Setting up a channel manager: 11 key steps and a checklist

Loading or extending rates in a channel manager can feel like a crossroads or maze, leaving you unsure whether you have done everything correctly. Have you followed every step? Did you miss anything along the way? You are not alone; it has happened to me too.

Setting up or extending rates in a channel manager involves many steps. When we buy one, we may think rate disparities will disappear or that we will never have to log in to another extranet again. In reality, the channel manager does one thing—and an important one: it automatically enters the price in the field we used to fill in by hand. So bring it down from Mount Olympus and treat it as a practical tool. A channel manager will only do what we tell it to do.

The first setup is usually the most complicated and the one where we make the most mistakes. I have made mistakes too, and still do, but I now work to reduce the margin for error. For some time, I have used a checklist to avoid missing steps. First, make sure you understand the difference between PUSH and PULL connections. If you missed the article, read about the differences between PUSH and PULL.

I know you are keen to start mapping PUSH channels, so I have also created a guide to mapping PUSH channels correctly to help you make good decisions from the outset. At the end of this article you will find a link to download the checklist I use. First, here are the steps that need particular attention.

1. Set up room types

Go to the room manager and define the occupancy options. To avoid mistakes, it is best to create a table like the one below.

Tip: Create an occupancy table to help with the setup.

2. Load rates

Load the BAR rates or dynamic calendar through the date you are setting up. If you have chosen to use a rate ladder, configure BAR 1, BAR 2 and so on in your channel manager. If you use a dynamic calendar instead, load the rates you need without rate ladder limits.

Tip: Ask yourself a few questions: will you load prices per room or per person? Are taxes included, or will you add them in another channel manager section or on the distributors themselves? Are your prices net or gross?

3. Load meal plans

You may have loaded meal plans with the rates, but usually that section only contains the base plan; other meal plans are loaded separately. Keep in mind the pricing decisions you made in the previous step and use the same approach.

Tip: Remember to load gala dinners included in meal plans. Your channel manager may provide other fields for them, but make sure they are included somewhere.

4. Configure supplements

Set up discounts for third adults, children and single-parent bookings, among others. Keep to the same pricing method you used for the rates (gross, net, and so on). For example, if your prices are based on a double room, a 25% per-person discount for a third adult becomes a 12.5% discount on the double room. Be careful with PUSH channels. If you want to avoid constantly updating these supplements, ask your account manager to create a room type for each occupancy.

Tip: Some PUSH channels receive prices based on double and single occupancy. Remember to email them or enter the supplements in their extranets. Expedia and Hotelbeds often use this setup.

5. Assign room allotments

Assign a number of rooms to each rate type you have configured. Imagine that you have a flexible rate and a non-refundable rate. Will you ever close the non-refundable offer? If so, you will need a separate allotment so you can close it independently. If not, you can use one allotment for both. This setup mainly lets you close promotions on PUSH channels.

Tip: Booking.com combines rates and meal plans. Rate-plan combinations can be difficult to manage through booking engine providers, but you can reduce the impact of rate mixing by setting a discount to 0% instead of closing non-refundable or early booking offers. For longer promotional closures, I recommend closing them by allotment.

6. Configure promotional rates

Promotions and offers are discounts or supplements applied to the rates created in step 2. Remember that minimum-stay requirements and release periods are also configured at this stage. A non-refundable offer is an example of a discount; a short-stay offer is an example of a supplement.

7. Set minimum stays

Load the minimum stays you have planned for the season into each allotment.

Tip: Resorts offering an all-inclusive meal plan often apply a minimum stay only to that plan. In that case, create separate allotments in step 5 so you can set the minimum stay for the different meal plans. For example, allotment A could have a one-night minimum and an all-inclusive closure, while allotment B closes all meal plans except all-inclusive.

8. Close meal plans

Planning to close some meal plans over Easter or during the summer season? Set those closures up now.

9. Set cancellation policies

Load your cancellation policies into the channel manager so PULL channels can receive them. If you have different rate types, assign the appropriate cancellation policy to each one where needed.

Tip: Send the cancellation policies to PUSH channels or enter them in their extranets; they will not receive them through the integration. Pay special attention to El Corte Inglés, whose hybrid connection handles cancellation policies in a specific way.

10. Extend PUSH mappings

This is one of the most common oversights: you complete all the setup but forget to extend the dates on the mapping lines.

11. Email all PUSH channels

This email is important. Include the new cancellation policy and the date through which you have extended the rates. Some channels also need their contracts extended in their extranets before they can receive rates correctly.

This article is not intended to be the definitive guide to loading rates in a channel manager. I hope it prompts you to review your rates and get more value from your channel manager. And now, here is the channel manager checklist I use.