Channel Manager – What is it all about?

Terms such as “Holiday Rentals Channel Manager” or “Holiday Rentals Channel Manager Software” seem to have emerged out of nowhere, and can be seen everywhere in the holiday rentals industry nowadays.
 
But in reality these are a mere consequence of the development of the holiday rentals industry today. The internet – with multiple price comparison websites and booking channels – provides a lot of choices for the end consumer. The more savvy consumers get, the more likely rates will continue to fall. On the other hand, you have an increase in homeowners who choose to rent out their second home in order to get an extra income, which leads to increasing competition.
 
The days are numbered where the holiday home owner or agency list their properties on the four or five major sites and update the Calendars four or five times for every booking they receive… as well as the difficulties to list their properties in the first place, having to get around the not always so user-friendly user interface, and of course remembering four or five different commission and subscriptions policies – not to mention the dreaded double bookings…
 
Basically in a few words, no standardisation between the different sites, but a lot of time spent doing administration per booking for the holiday home owner  –  and that is where a Holiday Rentals Channel Manager gets involved!
 
The Channel Manager connects the property with the different sales channels of your choice, meaning that you only have to list your property one place – and update the calendar one place!
 

• Another big advantage is that your property reaches a larger audience, hence having a larger probability for bookings!

• You can now say goodbye to double bookings as the calendars are synchronized and updated every time a booking is made.

• Different Channel Managers ask for many different commissions, but some Channel Managers (e.g Your.Rentals) you only pay one unique commission!  

 
Holiday home rentals are increasing in popularity and as the demand grow, the technology behind the different sites which connects them will also continue to evolve in order to create better and faster solutions for both guests and the holiday home providers.