PMS Integration: How Connection Between A Hotel PMS and Channel Manager Affects Your Business?

Vanshikha Dhar
Vanshikha Dhar

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In today’s highly competitive hospitality landscape, digital transformation is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Hotels are continuously seeking efficient, streamlined systems to handle their operations. Among the most important tools for modern hotel management are Property Management Systems (PMS) and Channel Managers.

The integration of a PMS with a Channel Manager not only optimizes hotel operations but also allows hoteliers to seamlessly manage their room availability, rates, and reservations across multiple channels. In this blog, we’ll discuss how PMS integration with a Channel Manager enhances your hotel’s efficiency, reduces errors, boosts revenue, and provides a superior guest experience.

What is a Hotel Channel Manager?

A Hotel Channel Manager is a tool that helps hoteliers manage room availability and rates across multiple Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and other booking platforms. It enables real-time updates to ensure that the information on each platform is accurate and synchronized.

Key Features of a Channel Manager:

Feature

Description

Real-Time Updates

Updates availability, room rates, and bookings across all OTAs instantly.

Overbooking Prevention

Reduces the risk of double bookings by managing room availability.

Centralized Control

Allows managing multiple booking channels from a single dashboard.

Inventory Management

Syncs hotel inventory in real-time across all online platforms and the hotel website.

The real-time updates of a Channel Manager are crucial for maintaining consistency across all platforms, especially when dealing with high volumes of online reservations. This tool can help prevent costly overbookings and simplify the management of your hotel’s online presence.

What is a Channel Management System?

A Channel Management System refers to the software tool used to manage inventory, reservations, and room rates across multiple booking platforms. It works by ensuring the synchronization of availability, rate updates, and cancellations across OTAs, helping hoteliers optimize their online sales strategies.

Benefits of Channel Management:

Benefit

Description

Simplified Operations

Eliminates the need to update OTAs manually, saving time and reducing errors.

Revenue Optimization

Ensures competitive pricing across all platforms for increased bookings.

Global Visibility

Expands a hotel’s online presence and accessibility across the globe.

Enhanced Accuracy

Prevents discrepancies in availability, ensuring that the hotel doesn’t overbook.

What is a Hotel PMS (Property Management System)?

A Property Management System (PMS) is a software solution that manages the day-to-day operations of a hotel. It helps hoteliers manage everything from reservations and guest data to payments, housekeeping, and financial reporting.

Key Functions of a PMS:

Function

Description

Reservation Management

Tracks bookings, cancellations, and modifications.

Guest Information

Manages guest profiles, preferences, and special requests to enhance service.

Billing and Payments

Handles payments, invoicing, and financial reporting.

Housekeeping Management

Schedules room cleaning and maintenance without disturbing guests.

A PMS is often referred to as the "heart" of hotel management because it centralizes all operations, streamlining processes and ensuring smooth operations.

How Does PMS Work in the Hospitality Industry?

While every PMS system may have unique features, they generally perform similar functions that help hoteliers streamline their operations. When integrated with a Channel Manager, the PMS helps ensure that room availability, rates, and bookings are synchronized in real-time.

Integration with Channel Manager:

PMS Function

How it Integrates with Channel Manager

Booking Management

Sends real-time booking information to the Channel Manager for updates across OTAs.

Room Availability

Updates room availability instantly across all connected platforms.

Rate Management

Adjusts room rates automatically across all OTAs based on updates from PMS.

Cancellations and Modifications

Sends cancellation and modification details to all OTAs to prevent overbookings.

Integration of the PMS with the Channel Manager ensures that your hotel’s operations are seamless and efficient, minimizing errors and maximizing operational capacity.

How Does PMS Integration With Online Channel Manager Work?

Integrating a PMS with a Channel Manager brings several benefits to hotel operations. This integration automates a variety of manual tasks, helping hotels save time, reduce errors, and improve revenue.

Benefits of PMS and Channel Manager Integration:

Benefit

Description

Automated Updates

Prices, availability, and bookings are updated in real-time across all OTAs.

Overbooking Prevention

Automatically adjusts availability to prevent overbookings across all channels.

Increased Efficiency

Eliminates the need for manual data entry, freeing up time for staff to focus on guest satisfaction.

Revenue Maximization

Optimizes pricing and availability to drive more bookings and increase revenue through efficient revenue management strategies for independent hotels.

Global Distribution

Increases visibility by distributing your hotel’s inventory across a wide range of OTAs.

The PMS-Channel Manager integration ensures that your hotel can update rates, availability, and reservations simultaneously across multiple OTAs, minimizing the risk of overbookings, and ensuring accurate room inventory management.

Example: AxisRooms PMS Integration

AxisRooms’ Channel Manager seamlessly integrates with the AxisRooms PMS to provide real-time updates, synchronize bookings, and manage room rates across all platforms. This integration helps hoteliers automate and streamline their operations, while offering detailed reports on revenue, agent performance, and bookings.

AxisRooms: Seamless PMS and Channel Manager Integration

A standout feature of AxisRooms is its two-way integration between the PMS and Channel Manager, which aligns perfectly with the need for synchronized updates discussed in this blog. This integration ensures real-time synchronization of room availability, rates, and bookings across all OTAs from a single dashboard, preventing overbooking and saving time.

Key AxisRooms Feature: Real-Time Inventory Syncing

With AxisRooms, inventory updates are automated across all channels, eliminating manual updates and reducing errors. This feature ensures that your room rates are competitive and your hotel’s availability is always up to date, optimizing revenue and improving guest experience.

By integrating AxisRooms, hoteliers can streamline operations and increase visibility, making it an ideal solution for managing multiple online platforms efficiently.

Advantages of Integrating PMS with a Channel Manager

To help understand the impact of this integration, we’ve outlined some of the most significant advantages:

Advantage

Description

Time Efficiency

Automating updates across OTAs means hotel staff spends less time on manual tasks and more time with guests.

Error-Free Management

Automatic updates eliminate discrepancies in availability, helping avoid double bookings.

Revenue Growth

Automated pricing and availability updates help increase occupancy and maximize revenue through Hotel Revenue Strategy.

Streamlined Operations

Combining PMS and Channel Manager allows front desk and operations teams to work seamlessly.

PMS and Channel Manager Integration: Key Metrics

Metric

Before Integration

After Integration

Manual Updates

Daily updates across all OTAs

Real-time updates across all OTAs

Overbooking Incidents

10+ per month

0 overbookings

Booking Accuracy

85%

100% accuracy

Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR)

$90

$120

Conclusion: Take the Leap and Integrate

Incorporating a PMS and Channel Manager into your hotel operations brings immense benefits to both operational efficiency and revenue management. The integration not only improves operational workflows by automating critical tasks but also ensures accurate, real-time updates across OTAs, ultimately helping you drive higher bookings and revenue.

Whether you’re managing a small independent hotel or a large chain, integrating AxisRooms’ Channel Manager with your PMS will optimize your hotel’s operations, enhance guest satisfaction, and position you for success in an increasingly digital world. Don't let your hotel fall behind—take advantage of technology and transform the way you manage your property!

To learn more about how PMS integrations can work for you, explore AxisRooms’ suite of solutions today.