Find the best Hotel Channel Management Software

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Hostaway

Hostaway is the #1 rated, and fastest growing all-in-one vacation rental software for property managers who want to get more bookings with less hassle. Designed to automate and optimize all aspects of your operations, Hostaway c...Read more about Hostaway

Cloudbeds

Cloudbeds is an easy-to-use hotel management suite that offers hoteliers and hosts a centralized solution to help run their property simply and effectively. With Cloudbeds, you have one login, one system that is always in sync. O...Read more about Cloudbeds

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Book It Now

Book It Now is a reservation management solution that helps businesses connect to travel websites, accept room-specific reservations, and manage calendars, among other operations from within a unified platform. It allows staff mem...Read more about Book It Now

5.0 (9 reviews)

Sirvoy

Sirvoy is a cloud-based Hospitality Management System, suitable for hotels, inns, timeshares and more. Key features include front office and property management, reservation and booking management, housekeeping and guest relations...Read more about Sirvoy

Roomsy

InnGrid is a hotel management solution that can be scaled to accommodate small hostels or even large hotels with hundreds of rooms. It combines front office and property management functionality with an online booking engine and c...Read more about Roomsy

rezStream

rezStream is property management solution specifically developed for independent hotels with a maximum room count of 150. It helps users automate day to day operations such as guest emailing, rate management, contactless check in ...Read more about rezStream

PriceLabs

PriceLabs is a revenue management solution designed to help businesses handle prices and availability across vacation rentals, B&Bs and service apartments, among other properties. PriceLabs allows property managers to track mont...Read more about PriceLabs

Innkeeper's Advantage

Innkeeper’s Advantage is an integrated cloud-based reservation and hospitality property management solution designed for bed and breakfasts, boutique inns and more. Key features include front office management, marketing managemen...Read more about Innkeeper's Advantage

Little Hotelier

Trusted by more small, independent properties around the world than any other provider, Little Hotelier is the hotel platform that lets you easily attract more guests, take direct bookings online, understand how your business is p...Read more about Little Hotelier

Hotel X

Hotel X is a hotel management system that aims to streamline operations and improve online reputation. The platform lets businesses handle billing, invoicing, restaurant operations, healthcare management, accounting automation, an...Read more about Hotel X

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mycloud PMS

mycloud PMS is a cloud-based hotel and property management solution that offers front-office sales, room and rate management, payment processing, accounts receivable and reporting functionalities within a suite. The product is sui...Read more about mycloud PMS

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kwentra

Designed for businesses in the hospitality industry, kwentra is a cloud-based software that helps manage hotel reservations, guest information, purchase orders, and more from a unified platform. It lets team members utilize the in...Read more about kwentra

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Inngenius PMS

InnGenius PMS is a cloud-based hotel management solution that provides front-desk management, housekeeping, booking and point-of-sale (POS) capabilities. The solution suits the needs of small hotel owners and managers. The In...Read more about Inngenius PMS

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Event Temple

Event Temple is a cloud-based event management solution designed to manage bookings and revenue for venues and hotels. The solution can be used by hotel chains, independent hotels, clubs, wedding venues and convention centers with...Read more about Event Temple

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Shiji Distribution Solutions

Shiji Distribution Solutions is designed to help organizations in the hospitality industry streamline communications with distributors, tour operators, online travel agencies (OTAs) and more. It enables employees to track and mana...Read more about Shiji Distribution Solutions

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HotelFriend

HotelFriend is a software development company that provides IT solutions for hospitality. We enable hoteliers to automate heaps of daily tasks, close gaps in guest service, and run profitable businesses from anywhere. Our missi...Read more about HotelFriend

OwlNest

OwlNest is an intuitive three-in-one property management system, channel manager, and booking engine. Our powerful hospitality solution makes life easier to save hoteliers time. This is invaluable in a competitive industry. OwlNes...Read more about OwlNest

5.0 (5 reviews)

Viewpoint

Viewpoint is a cloud-based hospitality property management solution, which enables businesses in the timeshare industry to streamline processes related to bookings, housekeeping, guest check-in/out, reservations and more. Its whit...Read more about Viewpoint

5.0 (2 reviews)

Resly

Resly is a cloud-based property management solution, which enables Australian resorts and hotels to streamline processes related to payments, accounting, guest communications, compliance, bank reconciliation and more. Professional...Read more about Resly

ZEN eManager

eManager Express is hotel channel management solution that combines ZEN Rooms' revenue management and artificial intelligence and data analytics technology. The autopilot system ensures that prices remain competitive, enabling use...Read more about ZEN eManager

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Buyers Guide

Last Updated: March 16, 2023

As a hotelier, you must have listed and promoted your property on multiple booking channels, such as online travel agencies, global distribution systems, and your own hotel website. These channels help bring in more customers, but it can be challenging to manually update and adjust the availability and rate plans of your listings on multiple sites.

Hotel channel management software can help manage listings on all the booking websites and platforms you’re subscribed to. It can automatically update room rates and availability across booking channels whenever a reservation is made or canceled. Also, listing information for all booking channels can be accessed and managed using a centralized dashboard, which reduces the chances of discrepancies or information mismatch.

In this buyers guide, we explain the common features of hotel channel management software and their benefits for your business. We also discuss some considerations to help you make an informed purchase decision and the latest trends to keep in mind when selecting software.

Here's what we'll cover:

What is hotel channel management software?

Hotel channel management software, also known as a hotel channel manager, is a software tool that helps hoteliers manage their online listings across booking sites and distribution channels. The software updates the real-time availability and rates of hotel rooms across booking channels, including online travel agencies, global distribution systems, metasearch engines (Google), and direct booking channels (e.g., company website and social media pages). It lets hotel businesses take reservations as well as resell rooms at a fixed commission on these channels.

