• Channel managers dynamically connect your property (e.g. vacation rental) to multiple Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). They are invaluable to accomodation providers of all sizes.
• Overbookings (a holiday home is booked by multiple channels for a certain date) remain a large threat to vacation rental owners who manage their distribution manually (affected guests might not return and are likely to leave negative reviews). Relying on a dedicated channel manager one could reduce this danger.
• When reservation details have to be transferred manually from the booking source to a reservation system there can easily occur erros with names, dates etc.
• If channels have to be updated manually (and not in real-time as it would be the case when using a channel manager) you might miss booking opportunities.
• Managing your distribution manually means logging into the extranets of several websites multiple times a day. A channel manager would allow you on the other side to manage your distribution from a central place, which will could save you a lot of time.
• By automating channel management you can join numerous platforms and in turn determine which distribution channels are the best fit for your target market (better data-driven decisions).
• Although channel managers are mainly used to connect to third-party distribution partners, they might help you to increase direct bookings too. OTAs are a valuable source for new clients. It’s up to the accomodation provider to get that guest to book with them directly (on their brand.com website) in the future.

(Source: via @Cloudbeds – Get full details at https://www.cloudbeds.com/articles/efficiency-channel-management/ )