Conciergeries, short-term rental

What is a channel manager Airbnb and what is it used for ?

A channel manager is a software that allows you to connect all your rental ads for different platforms online booking (Airbnb, Booking.com, Abritel/HomeAway, Vrbo, etc). Specifically, the channel manager centralizes and manages all data of your housing availability, rates, reservations, and synchronizes in real-time across every channel where your goods are listed.No more need to manually update each schedule, any change (new booking, change of price, closing dates) are automatically reflected on all platforms.

On Airbnb in particular, this means that by using a channel manager, your ad Airbnb can ‘communicate’ with your other ads on other sites to be always consistent. This system has as its primary goal the avoidance of double bookings and other errors calendar synchronization. For example, when one of your accommodation is booked on Airbnb, the channel manager will update the availability on other channels instantly. Conversely, if a booking comes from Booking.com or another platform, these dates are blocked on Airbnb. You eliminate the risk of renting the same property twice on the same dates, a gain of reliability crucial for customer satisfaction and the reputation of your concierge. Airbnb stressed that the use of a channel manager allows you to reduce disparities in pricing or availability between platforms, which strengthens the confidence of travelers and increases the potential for reservations in showing the information is always up-to-date and accurate.

In summary, a channel manager Airbnb serves as the control tower is a central to your business for short-term rentals multi-platforms. It automates many time-consuming steps and secures your business by guaranteeing a consistent data on all the booking sites. See more in detail the key features offered by these tools.

The key features of a channel manager for Airbnb

The best channel managers in the market offer a set of features designed to facilitate the life of the managers of holiday rentals. Here are the main features that are generally found in these solutions :

The synchronization of calendars and the availability of it is the basic function. The channel manager provides a real-time synchronization of your calendars booking on all platforms. Thus, availability and rates are automatically updated everywhere, virtually eliminating the risk of double booking.

You manage a single schedule and no longer have to switch manually between the different interfaces to block dates or adjust your price. This instantaneous update significantly reduces the errors and protects your business concierge of incidents that could harm your reputation.

A channel manager combines all your bookings in one place, and often all of your communications in a unified inbox. Each new booking Airbnb, Booking, Abritel. she appears on a central dashboard, which allows you to easily monitor the occupancy of each room and the customer information associated with it.

Furthermore, most channel managers offer a messaging centralized to meet the passengers, all from a single interface, regardless of the origin platform. For example, reply to a message Airbnb or Booking from the channel manager is possible without logging in separately to each site. Some tools can even be used to create models of automatic messages (thanks after booking, shipping instructions, check-in, etc) in order to automate a part of the customer relationship. Everything is centralized, your ads, your reservations, your availability, your interaction with the passengers, and even your internal tasks can be managed from a single platform.

Beyond the reservations themselves, the channel managers help to automate many tasks related to the rental management. This includes, for example, the generation of the tasks of housekeeping or maintenance after a booking to schedule your cleaning team, reminders for the condition of the premises, or the creation of reports for the owners. You can often connect the tool with your schedule, team, or use integrations dedicated to facility management. The goal is to save you time on the day to day management. After Lodgify, the use of a channel manager, you can save up to 20 hours per week by automating the manual tasks are repetitive, such as updating calendars on each platform

Most channel managers integrate an online payment module, or connect with the platforms of payment (Stripe, Paypal, etc). If you take bookings direct out of platforms, the software can manage the taking of secure payment from the customer via a booking engine integrated. Same for reservations, Airbnb or other, the channel manager allows you to centralize the monitoring of payments received commissions to be paid to the owners, and edit documents (invoices, customers, inventories for owners). For example, some tools offer a portal owner with readings, automatic, very useful for a concierge who must give an account of the revenue to its owner clients. In sum, the aspects billing, accounting, and payments are often supported or facilitated by the tool.

