Sometimes you may wish to offer multiple rate plans for the same room type to a sales channel. For example, you may want them to sell a Special Offer on their website as well as your normal rates.
There are 3 steps to send a new rate from your iBex system to a sales channel ...
- Add the new rate or room type in your sales channel account,
- Create the new rate in your iBex system,
- Map the new iBex rate to the new sales channel rate/room type in the Channel Manager mapping screen.
1 - Check whether or not the Sales Channel accepts multiple rates for the same room type.
All online sales channels have their own systems which unfortunately means that no any one sales channel is the same as the next as their systems have different capabilities. Some sales channels accept multiple rates for one room type where others do not so depending on their own system's capability would determine what you need to do.
To check, please click on the required sales channel name from the list of sales channels in the Sales Channel Connections list and read the important notes information about the connection.
If you are advised that the sales channel 'cannot accept multiple rates or minimum stay variations from iBex for a single room type', you will need to log into your sales channel account and duplicate the room type in your account giving it a different name to the original (for example, Standard Room 2 night Stay or Standard Room Special).
If it does not mention the above then you will need to log into your sales channel account and add the new rate details (such as the rate name, the number of occupants it's valid for, etc).
- When setting up a new rate or room type in your sales channel account, it is important that you name it similar to the marketing name that you have used in your iBex system as this will make mapping of the room types and rates between the 2 systems much easier.
- Different sales channels require different procedures to set up a room or rate in their system so please contact them directly for assistance. Remember that they do get paid commission for any sales so use them as often as you can!
- Read the connection instructions for the sales channel as this may give you an idea of what must be done.
For example, in a Wotif account you must add the correct Hotel Room Type Code to the new room otherwise the systems will not understand what rates are for which room types (see Steps 1-8 in the 'Connect to Wotif' instructions).
2 - Set up the new rate you want the sales channel to sell on their website in iBex.
Is the rate that you want to send to the sales channel already in your iBex account?
If so, you can go to Step 3 to map it in the Channel Manager.
If not, you will need to either create a new rate or amend an existing rate.
3 - In your iBex Channel Manager, map the required iBex rate to the new room type or rate you have set up at your sales channel.
- Select Search sales channels option in the Sales Channel section in the menu
- Click on the appropriate sales channel ID
- Go into the Channel Mapping tab
- In the Channel Mapping Information section, the table displays which rooms and rates are currently being sent to that sales channel.
Above the table, there is a drop down option to set the Allocation Handling for this sales channel where you can select Split Allocation, Total Per Room, or Advanced.
- Select the Allocation Handling required - see the notes below for an explanation of what each option does.
- In the mapping table, map the new room or rate that you created in your sales channel account to the correct iBex room type.
- If you click the green '+' sign on the iBex room name row that you want the new rate's availability to apply, a new drop down option will appear where you can then select the new Remote Room Name or Remote Rate Name (which you've set up at the Sales Channel) and then allocate the correct iBex Rate Name to it.
- Once you are happy with the mapping, click the Save & Update Channel button.
iBex will then send the new rate and the availability to the sales channel.
Once the update has been sent you can log into your Sales Channel account and check that they have been updated correctly.
All online sales channels work in different ways but as a rule, inventory is held against a rate plan. What this means in practice is that you have to decide how you want iBex to send your availability. The best way to explain what the 3 different options mean is to use an example...
Say you have 10 Deluxe units set in your iBex system with 2 different rate options being used by them (the Standard Rate and a Special Offer).
Split allocation: Each room on the Sales Channel will only have 5 units to sell as the available units are split between the 2 rates, so...
- 5 units for Deluxe Room - Standard Rate,
- 5 units for Deluxe Room - Special Offer rate.
Please note that iBex will always split the number of available units so if 6 rooms have been booked and only 4 available, each rate would receive the availability of 2 regardless of what rate the other rooms were booked at. iBex does not remove the number of booked rooms from a specific rate, it is removed from the total availability which is then re-calculated accordingly.
Please also note that iBex cannot split '1' between multiple rate plans so if it is an odd number, the primary rate mapped will always receive the odd '1'.
For example, if 7 rooms were booked and only 3 were available, the availability would be 2 for the Standard Rate and 1 for the Special Offer.
Total Per Room (recommended): Each room on the Sales Channel will have 10 units to sell, so...
- 10 units for Deluxe Room - Standard Rate,
- 10 units for Deluxe Room - Special Offer rate
Each time there is a reservation, the number of rooms available will be reduced for all options.
Advanced: You can manually set to over sell or under sell the room if needs be, so if you set the Sell % to 200% each room at the sales channel will have double the number that you actually have in your iBex system which can be split between the different rates by setting a ratio between them.
In almost all cases, we recommend using the Total per room option.