Effectively managing short term rental properties can be a major challenge for property managers. The need to showcase your properties on Airbnb and other platforms entails significant technical constraints.
Apart from the synchronisation of rates and availability, which are now basics, what more should you expect from an effective Airbnb channel manager? What more can it provide and, most importantly, synchronise?
In this article, we’d like to help you understand the nuances that can exist in the world of channel managers, to help you make the right choice for your business.
Table of Contents
What is a channel manager?
Let’s start by laying the foundations and defining what a channel manager is. It’s a tool (software) that helps you automatically update essential information, such as rates, availability, bookings, and property details, across different rental platforms, avoiding costly double bookings.
It’s worth pointing out that, by definition, a channel manager logically sticks to these functionalities. The other actions you need to perform as a manager, such as sending messages to guests, managing tasks, and invoicing, are all functions included in a PMS.
Don’t worry, today most PMSs also include a channel manager function (developed in-house or in partnership with a pure channel manager, but we’ll talk about that in a later article).
What are the special features of an official Airbnb channel manager?
Airbnb, as one of the world’s leading rental platforms, has set high standards for companies wishing to integrate with them officially via an API. An official Airbnb channel manager is thus distinguished by several important features:
Official API integration
An official Airbnb channel manager has an official API integration with the platform. This API integration enables real-time synchronisation of information between the channel manager and Airbnb, ensuring that your listings are always up to date, meaning that changes to your pricing, property availability, or listing details are instantly reflected on Airbnb.
Compliance with Airbnb standards
An official Airbnb channel manager must comply with strict specifications set by Airbnb. This ensures that the software meets the platform’s quality and security standards. When you pick a channel manager that follows these rules, you lower the chance of facing technical issues and breaking Airbnb’s policies, which could lead to your listings being temporarily removed.
Choosing a certified Airbnb channel manager also helps you steer clear of tricky situations where your listings encounter problems, and Airbnb can’t assist you because your channel manager’s syncing method isn’t acknowledged or supported by Airbnb.
Preferred Software Partner Airbnb label
A channel manager who meets all Airbnb’s requirements and strict standards can be awarded the “Preferred Software Partner Airbnb” label. This label recognises the quality of the integration and the level of service offered by the channel manager. It testifies to Airbnb’s confidence in the product and guarantees users that they are working with a trusted partner. We are proud that RentalReady has been awarded this label in 2023.
What is synchronised when you have an API connection?
When you have an API connection with Airbnb via an official channel manager like RentalReady, a lot of vital information is synced in real time between the software and the Airbnb platform.
Here are some of the most important data that is automatically updated:
Rates and availability
The pricing of your property is crucial to attracting travellers. Thanks to the API connection, your rates are automatically updated on Airbnb according to the parameters you have defined in the channel manager. You can adjust prices according to seasons, special events or days of the week, and these changes are immediately reflected on the platform
The availability of your property is also updated in real-time. When a booking is made on Airbnb, it is instantly transmitted to RentalReady, which automatically blocks the corresponding dates on other platforms, thus avoiding duplicate bookings.
Airbnb naturally tends to give preference to listings in its search results that are regularly updated through a channel manager with an API connection. This ensures the platform gets up-to-date information, leading to a higher likelihood of bookings.
Property details
Information about your property, such as photos, description, equipment and house rules, cancellation policies can also be synchronised. This ensures that your listing details are consistent across all rental platforms, boosting traveller confidence and potentially increasing your bookings.
And above all, it saves you precious time, by not having to manually enter this information repeatedly.
Bookings and payments
All bookings made on Airbnb are automatically recorded in the channel manager. You can track the status of bookings, payments received and payments remaining in one place. This simplifies the management of your finances and allows you to provide a better service to travellers.
Why is it important to choose an Airbnb channel manager with the Preferred Software Partner label?
Choosing an Airbnb Preferred Software Partner channel manager has many advantages for holiday rental professionals. Here are a few reasons why it is essential to work with a trusted partner like RentalReady:
Reliability and stability
When you opt for an Airbnb Preferred Software Partner, you’re selecting a company that undergoes regular checks for its integration and service quality. This assures you of a reliable and stable service that adheres to the highest industry standards. This translates to less downtime and fewer technical hiccups for you.
Continuous updates
Airbnb often updates its platform and policies. When you use a Preferred Software Partner channel manager, you can trust that your software will be consistently updated to match Airbnb’s latest demands. You won’t need to stress about handling complicated technical updates yourself.
Quality support
Airbnb Preferred Software Partners generally offer outstanding customer support. If you have a problem or a question, you can count on competent and responsive assistance to help you solve your problems quickly.
We have a direct and privileged relationship with the Airbnb teams, ensuring that any problems are resolved quickly.
Simplified management
Working with a Preferred Software Partner channel manager like RentalReady allows you to simplify the management of your listings on Airbnb and other platforms. You save time by automating many tedious tasks, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business.
We’ll go into more detail below, but the ability (thanks to an advanced API integration) to respond to Airbnb booking requests directly from RentalReady is just one example of how you can save time on a daily basis.
What sets RentalReady apart from its competitors
RentalReady stands out as a leader among Airbnb Preferred Software Partners channel managers, offering a complete solution to simplify the management of your short-term rentals.
Here are some of the features that differentiate RentalReady from its competitors:
Official API integration
RentalReady has an official API integration with Airbnb, ensuring that all essential information is synchronised in real time.
Airbnb Preferred Software Partner label
As an Airbnb Preferred Software Partner, RentalReady has been recognised for its commitment to quality and user satisfaction.
Highly advanced integration
When we developed our own integration with the Airbnb platform, our aim was to excel and redefine standards. So, in addition to the synchronisation of prices, availability and listing content, here are the other benefits of our advanced integration with Airbnb:
- Generation of listings on Airbnb from RentalReady
- Acceptance / Rejection of booking requests from RentalReady
- Send special offers from RentalReady
- Synchronisation of two-way messaging
- Synchronise transactions
- Synchronise payment adjustments
- Incident synchronisation
- Synchronise passenger notes
- Synchronisation of tags linked to travel notes
- Reply to passenger notes
Can you imagine how much time you’ll save on a day-to-day basis by taking advantage of all these features?
Conclusion
We hope that you now grasp the concept of an Airbnb channel manager more comprehensively. It’s important to discern the various levels of integration available, and most importantly, recognize the wide-ranging benefits tailored to your specific needs. These benefits can vary significantly based on your chosen level of integration.
If you’re eager to learn more, feel free to schedule an appointment with our team of experts. They’ll be delighted to further discuss our level of integration with Airbnb.