Finally, a good channel manager is designed to grow with your business. It can manage multiple real estate properties and simultaneously connect to many distribution channels. The solutions leaders offer connectors to dozens of platforms in addition to Airbnb (Booking.com, Expedia, Abritel, TripAdvisor, Agoda, etc), and this via integrations, API official for the most part to be more effective than simple syncs iCal. For example, Hostaway or Guesty are among the software offering one of the longest lists of integrations of channels, including the major sites as portals that are more specialized.Moreover, the dimension of the multi-owner is often expected, you can combine the accommodation by the owner or by location for a clearer overview, and generate individual reports. Some channel managers as Beds24, Smoobu can even manage multiple accounts Airbnb distinct from the same interface, a decisive advantage if your concierge administers the ads of different owners under accounts Airbnb separated. In summary, the tool adapts to the growth of your property portfolio and the number of channels that you want to operate.

Of course, each software has its specifics and all the features mentioned above are not present at the identical in each channel manager. That is why it is important to choose the solution that fits your needs. In the next section, we compare multiple channel managers popular compatible with Airbnb, in order to understand their respective strengths and their suitability for an activity concierge.

Comparative of some channel managers Airbnb popular

Many solutions, channel management exist on the market for short-term rentals. Here is an overview of a few tools, lights, widely used by the conciergeries to sync Airbnb and other platforms. We will consider for each of their main features and what stands out in the eyes of professionals.

Guesty is often cited as one of the most complete solutions for the management of seasonal rentals. Initially designed for large property managers, Guesty today provides formulas, adapting also to smaller structures (Guesty For Hosts, Guesty Pro…). Its main strength lies in the breadth of its integrations, Guesty connect API in more than 60 booking channels in addition to Airbnb, which Booking.com, Vrbo, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Marriott, and many others. This makes it an extremely versatile tool to maximize the spread of your ads. Guesty centralizes of course calendars and messages, with a unified inbox for all channels, and offers capabilities PMS (Property Management System) integrated management, task management, and the housekeeping staff, management, owners, advanced reporting, etc, there is also a booking engine for direct create its booking site live and even tools recent AI built-in, for example, to suggest customized responses to messages, or to generate the content of the ad. Guesty is officially recognized by Airbnb as a leading partner. Side grip, it is a sturdy and professional, the cost of which is generally proportional to the number of managed properties. In sum, Guesty is particularly suitable for conciergeries ambitious who want a tool scalable, able to handle some of the properties of up to hundreds of properties. Its users appreciate the wealth of features and the reliability of timings, even if some have noted a small learning curve at the start and a rate that rises with the portfolio. Guesty is an ‘all-in-one’ very powerful, offering an excellent combination of features and price for that fully exploits its ecosystem.

Hostaway is another big name of the channel managers oriented Airbnb and vacation rentals. This solution all-in-one is available to owners as to the conciergeries and its ecosystem is very extensive. One of the major advantages of Hostaway is to propose a long list of integrations of channels, including platforms to local or specialized, in addition to the essentials (Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, Vrbo, Tripadvisor,…). Hostaway is also remarkable for the completeness of its features and beyond the synchronization of multi-channel real-time, it includes a module for CRM with lead management, automation tools, communication, automation opinion travelers, post-stay, the central management of prices, a calendar, a multi-property.

In practice, Hostaway serves both as a channel manager and PMS, it helps to manage the tasks of the household, has a mobile app, and provides a dashboard that is clear, track performance. The platform has the reputation of being reliable and scalable, equally suited to small structures to large accounts. Hostaway does not publish a standard price list on its website. This tailored approach allows him to stick to the needs of each concierge, but it requires you to contact the publisher. Returns emphasize integration of quality and responsive customer support. Some users mention that the interface requires a period of adaptation and onboarding initial can take some time if you have a large volume of data to migrate an item to be expected during the implementation. In summary, Hostaway is a high-end solution, very full, especially popular with professionals for its excellent connectivity and its arsenal of integrated tools designed to optimize all aspects of rental management.

