Beds24 channel manager: what it does, how it connects and how to set it up
A channel manager keeps availability, prices and bookings in sync across Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia and the other sites you sell on, so one booking closes the room everywhere. Beds24 is both a PMS and a channel manager. Here is how the Beds24 channel manager works, how to set it up, and the mistakes behind empty calendars and overbookings.
What is a channel manager, and what does it do?
A channel manager sits between your property and the booking sites, or channels, you sell on. You update one calendar and it passes the changes on. Once it is active, Beds24 explains, “Beds24 will be the master calendar maintaining the live master version of your availability and export this to all the sites” (Beds24 wiki).
A channel manager does four jobs:
- Sends availability: the rooms or units left on each date.
- Sends prices and restrictions, such as minimum stays, as far as each channel accepts them.
- Imports bookings, and usually changes and cancellations, into one calendar.
- Lowers availability everywhere after each booking, so no room is sold twice.
Beds24’s example: a B&B with 2 double rooms sells 2 everywhere; after one booking on its website, every channel can sell only 1.
How the Beds24 channel manager connects: API or iCal
Beds24 lists more than 60 channels on its channel manager page, including Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia, Vrbo, Agoda, Hostelworld, Google Hotel Ads and Google for Vacation Rentals. There are two kinds of connection:
| What it does | Two-way API connection | iCal connection |
|---|---|---|
| Sends | Availability, prices and often restrictions; content for some channels | Availability only: iCal carries dates, not prices |
| Imports | Bookings, plus changes and cancellations depending on the channel | Booked dates, with whatever details the channel shares |
| Speed | Instant, according to Beds24 | Slower: the other site decides when it reads your calendar |
| Use it for | Every channel that offers it | Channels without an API connection |
Booking.com, Agoda and Expedia need you to start the connection in their own extranet; some other channels have an approval process.
Mapping: link every OTA room to a Beds24 room
Connecting a channel is mostly mapping: telling Beds24 which OTA room matches which Beds24 room. Beds24 warns that an OTA room left unmapped never receives updates, which can cause overbookings. Work in this order:
- Set up rooms and prices first, with virtual rooms if you sell room combinations.
- Connect the channel, then map each room, and the rates too where the channel requires it.
- Check what will be sent with the “View Actual Data” button.
- Handle existing bookings: only bookings made after activation are imported, so import upcoming ones where possible or block those dates.
How rates and availability sync
Which prices can be sent depends on the channel. Beds24’s guide to prices for booking channels describes four models, and some channels offer more than one:
- Occupancy: a price per number of guests (Agoda, Expedia).
- Occupancy and length of stay (Airbnb, Vrbo).
- Per day: one price per date; if several are active, Beds24 sends the one with the lowest minimum stay (Booking.com, Hostelworld).
- Derived or linked: the channel calculates some rates itself, so not every price is controlled from Beds24 (Booking.com, Expedia).
Three details catch people out:
- Daily prices are off for channels by default: tick each channel a daily price should reach. Fixed prices start enabled for all.
- OTAs can get a different price, through an export price or a multiplier, for example to add the channel’s commission.
- Not everything travels. Discounts in the “Discounts” tab of fixed prices are not sent, and special offers are managed in each channel’s extranet.
Common setup problems, and how to fix them
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A channel shows no availability | No price for those dates, or no price enabled for that channel | Add the price and enable the channel: with no price for a date, Beds24 does “not send availability to OTAs” (source) |
| Overbooking | An unmapped room, a duplicated room code, or ignored error messages | Fix the mapping and act on error emails at once |
| Double booking after a cancellation | The booking was cancelled in Beds24 only | Cancel or change OTA bookings in the channel; Beds24 cannot send booking changes back (Vrbo XML excepted) |
| Wrong price on a booking | A special offer or linked rates in the channel | Check promotions and rate links in the extranet |
| Far-off dates closed | Prices end too soon, or only one year of data is exported | Extend your prices; Beds24 can export two years to channels that accept it |
The first one is easy to miss, because guests rarely report it. Our guide to “No price found” covers every check.
The Beds24 channel manager API, explained
The “Beds24 channel manager API” can mean two different things:
- The connections to the OTAs: Beds24 uses each channel’s API where there is one. You program nothing; you connect and map.
- Beds24’s own API, for other software. API V2 “can allow third parties to access your account, properties, bookings and inventory”, using an invite code you create. V1 is deprecated.
With it, a PMS or booking engine can read availability and write bookings into Beds24, which then updates every channel. More in our Beds24 API guide.
Where direct bookings fit in
OTAs bring guests you might never reach alone, but each of their bookings carries a commission. Bookings on your own website don’t, and the channel manager treats them like any other. The aim is not to leave the OTAs, but to give guests who already know you a reason to book direct.
That is the job of our Beds24 booking engine. It replaces the standard Beds24 booking page, reads prices and availability live from Beds24 and writes each booking into Beds24, so the channel manager closes the room on Booking.com, Airbnb and Expedia. Beds24 stays your PMS and channel manager.
For the two channels hosts ask about most, see our guides to Beds24 and Airbnb and Beds24 and Google Vacation Rentals.
Frequently asked questions
What is a channel manager?
Software that connects your property to the booking sites you sell on: it sends availability and prices to each channel, brings bookings into one calendar and lowers availability everywhere after each booking.
Which channels does the Beds24 channel manager connect to?
More than 60, including Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia, Vrbo, Agoda, Hostelworld, Google Hotel Ads and Google for Vacation Rentals. Sites without an API can be connected by iCal.
Should I connect a channel by API or by iCal?
By API whenever the channel offers it. Beds24 advises iCal only for channels without an API connection: it sends no prices, and the other site decides how often it reads your calendar.
How much does the Beds24 channel manager cost?
Beds24 says you “only pay for what you use”, with no set-up fees. Our Beds24 pricing guide has the current figures.
Does a booking on my own website update the OTAs?
Yes. It lowers availability in Beds24 like any other booking, and the channel manager updates every channel. Bookings made on our booking page are written into Beds24 too.
Beds24 is a trademark of Beds24 GmbH. We are an independent service, not affiliated with Beds24.