hetras unveils Channel Management Module

hetras, already known as one of the most advanced cloud-based hotel management products, announced a fully-fledged channel management module. This will enable current and future hetras customers to open up their available rooms and rates to hundreds of online travel agencies without having to select, purchase, implement and learn a third-party channel management tool.

With online travel agencies (OTA) now commanding up to 40% of all room reservations, close cooperation between hotels and OTAs at all levels has become more critical than ever before. One level is clearly the technical level. When a room or rate is available in the hotel, this same room and rate should be available to selected OTAs as well in real time. When the rate and room type is closed in the hotel, the OTAs should no longer sell them either.

If the hotel management system does not include channel management capability, the hotel staff must re-enter rates and availability in an external channel manager or the OTAs individually by hand, inevitably leading to lost business, lower than expected rates, or even unwanted overbooking.

Furthermore, any reservation made via an OTA should show up in the hotel management system without any retyping necessary. Without channel management capability in the hotel management system, hotel staff must retype each reservation individually, often leading to incorrect data, mismatched profiles and upset guests at the reception because their reservation confirmation exists only on a fax and not in the hotel system.

With the hetras channel manager, the flow of data between the hotel management system and the OTAs is virtually guaranteed. However, the advantages don’t stop at the technical level alone. “With the hetras channel management module, we offer our hotel clients a one-stop shop: one contact for sales, one contact for implementation and one contact for support” explains Martina Hahler, product manager at hetras. “If our clients have any issues regarding channel management, they know exactly whom to call. If, on the other hand, a hotel buys a hotel management system from one vendor and a channel manager from another and anything goes wrong, nobody wants to take responsibility and the hotel is stuck with the problems.”

hetras will test the new channel management module in selected pilot hotels. “Price is also an important issue,” continued Hahler. “Whereas most external channel managers charge hotels a couple of Euros for every booking, the hetras channel management module is included in hetras’ flat monthly price. There is absolutely no transaction fee.”

Most pilot customers have already been identified, but there is room for more. Contact hetras sales if you are interested in using this exciting new module.