The best channel managers for optimising rental management
Why talk about Best channel manager ?
Having attractive accommodation is no longer enough; travellers need to find it, book it and have a seamless experience from first click to check-out. Between Airbnb, Booking.com, Abritel, your own site and direct requests on Instagram, nights are sold everywhere, all the time. An offer published at 9am can already be booked on another channel at 9.01am. Result: risk of overbookingwasted time and reputation at risk.
This is where the Best channel manager These tools synchronise the calendars of all your channels, adjust rates in real time and show you the health of your business on a single screen. In this long-form article, we take a look at :
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Current best practice in choosing a reliable channel manager.
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The essential features for managing a studio, villa or small hotel.
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Practical advice on how to avoid common pitfalls.
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Inspiring examples.
We will also be highlighting the complete solution offered by Hotel Web Design their booking engine & channel manager designed for both rentals and hotels. You'll find two other internal links to useful resources, solid external references and several Ask for a quote if you'd like to test the tool.
The new rules of the game for holiday lets
More channels, more risks
In France, an owner sees an average of 60 % of his bookings via two major OTAs and 40 % via his website or social networks (source: Phocuswright 2024 study). Multiplying shop windows increases visibility, but each channel has its own timetable. Without synchronisation, it only takes a minute's difference to sell twice on the same night.
More demanding travellers
Customers compare prices, read reviews and expect instant confirmation. If they receive a cancellation email because of a double sale, they very often leave a negative review and never come back.
Real-time management becomes the norm
Google now advises displaying "accurate and up-to-date" availability in its Travel results; ads that show reliable stock rank higher (Google Travel Guide,
update). If your calendar takes a long time to update, you lose natural visibility.
Hotel Web Design is the web agency 100% dedicated to the hotel industryWe can help you with all aspects of digital communication for your accommodation: booking websites, natural referencing specialising in the hotel industry, Google Ads referencing and Google Hotel Ads, social networking campaigns, graphic charters and logos for hotels.
Make an appointment today for free advice on how to optimise the digital management of your accommodation.
Best practices for choosing Best channel manager
Check bi-directional synchronisation
The first rule: the tool must send and receive availability and price information. If a booking arrives from Airbnb, the Booking.com calendar is automatically blocked, and vice versa. Without this dual flow, the tool is not a real channel manager, just a shared diary.
Prioritising update speed
Aim for a delay of less than 60 seconds. Beyond that, the overbooking window remains open. Hotel Web Design's channel manager shows an average cycle time of 45 seconds thanks to direct API connections.
Choose an easy-to-read interface
You need to see at a glance: which nights are sold, at what rate and via which channel. A simple colour code (green free, red occupied, blue closed) helps the whole team, even seasonal staff. The Hotel Web Design tool uses this very colour system.
Controlling hidden costs
Some service providers charge a percentage on each sale. Added to OTA commissions, this eats into the margin. Prefer a fixed monthly subscription, with no surprises.
Check support and language
A synchronisation problem at 8pm on 14 July? You want support that responds quickly in French. Look at customer reviews, average response times and opening hours.
Essential features to be required
| Function | Why it's essential | How it's managed by Hotel Web Design |
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| Unified calendar | No need for multiple spreadsheets, instant visibility | Colour dashboard, filter by channel |
| Dynamic rates | Adjust prices according to demand and events | Simple rules: % rise fall, "floor price" model |
| Instant stop-sell | Close a date on all channels with one click | Global "Stop Sell" button |
| Promotions management | Launch a site promo code without touching the OTAs | Promotional fields in the back office |
| Threshold alerts | Warn when there is only one night available | Mail + mobile notification |
| Intuitive statistics | Better than a spreadsheet, see sales by channel | Daily graphs in the dashboard |
| PMS connection | If you evolve into a small hotel, everything stays linked | Open API to several PMS partners |
Why Hotel Web Design's channel manager stands out from the crowd
Hosting specialist, not generic tool
Hotel Web Design has been focusing on the hotel and rental industry for over ten years. Their solution addresses practical problems such as housekeeping, late arrivals and tourist taxes.
