Hotel Channel Management at a Crossroads

Summary

Hotel products are inherently complex – at the property level, they reflect a unique combination of room category (either physical or conceptual) and rate plan (which differs based on contractual terms) – and encompass leisure, corporate and group segments. They can involve public and private rates, as well as dynamic rates (which vary based on booking window, length of stay or discounts from the hotel’s best available rate). 

Although any room category or rate plan can have its own inventory settings – e.g., arrival date, day of the week, and length of stay – functional limitations sometimes force hotel reservation systems to impose certain constraints on management of rates and inventory. One common limitation is the inability to confirm reservations for adjoining rooms – a problem for many major hotel groups.