Channel manager: sync Airbnb and Booking.com without overbooking

Do you rent your apartments on Airbnb and Booking.com? Then you probably know the fear: a booking arrives on one platform for nights already sold on the other. That is overbooking — one of the most expensive problems a manager can face: emergency relocation, bad reviews, penalties, even lower visibility on the platforms. The channel manager was invented precisely to prevent it.

What is a channel manager?

A channel manager is the tool that connects your calendar to every platform where you sell. It does two things, continuously:

1. It sends your availability, prices and stay rules (minimum stay, closed arrivals…) to the platforms.
2. It receives the platforms' bookings and puts them in your calendar.

As soon as a night is sold somewhere, it is closed everywhere else, within seconds.

Why iCal sync is not enough

Many managers start with iCal sync (the calendar link offered by Airbnb and Booking.com). It is free, but limited:

With iCal, a Booking.com reservation can take an hour to block the Airbnb calendar. In high season, that is more than enough for a double booking.

One listing per apartment: the good practice

On Booking.com, it is tempting to group several identical apartments under one "room type". For most managers in Morocco, we recommend the opposite: one listing per apartment:

• each unit keeps its own photos, reviews and calendar;
• the sync is exact, unit by unit;
• you can set different prices depending on the floor, the view or the size.

Prices, seasons and restrictions

A good channel manager doesn't only sync the calendar. It lets you manage your revenue from one place:

• a base price, a weekend price and seasons (high, medium);
• date-specific prices for events (Marrakech Marathon, Gnaoua Festival in Essaouira, the holiday season…);
• a minimum stay, closed arrivals or departures on certain days;
• a "Room + breakfast" plan calculated automatically from the room price.

You change it once, every platform is updated.

What Hosteo does

Hosteo includes a channel manager certified by Channex, one of the leading connectivity providers, linked to Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and many other platforms. In practice:

• your availability is sent in real time, at every booking, change or cancellation;
• only changes are sent, which keeps the sync fast and reliable;
• platform bookings land automatically in your calendar, with the guest and the amount;
• an automatic check compares every night what is online with your calendar and alerts you if anything differs.

How to switch to a channel manager

1. Review your listings: one listing per unit, up-to-date photos and descriptions.
2. Set your prices in Hosteo: base price, weekend, seasons and minimum stay.
3. Connect your Airbnb and Booking.com accounts from the Channels page.
4. Map each listing to its Hosteo unit.
5. Remove the iCal links between the platforms, to avoid duplicates.

Allow half a day for a portfolio of a few apartments — and many calmer nights afterwards.