Integrated booking engine
The channel manager comes with a direct, commission-free booking engine installed on your site. Visitors can book in two clicks, pay a deposit and receive an automatic e-mail.
Connection to over 200 channels
From the giants (Booking, Airbnb) to the niches (VeryChic, Secret Escapes). You choose your channels, the team connects them for you.
Training included
One hour of visio is all it takes to master the dashboard. Updates are documented in French, not in technical English.
Responsive support
A direct line, a chat, answers within a day. Customer reviews praise the friendliness of the support team.
> Try it out! Book your free demonstration now via this page.
Practical advice for getting the most out of your channel manager
Centralise all sales
Even a phone call must be entered in the calendar, otherwise the tool will ignore it. Get used to recording everything.
Adjust rates once a week
A static price for six months wastes revenue. Use the "dynamic pricing" function to increase by 10 % when you reach 80 % of fill over a given period.
Using reports
Look at which channel brings in the most net margin, not just the most sales. You can reduce the share of an expensive OTA.
Put consistent photos across all channels
A high-definition image of the kitchen on your site and a dark photo on Booking create confusion. Standardize your visuals.
Provide a buffer household
Block the previous night or a few hours before successive arrivals. The channel manager can automate this buffer.
Two internal resources to take you further
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How to increase commission-free direct bookings : article-guide on Hotel Web Design - Blog
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SEO for hosting : best practices for referencing on the main site to attract more direct travellers.
Hotel Web Design is a Google partner with the Google Hotelsincluding our customers enjoy every day: information about your accommodation, availability and prices is sent continuously to the search engine, which displays booking links free from Google search, directly to your booking page. These free links represent around 15% of additional commission-free bookings for our customers in 2022! Read our article on free booking links from Google
Two credible external resources to consult
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Official guide Google Travel on the quality of availability: https://developers.google.com/hotels/hotel-prices
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Report Allianz Travel 2024 on traveller behaviour and the importance of transparency: https://www.allianz.com/en/press/news/business/insurance/2024
A brief focus on data security
A channel manager stores the names, e-mails and sometimes bank details of your customers. Check it out:
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SSL certification for the entire platform.
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Daily back-ups.
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RGPD compliance: right to erasure, data export.
Hotel Web Design applies these standards; your data is hosted in Europe and encrypted.
A quick look at five popular competitors
| Tool | Highlights | Current limits |
|---|---|---|
| Beds24 | Competitive price, open API | Dated interface, English support only |
| Smoobu | Quick installation, clear tutorials | Basic dynamic tariffs, fewer channels |
| Cloudbeds | Intuitive interface, numerous integrations | Opaque pricing, slow support |
| Lodgify | Site creation included, good for the self-employed | Less suitable for complex structures |
| Amenitiz | All-in-one tool for hotels in France | Less flexible for chains, additional costs |
Why choose Hotel Web Design? modern interface, French support, booking engine included.
Conclusion: take action and gain peace of mind
The Best channel manager are transforming your day-to-day business: no more emergency lines to settle a double sale, no more hours wasted copying reservations and, above all, no more avoidable commissions. With the Hotel Web Designyou get :
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An up-to-date calendar.
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A direct booking engine, free of charge.
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A clear dashboard for monitoring revenues.
Make an appointment, test the tool for a fortnight and see the difference. Your rental property deserves professional, simple and stress-free management. It's up to you!
Booking / reservation website
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Direct booking for your accommodation
- Bespoke booking/conversion site delivered turnkey, with training on the administration interface on delivery
- Adapted logo and graphic charter. Possibility of using your existing elements
- Specific referencing for holiday lets
- Integration of reservations module internal
- or integration of an external booking engine (Reservit, D-EDGE, MisterbookingRoomcloud, etc)
- Integration of specific HTML elements (review portals, customer reviews, weather, press, pop-ups, direct chat, etc.)
- Secure SSL / HTTPS
- Multilingual website & booking engine
- Simple, intuitive user interface
- High-availability hosting and domain name
- Delivery usually within 30 days
