Important to know:
To map your room rates to a channel, go to Distribution > Channels.
To map your room rates to your property management system (PMS), revenue management system (RMS), or central reservations system (CRS), go to Distribution > Connectivities.
Introduction to two-way connection
With a two-way connection, inventory updates (rates, availability, and restrictions such as minimum length of stay, maximum length of stay, stop sell, CTA and CTD) and reservations will be in sync between your PMS/RMS/CRS, your SiteMinder platform, and your connected channels.
Inventory updates
When rates, availability, and restrictions are updated in your PMS, as long as all room rates are mapped, updates will sync to your SiteMinder platform, and to all your connected channels (as long as the channel supports receiving the specific inventory update).
Note:
Room rates must be mapped to your channels, and to your connected PMS/RMS, CRS. Room rates that are not mapped or are disabled will not receive any updates.
If a channel does not support certain inventory data (such as CTA and CTD restrictions), you may be able to set up and manage these inventory updates directly in the channel’s extranet.
If your PMS/RMS/CRS provider does not support a two-way connection, you can have a one-way connection. With a one-way connection, your PMS/RMS/CRS will only be able to send inventory updates, or receive reservations — not both.
Note:
If you don’t have a PMS, RMS, or CRS (or if you do but it doesn’t support a two-way connection with inventory updates), you will need to update and manage inventory updates in your SiteMinder platform (Distribution > Inventory).
If your PMS, CRS, or RMS is able to send inventory updates, avoid making manual inventory updates in your SiteMinder platform or in the channel’s extranet, as this can create inventory or rate mismatches, which can lead to overbookings.
Reservation delivery
With a two-way connection, when you receive a reservation from a connected and mapped channel, your SiteMinder platform will automatically:
Decrease the availability of the room type and send the updated availability to your connected and mapped channels.
Send the reservation and availability update to your connected and mapped PMS/RMS/CRS.
For reservations to be processed and delivered successfully, room rates need to be mapped to all your connected channels — the channel must also be enabled, and channel rate’s Start updating channel setting must be set to Yes. Room rates also need to be mapped to your PMS/RMS/CRS.
Channels may still be able to deliver reservations if their connection becomes disabled. However, some channels will not do so if they remain disabled, depending on their integration — two examples are Booking.com and Expedia.