Do you use a channel manager?

[Nick]

Hello everyone,

I hope you had a lovely, relaxing weekend. 

I met a couple starting their hosting journey and after mentioning I have been hosting, they asked me if I have used a channel manager.

They were keen to try one but overwhelmed by the sheer number of options and the different bells and whistles. 

Of course, this got me thinking about the Community Center.  

Do you use any channel managers? And if so, how did you choose which one was right for you? What are its “must-haves”? 

I’m looking forward to reading your replies.

Thank you

Nick

[John5499]

Hey @Nick , 

I'm John, based in Sydney with about 4 listings, and tend to target longish-term stays. 

Personally I try to standardise my listings as they're all in the same building, meaning same white linens, same towels, same internet, same tvs, etc while retaining a 4-star hotel or above standard. 

So for me getting a channel manager was pretty important because I want to expand and standardise to reduce costs. Personally for me that is Guesty, they cost me about AU$1,000/listing/yr. Guesty automates listings, booking between other channels like booking.com and stayz. it also automatically generates complex leases with everything but the Guest's signature prefilled. Not to mention it automates all invoicing and a bunch of other cool stuff like a premade website, stripe intergration and also currently looking to connect some Nuki smart locks and have it automatically send a guest-specific code an hour or two before check-in. They also have an owners portal and you can get your housekeeper to download the guesty app and use a specific login for them to see tasks like cleaning and it allows them to upload photos of the unit and a bunch of other stuff which really makes hosting easier. 

That being said, I don't need it, but the beauty of a channel manager and PMS like guesty, is you never end up having to use it, because the software should be doing 90% of hosting for you. 

The reason why I went with Guesty,  was because I'm planning to really up my hosting operation and maybe even turn it into a corporate housing company someday. So when looking at all of the big names in channel management and PMS I wanted the option with the most features and capability, and I figured it better to start when I'm small so I can grow and scale without a ton of admin or onboarding down the track. 

At the end of the day, it really depends on what type of host you are, what time of host you want to be, and whether you can justify the cost. And by all means there are definitely alternatives to Guesty. 

Also one more thing, I think some hosts that use technology less or aren't very "tech savy" as the youngings say will have a harder time onboarding and using a more complex platform.

Anyway hope this helps, 

Cheers John

[Helen427]

Or Perhaps @John5499 the older ones, and many younger ones are over been Techy and on the internet all day and night focusing on Garbage in, Garbage out 🙂

I had a Guest who worked in Software for around 30 years stay on a Round the world trip staying at ABB's and they were very relieved to say Tata, as in good-bye, to the internet, took up Painting, as in Art and quite enjoying life away from screens.

Each to their own but please respect the fact there are those who don't for whatever reason, including lack of access to utility suppliers, are unable or don't want it or who do want it but can't access the services to get the internet.

Access is to Wifi etc is no different to when the "Wireless" started in the early 1900's.

Don't start us on the economic destruction that many are living with that was preventable who are not able to afford access to internet and have had to reign in their budgets and go without.

@Nick 

[John5499]

Hi @Helen427 , 

First I'd just like to apologise if I came across rude or arrogant, I can assure you it wasn't my intention. This was the first time I had used the forum and I've definitely got a lot to learn. 

I was just trying to answer some of @Nick 's questions and provide a bit of clarity to other hosts looking into software add-ons. 

I completely understand that not all hosts can or want to use this type of software, my comment was just my two cents and every host does things differently which is what in my opinion makes airbnb so great. 

Again, I'm not trying to disrespectful in any way, and I'm sorry if you feel like I have been. 

Cheers John

[Helen427]

No @John5499  you weren't being rude or arrogant, sometimes we need to step into others shoes. 

You have given a great explanation that will help others in deciding if to use a Channel Manager.

I'm known to be more of a Critical Thinker perhaps than others are when it comes to life experiences and how others may live which has come from working with people face to face of all ages and walks of life  and living with people from many walks of life and countries.

All the best for your project and look fwd to reading more of your contributions.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@John5499 Is it really cost effective to use a channel manager? It seems awfully expensive to me but we have no plans to go big with rentals - Our three apartments are more than enough for us!

[John5499]

Hi @Mike-And-Jane0 , 

I'm no expert but I think it more depends on what type of host you are and what you're requirements are. Don't get me wrong AU$4K/yr for the software I use is definitely a large expense, but I definitely feel it was the right choice for me, but not necessarily not right for everyone.

Also I took a look at your airbnb profile and some of your listings (which are beautiful by the way) and would say if you're having trouble with double bookings on the listing with 3 apartments in 1 then a PMS is definitely worth considering. 