Smoobu

Smoobu is important, especially with small managers and owners thanks to its simplicity of use and its approach accessible. This channel German manager offers essential functionality to synchronize your ads Airbnb and other channels (Booking, Expedia, Abritel, etc), while remaining affordable. Smoobu includes a booking website free of charge to accept direct bookings, a manager of reservations centralized and unified messaging. It also offers some interesting tools such as the creation of guides travelers to digital. The interface Smoobu is deemed to be intuitive, which allows you to take it in hand quickly. On the technical side, Smoobu synchronizes the calendars primarily through connections iCal and some native APIS. This means that for some channels, the updates may be a slight delay rather than an instantaneous absolute, a limitation of the iCal that we can quote among the weak points. However, for most uses, this remains sufficiently reactive to avoid double-bookings. Smoobu offers a free plan limited to test the platform without the channel manager advanced plans and pay very competitive. After an analysis, the annual subscription cost about $ 28 a month for the basic functionality, which makes it a solution at a very good price-quality ratio for the conciergeries infant or moderate portfolio. Among the advantages of Smoobu, his versatility and ability to work in a host individual and as a small professional manager. On the other hand, to a concierge, large-size, Smoobu can show limits (technical support more standard integrations in a little less numerous or extensive Guesty/Hostaway). In sum, Smoobu is an excellent choice for a concierge seeking an effective tool, which is simple and economic to start in channel management while benefiting from a few of the features avancéesBeds24

Beds24 is a channel manager, a powerful and well-known, often praised by the experienced managers to its reliability and its advanced features. It is a software very flexible, which combines a channel manager, PMS cloud and a booking engine for direct. Beds24 is certified ‘ Airbnb Preferred Partner ‘, a pledge of quality that allows him to access as a priority to the latest features of the API Airbnb. The connection with Airbnb (and more than 50 other OTAs) is two-way and in real time, guaranteeing instant updates of pricing, availability, and even the content of the ads. Beds24 is distinguished by options, sharp such as the ability to automatically import your ad Airbnb existing in the system, or even creating new ads Airbnb from Beds24. It also allows you to manage the content of the announcement (photos, descriptions, equipment) from the platform and push it to Airbnb a feature rare, valuable to update multiple listings in a single operation. Side communication, Beds24 offers a messaging centralized models of response and auto triggers very configurable to respond to messages travellers. The conciergeries multi-site, will also find their account because Beds24 supports multiple accounts Airbnb within a single interface, as well as the management of inventory shared for the goods multi-units (ex : breakfast, small hotels). Although very comprehensive, Beds24 is renowned for its affordable cost with a flexible pricing for housing that is well suited for portfolios grow. It offers a trial version for free and without commitment to The consideration of this functional diversity is that the interface of Beds24 is a little more technical and less design than some of its rivals : it may take some time to master all the layers of parameter setting). However, once configured, it is a tool to be extremely successful and stable, supported by a responsive support.

In conclusion, Beds24 is intended for conciergeries wish for a finer control of their channel management, with an emphasis on the centralization total and reliability of a proven solution to the international.

Lodgify

Lodgify is both a channel manager and a software rental management full popular conciergeries and managers independent for his approach ‘all-in-one’ very user-oriented. With Lodgify, you have a modern interface, which includes a channel manager multi-platform, a PMS for the operational follow-up, as well as a creator of web-site direct booking highly customizable. One of the major advantages of Lodgify is this ability to all centralized in the same place, ads, bookings, calendars, payments, messages travellers, and even the internal tasks of the team are managed on a single platform.

For a concierge service, this means, for example, that you can organize your rentals by owner or by location and get in a few clicks a complete view of your activity.

Lodgify also offers advanced features such as optimization tariff, analysis tools, and reports to track performance, as well as a mobile application to manage your rentals on the go. Side communication, Lodgify is not at rest : a unified inbox is included, and they have even recently introduced a wizard-IA able to automatically reply to messages travellers personalized way from the platform, a concept close to what offers Zenivia, a sign that the AI conversational becomes a challenge in this sector. In terms of pricing, Lodgify offers several packages modular, with the possibility of a small commission per booking on the plan the most economical. The annual costs vary, for example, ~19 € per month with a commission from 1.9% up to ~59 € per months without a commission, for a number of ads unlimited.