A channel manager allows hoteliers to expand their global reach by letting them list and promote their properties on multiple booking platforms. It also prevents overbooking by automatically updating the room inventory in real time and maximizes profits by automating manual tasks.

Reservation-management-in-eZee-Absolute

Reservation management in eZee Absolute (Source)

Common features of hotel channel management software

Here are some common features most buyers seek when purchasing hotel channel management software:

Room inventory management

Automatically update hotel room inventory details for multiple booking sites to provide a clear picture of availability and prevent overbooking.

Reservation management

Create and manage listings as well as track the reservation status of rooms on all booking sites and platforms.

Rate management

Set room rates for multiple booking channels, and track the prices based on demand and season. Pricing is automatically updated per room availability.

Multichannel sync

View the reservations received from all distribution channels and booking sites on a centralized dashboard.

Channel reporting and analysis

Generate reports to identify booking trends and analyze the performance of and revenue from each booking channel.

Integration with hotel or property management software

Integrate the channel manager with your hotel or property management system to ensure smooth exchange of data related to guests, reservations, room rates, and room availability.

Mobile app

Access the hotel channel management system on a mobile app to manage bookings using a smartphone or any other mobile device.

What type of buyer are you?

You should select a hotel channel management tool based on the size of your property as well as your unique requirements. Consider the following buyer types before making any decision:

  • Small and midsize independent hotels and chains (up to 150 rooms): These buyers include small to midsize hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and vacation rental properties that have limited staff and a few rooms. They usually have a strict budget. Thus, they need an affordable solution that can help automate manual tasks and increase market reach by connecting them with leading online travel agencies.

    These buyers should opt for a hotel channel management solution with a user-friendly dashboard that centralizes reservation data from all booking channels. The solution should also allow these businesses to store guest information (including payment records), connect to online travel agencies, and sync room inventories in real time based on reservations, booking modifications, and rate changes, among other factors.

  • Large hotels and resorts (over 150 rooms): These buyers include large, independent hotels and resorts. Typically, such businesses offer many different services for guests to buy and have a large marketing budget to create brand visibility on multiple booking channels. Their main focus is to improve sales, efficiency, and productivity as well as attract maximum number of guests, especially in untapped markets.

    These buyers should choose an integrated channel manager with features such as automatic update of rate plans and room inventory, social media and metasearch advertising, marketing campaign and promotion management, advanced reporting, multilanguage support, and two-way connectivity with distribution partners globally, locally, and in niche markets to broaden their reach in their target markets. They should also look for software that can integrate with systems such as property management, reservation management, and revenue management to ensure smooth exchange of guest, booking, and payment data.

Benefits of hotel channel management software

Let’s discuss the key benefits of a hotel channel manager software solution:

  • Real-time inventory updates: With automated inventory management and a unified dashboard, the software provides one-click access and real-time updates to room availability and rates across online distribution channels. For instance, reservations or cancellations made on any channel reflect on your system in real time, and room availability for the rest of the channels gets updated automatically. This helps decrease the chances of over- or underbooking.

  • Global visibility with diversified booking options: A hotel channel manager lets you list your property on hundreds of online booking platforms, even in countries where people may not have known or heard about your hotel chain. The software helps you connect with travelers anywhere in the world, which is difficult with traditional booking methods such as walk-ins or telephonic reservations. It not only brings global visibility to your brand but also helps create trust and credibility among target audiences.

  • Fewer human errors and improved operational efficiency: Manually entering and updating the rates and availability of rooms is time-consuming as well as prone to human errors. A hotel channel management solution automatically makes real-time adjustments in pricing and inventory when guests make or cancel their reservations or when you close a room to sale. This saves you from spending hours on manually updating information for multiple booking sites, so you have more time to focus on other pressing issues.

  • Better rate parity: Hoteliers must maintain rate parity across the channels on which they list their properties. This means that it’s mandatory to publish the same rate for the same room on all booking sites. With channel management software, when you change the rate plan of a room on any one booking engine, the price gets automatically updated on all other platforms in real time, leaving no room for rate disparity issues.

Key considerations when selecting hotel channel management software

  • Integrations: Check if your shortlisted software integrates with your property management or reservation system. An integrated hotel channel management tool will allow you to capture reservation details automatically, so you can view room inventory and availability in real time. Also, check if the software integrates with your revenue management system, so you can have full control over setting room rates to manage the profit margin of your hotel.

  • Centralized content management: To attract more customers, you need to provide extra information, besides room availability and rates, to your visitors. Guests should be able to check out your property’s photos, description, room types, policies, terms and conditions, amenities, nearby attractions, offers, and hours of operation. Choose a software tool that lets you add, edit, and update all of this content, in one go, across booking channels.

  • Security compliance: Your software will deal with sensitive data, including your rate plans and guests’ personal and payment information. Ask the vendor which security measures are in place to protect your data from unauthorized access or hacks. Also, ensure the software you select complies with data security standards relevant to the hotel industry. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

Market trends to understand

Here’s a trend in the hotel channel management software market that you should be aware of:

Blockchain is reforming hotel distribution. A large number of hotels are experimenting with blockchain as a distribution channel to protect their business data. By storing decentralized records of a hotel’s availability, rates, and inventory, blockchain can eliminate third-party distribution channels, including online travel agencies. It can allow direct transactions between travel companies and customers, with no commission for middlemen. The technology, however, is still new, and its adoption as a distribution channel is in the nascent stages.

Note: The application selected in this guide is an example to show a feature in context and is not intended as an endorsement or recommendation. It has been taken from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.