday hotel operations.
Thus, OTA SYNC is a great help if you need to:
🔥 Simplify and optimize the distribution of hotel room inventory across various online channels and get real-time updates.
🔥 Minimize overbooking or underselling thanks to a certified 2-way connection that seamlessly syncs across all channels.
🔥 Expand market reach due to abundant connections and integrations with OTAs.
🔥 Boost revenue by being more exposed and visible due to using the booking system on your website as an additional sales channel
🔥 and so much more.
Enticed to dig deeper?
Sign up for OTA SYNC today to revolutionize your property’s visibility and performance.
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