This flexibility makes it appropriate for both the conciergeries beginners to established structures. The benefits of Lodgify include an easy grip, its customer support in French, and a community of users active. Finally, Lodgify is a privileged partner of the major platforms, which ensures a reliable synchronization and continuous updates of its connectors. In summary, Lodgify is a solution that is comprehensive and easy to use, ideal for centralizing all of the activities of a concierge with a booking website to develop more direct channels.

(Note : There are of course other channel managers on the market, for example, solutions such as the Hospitable, BookingSync or SuperHôte for the French market, but we focused here on a few of the most popular and compatible Airbnb for conciergeries.)

The advantages of channel managers for the conciergeries

For a business concierge, adopt a channel manager provides significant benefits that go well beyond the simple convenience. Here are the main advantages that accrue to the professional rental management short-term :

• The gain of operational time by centralizing all ads and bookings in a single system saves valuable time. No more need to spend hours to check and update each platform manually, the channel manager automates these tasks in the background. As mentioned above, this can represent up to 20 hours saved a week, the concierge can be redeployed on other value-added activities (prospecting new clients, owners, service improvement, etc). In addition, the functionality of automation (scheduled messages, tasks automatically generated) unload the management team of many repetitive actions every day.
• A channel manager offers a single point of access to all your activity. Having all bookings in the same place, a comprehensive schedule and unified data enables better visibility and better control. The conciergeries can monitor simultaneously all their property, follow the occupancy rate, compare the performance between platforms, all without having to browse between ten different interfaces. This centralization also makes it easier for staff training : your teams use one central tool rather than overpower each extranet each OTA.
• By automating the data synchronization, the channel managers dramatically reduce the risk of human errors (omission of update, entered incorrect rates, etc). Your ads are everywhere consistent information. The reduction of the risk of double-booking is the most blatant example, an incident potentially costly and damaging to the relationship to the customer, as the channel manager, you can avoid almost 100%. In addition, the automatic alignment of tariffs on all platforms prevent price differences involuntary and avoids loss of income or inconsistencies that might disturb the passengers. In sum, it is a greater reliability in the daily management, which reinforces the professionalism received from the concierge.
• A concierge manages often a property portfolio heterogeneous (studios, villas, cottages… sometimes on different regions) and collaborates with multiple owners. The channel managers are designed for this management level. They allow you to administer tens or even hundreds of properties in a single platform, providing the tools for filtering, sorting (by owner, by location), and even access to dedicated. For example, you can invite an owner on some systems to see only the performance of his property via a secure web portal. Multi-account management is an important asset for the conciergeries that operate under the accounts of their clients owners.

 In the end, the channel manager makes possible an expansion serene, that you have 5 or 50 properties, stress management increases in a linear and controlled, without bottleneck technique.

• Indirectly, the use of a channel manager reflects on the quality of service offered to travelers. Because the tool reliable information (calendars up to date to avoid cancel reservations by mistake) and allows you to react more quickly (all the messages that are centralized, notifications, grouped), the concierge can provide answers faster and more relevant. Some tasks are automated, the team can concentrate on the essential : the home, the customer satisfaction, the personalization of the experience. Travelers and partners will see the professionalism of management without a hitch, which reinforces the reputation of the concierge. Internally, it is also an advantage, managerial, a good software reduces the mental workload of managers, and standardized processes and limit the dependence on a single individual ‘ who knows everything ‘. The concierge is much serenity and ability to absorb the additional activity without degrading the quality of the management.

In sum, invest in a channel manager is a strategic choice for a concierge wishing to optimise its operation. It is a lever that allows you to manage more goods with the same team, while improving the reliability and the satisfaction of travellers as owners. To go even further in the automation, there are additional solutions, including customer relationship, this is what we will see with the integration of Zenivia.