Personally in Guesty, I can setup units to block dates dependant on bookings on other listings. So say the listing for all of them got booked, then it would go ahead and block out those dates on listings 1, 2, &3. But these features are easily manually replicated and plenty of other PMS offer this feature,

Also I noticed you're definitely providing more holiday type accommodation compared to me, so I think the integrated booking channels that I have access to like HomeAway, Booking.com, HomeAway/Vrbo/Stayz, Tripadvisor, Agoda, Expedia, trivago, and rentals united will be more of a useful feature for holiday homes rather than serviced apartments.

However, I can also upgrade to SiteMinder which could connect me to hundreds more distribution channels, from HotelsCombined, to HotelTonight.

At the end of the day, I think it is really up to the host, and if you don't need or want it, there's really not much point, but for those that are looking at it, it can really help out. 

Cheers John

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@John5499 The Airbnb linked calendars almost takes care of double bookings for the 3 combined apartments. I do like the idea of accessing more booking channels and I will do so if Airbnb ever suspends my listings due to a fake guest complaint. I know that putting all my eggs in the Airbnb basket is pretty dumb but we are doing fine just now although we may struggle more to get bookings when people can travel abroad more easily.

[Charday0]

We currently make use of hospitable (formerly smartbnb) to manage our single rental on ABB and other platforms. It’s fairly inexpensive, and has a decent set of features. That being said we’re always on the lookout for better tools and process improvements.

[Fatma37]

Definitely recommended for those who have more than one listing.  By the way Well done @John5499 

[John5499]

Thanks, I'm only pretty new to the hosting game but it's certainly having fun and really enjoying it.

[Ryan2352]

First off, there are two different technologies.  A Channel Manager ("CM") is something that just keeps all your bookings in check, but does not have the ability to make your own bookings and has more "bare bones" features.  A Property Management System ("PMS") has more features, such as messaging, automation and the all important direct booking.

I'm a techie and I did a lot of research as well.  I knew from it that I needed to start with a PMS (as opposed to a CM) to prevent double bookings and to help streamline things as our company grows.

I use Lodgify.  For the most part I like it, but there are enough quirks where I can't wholeheartedly recommend it at this point (though I have made several feature requests which hopefully will be looked at and make the development roadmap).  I looked into several providers (iGMS, YourPorter, Guesty, Snooby, FutureStay and at least two others I can't recall right now).

Several of the providers wouldn't even talk to me with two listings.  They have a minimum of 5 or even 10 before they'll even consider setting up a sales call.  I ended up going with Lodgify because they were willing to work with a small provider like me and they seemed to have many good features and were recommended on a Netflix show about vacation rentals.

All providers seem to have the basic rates & availability sync, some have APIs with more OTAs instead of iCal syncs.  Where Lodgify falls flat is in pre-sale messaging.  It does not have the ability to work with inquiries, but to be fair most don't.  Some providers do and can automate those messages.  That's a huge bonus so you don't have to jump to stop the clock everytime someone inquires about a place or when you get those 2am inquiries and wake up to a 6 hour timer messing up your average response rate.

All providers seem to have a basic website.  I'm not a fan of what I've seen so far and am building my own.  The ability to accept direct bookings (and not have to rely on the OTAs) is a big ability you'll want.

Accounting is a big deal, especially as you grow.  Some offer accounting options, sometimes it's an add-on or only available on a higher priced package.  There are some purpose built accounting programs for STRs, so that is something worth considering as well.

We use automated door locks, so integration with a third party to handle that is crucial for us.   A nice to have feature would be to notify your staff when a booking is made or ready for cleaning.

[Rob8296]

Brand new to Hosting.  Not sure if asking a question here is appropriate?  Just put up our new listing - it is working fine when accessed from a link but it is not showing up when I search the location and put in an available time frame.  Any ideas on what we have done wrong?  Maybe missed a setting?

Thanks

Rob

[Reno2]

Hello, 

I am starting to manage properties for other owners. I would prefer to allow them to keep their existing owner accounts. I would also like to help people create and manage their own accounts. Most Channel Managers do not allow this. They manage listing under their own account. I chose Hostfully because the are supposed to be able to allow this. It is working, kind of, with airbnb. It isn't working well with vrbo. Does anyone have any input? Thanks - Reno

[Inna22]

I used Smoobu but stopped because they have a pretty poor customer service and lots of glitches. The main reason I got them was to avoid double bookings and save me time however they blocked/unblocked my listings mistakenly so often and I spent so much time straightening it out, I saw no point in paying for it.

The main feature I would need is parent/child listing which is a feature very few PMS have. I am fairly happy with Airbnb 's calendar and automated messaging system. if they only separated bookings from other platforms, I would have never looked back. What I mean is for example I have a two night Vrbo booking followed by another 2 night Vrbo. It will show as a four night block. If the bookings were imported as two and two, I would have no need for a PMS system  at all. Airbnb has done a wonderful job automating many aspects @Nick