Opt for a reservation calendar synchronized with your PMS or channel manager! In this article, we will review the different aspects and advantages of booking calendars, especially when you manage multiple properties.
What is a synchronized booking calendar?
The purpose of a synchronized booking calendar is to avoid overbooking. Therefore, you should choose an easy-to-use and readable calendar that will save you time and help you organize your bookings.
Synchronized booking calendars can take several forms. If you have a channel manager, check in which form the booking calendar is synchronized. This can be done via iCal or via API. iCal calendars are free and easy to use. However, they are slower to synchronize and there is always a risk of overbooking. On the other hand, synchronization by API is faster but can be complex to set up.
Your ads on all OTAs
With a synchronized booking calendar, you can put your listings on all OTAs! By focusing on one booking platform, you're missing out on a huge booking flow.
Some calendars are autonomous, others are integrated with a channel manager or a PMS. Most of the time, they allow you to synchronize your bookings with the majority of OTAs on the market.
Before choosing your synchronized calendar, you must assess your budget, your needs and the benefits it will bring you. You can then decide to opt for a PMS or a channel manager that integrates a synchronized calendar.
Visibility for your customers
The main advantage of synchronized calendars is to avoid overbooking. Thus, your travellers can see in real time the dates when your accommodations are available. They can therefore find all the information they need to make a reservation in the blink of an eye.
In the end, opting for a synchronized booking calendar saves you time and also improves your customers' experience.
Your direct reservations
These calendars do not only allow you to synchronize your reservations on OTAs. Indeed, they also allow you to synchronize your direct bookings. This is an essential feature because direct bookings are the ones that should bring you the most revenue. The absence of commission and standardization of OTAs offers is a significant advantage.
Thus, the use of a synchronized calendar allows you to develop this channel in all serenity.
For all your properties
When you expand your business and diversify your portfolio, it is not only your revenues that increase. Indeed, the confusion created by the multiplication of operations becomes a significant risk. To address this issue for property managers, some synchronized calendars centralize all data.
When you manage multiple properties located in different cities, what you need is not just a booking calendar for each property but for each city. Having such a calendar makes it much easier to navigate while saving valuable time.
All bookings are therefore gathered in one place, allowing you to combine a calendar and an inbox. The time saved will allow you to focus on finding new ideas and strategies to develop your business.
Your pricing strategies
Some synchronized calendars allow you to see not only the dates you have booked, but also the rates you have set for each unit type. Having all this information in one place allows you to analyze your rates and decide which ones to adjust.
Keep in mind that you have the option of working with dynamic pricing software that will help you optimize your rates and maximize the revenue and occupancy of your ads.
Plus, if you use a PMS or channel manager already integrated with one of the major revenue management tools, you can easily push your rates to all OTAs without worrying about synchronizing them and without having to deal with overbooking.
Remember that integrating a good pricing strategy results in a higher occupancy rate !
In summary
As we've seen in this article, synchronized booking calendars are essential for building your vacation rental business.
They allow you to :
- put your ads online on OTAs and protect yourself from overbooking.
- develop your direct bookings without worrying about overbooking.
- centralize the management of several properties.
- develop on-the-fly pricing strategies.
