To use channel manager or not?

1

I will only have one property at first and found bookerator offers a free service but only up to three bookings per month.

I see Guesty is decent but you have to have a minimum of three properties.

Can I get advice on what you use if any?

2

I’m not familiar with either of those. My husband and I rent out two rooms in our own home. We use only Airbnb.

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3

What do you feel you need a channel manager for @RossLee - this will help you answer your question.

I have one listing and find it only takes a few minutes a day (and sometimes not even that) to manage mine.

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4

My only concern was wanting to post on as many different sites as possible not just AirBNB. I was afraid I would do a double booking if someone booked on more than one.

I haven’t listed anything yet so I don’t know how it works.

5

Then you need some method of avoiding a double booking. A channel manager is the simplest solution.

JF

6

You can integrate multiple calendars with Airbnb (see Airbnb Help Centre for details on how to set this up). That’s what I use.

As @JohnF says a channel manager can help.

7

Thank you! I appreciate your help.

8

Yes you can. One downside is that the iCal synch is a bit flaky at time, either simply not updating or, depending on the other OTA, producing synch errors.

However, the biggest downside is the lag in updating, the only effective (but not 100% foolproof) method is that you manually synch the calendars every time you get a booking. Otherwise known as iCal roulette :wink:

We did it this way when we first went on BDC, but given that many of our guests are from different time zones (when they book) it became obvious that a better solution was needed, hence we now use a CM.

JF

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9

John which channel manager do you use?

10

Beds24.

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JF

11

Thanks

20202020202020

12

Hi
There are lots of options to choose from! iGMS offer vacation rental software - it’s free for up to 4 listings and you can manage vacation rentals across various channels.

Might be worth a look!

13

That is one of the channel managers I was looking at, I will look further into it. Thanks!

14

If you haven’t checked out iGMS yet. we’re currently offering a low-season offer that might interest you. Our Flexible pricing plan is now only $1 per booked night. So, for someone like you who are starting out, it can be a win-win.

15

I will go check it out now because I have to choose something ASAP! My condo is almost done with the renovations.

16

That’s great to hear. If you have any questions, you can also use our LiveChat feature or consult our Help Desk where you’ll find more explanations about our features. Good luck with the final renovations and happy hosting.

17

I used the live chat yesterday :slight_smile:

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