Zenivia with a channel manager that allows the automation of the ultimate client relationship

After you have set up a channel successful manager to unify the management of your reservations with Airbnb and other platforms, how to further improve the efficiency of your concierge ? The answer lies in one word : Zenivia. Zenivia is an innovative solution for automation of the e-mail and customer relationship, specifically designed for the conciergeries short-term rentals. Its goal is to support up to 90% of trade with travellers, 24h/24 and 7d/7, thanks to an artificial intelligence trained to respond instantly and with only natural to common questions.

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One of the great strengths of Zenivia is its ability to integrate directly to your channel manager or PMS existing. Indeed, the platform Zenivia offers connectors natives with your favorite tools, your channel managers favorites are already connected to Zenivia announces the brand.

For example, in a few clicks you can allow Zenivia to synchronize with solutions such as Lodgify, Beds24, Guesty or your accounts OTA (Airbnb, Booking…). Once the connection is established, all bookings and data of the units are imported automatically in Zenivia.

This allows the AI to Zenivia have the necessary context (information about the accommodation, dates of stay, and profile of the traveller, etc) to deliver precise and personalized.

Specifically, Zenivia will monitor the inbox centralized your channel manager and intervene as soon as a new message traveler arrives. Thanks to artificial intelligence, Zenivia includes the question of the traveller and instantly generates an appropriate response, in the language of the traveller, if necessary.

For example, if a guest asks “Where can I get the keys ?”, the AI of Zenivia will tap into the information of check-in accommodation and automatically reply with the detailed instructions. It manages the frequently asked questions about the Wi-Fi, parking, equipment, recommendations for local restaurants, activities.

Zenivia is able to treat up to 90% of the common queries in real-time, including outside of office hours, offering travelers assistance almost immediately. For the concierge, it is a huge time-saver, and the assurance that no important message will not remain unanswered at night or during the weekend. Moreover, the current clients of Zenivia note saving an average of 2 hours per day thanks to this automation of the e-mail.

Of course, the concierge keeps total control. Zenivia lets you set the desired level of automation, the AI sends directly the answers to the travellers, it offers a rough draft of a response that your team can validate a click. You can also set what types of messages should remain manuals. In the case of a complex request that the AI can’t deal with, Zenivia detects it and sends you a notification smart for you to pick up the slack.

This collaboration fluid between the AI and your concierges humans ensures that communication client in a seamless and high quality. Zenivia learns from your tone and your preferences to provide answers consistent with your corporate identity, which makes it transparent in the eyes of the travellers.

Finally, Zenivia is not limited to Airbnb and Booking, the solution aggregates and also other channels of communication such as WhatsApp, SMS, e-mail or your website in the dashboard. This means that all your messages, regardless of their provenance, arrive on a single interface where Zenivia can be treated. You no longer need to separately monitor WhatsApp or other messaging parallel ends of centralizing all of the customer relationship through multiple channels.

In summary, the integration of Zenivia with your channel manager creates a synergy formidable to your concierge, on one side, you will benefit from the centralization and automation of operational offered by the channel manager, on the other, you automate the relationship travellers thanks to the AI of Zenivia. Your business processes are optimized end-to-end. You can develop your property portfolio without hiring additional, while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction through quick responses and relevant. This is a major advantage over the competition conciergeries who wish to differentiate themselves by their efficiency and quality of service, while strengthening their peace of mind.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the couple channel manager + smart automation is a true asset to the conciergeries, short-term rental. Not only will you optimize the seo of your ad on Airbnb and others through centralized management and responsive, which will improve your SEO and your performance booking, but you also offer a seamless experience to travellers with quick answers and a 24/7 service. In a sector increasingly competitive, equipping a channel manager reliable and operate solutions such as Zenivia to automate customer relationship, this is give us the resources to grow peacefully, while increasing the satisfaction of its customers, travelers and owners. Good management at all !