A channel manager keeps one calendar for all the booking sites you list on, so a booking on Airbnb closes those dates on Booking.com and Agoda, and the other way round. If you list on only one site, you do not need one. If you list on two or more, it saves you from double bookings and from updating several calendars by hand.
What a channel manager does
The booking sites are the "channels". Without a channel manager, each one keeps its own calendar and knows nothing about the others. You become the channel manager: you see a booking come in on Agoda and you rush to close the same nights on Airbnb and Booking.com.
A channel manager does that for you. It collects the bookings from every site, puts them on one calendar, and tells every site which nights are taken.
Two kinds of connection
Channel managers connect to booking sites in one of two ways.
- Calendar links (iCal). Every major site offers them, and any host can use them. They carry dates only, and each site reads them on its own schedule, often every few hours, so they are not instant.
- Direct API connections. Faster and richer: they can carry prices and guest details as well as dates. The booking sites only grant them to approved partners, which is why they usually come with bigger, more expensive systems.
UpaKwarto uses calendar links today. We would rather tell you that plainly than have you discover it: it means sync takes hours, not seconds, and that gap is worth understanding.
When you do not need one
- You list on one site only.
- You have one unit and rarely get bookings less than a few days ahead.
- You are happy connecting your sites to each other directly. With two sites that is only two links; see How to sync Airbnb with Booking.com.
When it starts to pay off
- Three or more sites. Connecting them to each other means six links or more, and nothing tells you when one breaks.
- More than one unit. Every unit multiplies the links.
- You also take direct bookings from Facebook, Viber or walk-ins and need those on the same calendar.
- You want a warning when two bookings overlap, instead of finding out when both guests arrive.
What UpaKwarto adds beyond the calendar
- A direct booking page for each property, where guests pay you by GCash, QR Ph, bank transfer or cash, with no commission. See How to take direct bookings with GCash.
- Rates with seasons, weekend pricing and a markup per booking site.
- Cleaning tasks created automatically for every checkout, with photo proof. See A turnover checklist for your cleaner.
- Rooms sold whole, or dorms sold by the bed.
What it costs
UpaKwarto's Free plan covers 1 property with up to 2 units, including the direct booking page. The Host plan is ₱299 a month for up to 3 properties and 10 units. The Pro plan is ₱1,499 a month for up to 10 properties with no limit on units. Paying yearly costs less: ₱2,499 a year for Host and ₱11,990 for Pro. New accounts get the Host plan free for their first 3 months, with no credit card.