Why use a channel manager?

24 August 2017

Why use a channel manager?

Sooner or later the word channel manager reaches the ears of careful agency owners but, is it really necessary? Is it useful as everyone says?

In the meantime, if we look around, all our competitors are already using one or are about to and already are one step ahead of us asking themselves: which channel manager is best?

The best way to begin is always starting from the beginning: what is a channel manager?

Channel managers are used to manage different online distribution channels an agency sells through such as Booking.com, Homeaway or Airbnb. Today you can finally run and supervise your agency from one single tool and in real time! Rates, prices and property information just to name a few are all transmitted to each channel so that it updates your published properties.

Ok, fine, I can avoid the hustle to repeat the same procedures over and over in each channel but channel managers out there do not seem to be cheap and you might end up thinking the cost is not worth it. Well, as we all know the iceberg is often a lot deeper than the tip we see and if you own an agency you know it can get a bit more complex than this. Agencies work with channels but also with owners and not all owners are the same in terms of deals and methodology of partnership. Ads can, and should be, differentiated depending on the channel and positioning needs to be looked closely after not to lose relevance during a search. Invoices, everyday tasks such as cleaning and maintenance, or accounting are also to be dealt with and not be forgotten.

As you see there are lots of problematics that can be deal with which this brings us to the next question that will probably arise once you decide you might need a channel manager. What should influence my choice among all the ones offered? Price is the first variable that is always taken in consideration followed by the product's reliability, solutions (or features) it offers and finally, why not, its popularity.

Help yourself to decrease your work load, to keep it simple and to make your agency stand up among competitors by choosing the right channel manager. Usually they will ask a fixed amount at the moment you sign the contract and then get a commission for each booking, we don't. They will offer you different functions to ease your everyday work, we offer more. Not all channel manager offer synchronization with all channels, we investigate and if it a common need we will establish a new connection.

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