Why is a channel not receiving inventory updates?
If a channel is connected and enabled, but inventory updates are not being sent from your SiteMinder platform to the channel, it could be because of one of the following reasons:
There are unmapped rates — check all required rates are mapped to the channel.
The channel room rate is disabled — check if there is an error with the rate configuration that caused the channel room rate to become disabled. Fix the error, then enable the channel room rate. To enable a channel room rate, in the Channel rate configuration, ensure that Start updating channel is set to Yes.
A channel room rate — or an entire channel, such as Airbnb — may become temporarily automatically disabled if there is a conflict between certain settings. If this happens, you will see an error message in the channel room rate configuration and you will be notified by e-mail if you have Distribution E-mail notifications enabled (to enable these notifications, go to property name > My account).
Inventory updates have been blocked for a specific value on the channel — sometimes a setting can block inventory updates from being accepted by the channel (for example, for derived or package rates). Check the setting with the channel.
The channel may not support receiving certain inventory updates — sometimes the channel may not support receiving certain inventory settings. Check if the channel supports receiving the inventory setting from SiteMinder. If it doesn’t, check if you can set up and manage these inventory updates directly in the channel’s extranet.
If inventory updates cannot be sent to the channel, the channel room rate will appear greyed-out in the Rooms Rates Mapping page.
Multiple updates at the same time could cause slow updates — check if there is a “Channels experiencing delayed updates” message under Property status on your Dashboard. If there is, please wait, then check again.
The channel connection was interrupted — check if there is a "Channel connections interrupted" message under Property status on your Dashboard page. This could be due to a sync issue, or because reservations are not arriving from the channel into your platform due to a disabled channel or a performance issue (such as an unexpected incident or scheduled maintenance).
Why does a room rate exist on the channel, but it is not showing in the available list of room rates to map?
To retrieve the most up-to-date list of room rates that exist on the channel:
Go to Distribution > Channels tab > locate the channel.
Click on the channel’s ellipsis (...) button and select Edit room rates mapping.
In the Rooms and rates mapping tab, Rates mapped (on the top right of the channel’s column) shows the number of mapped rates against the channel room rates on the channel’s extranet.
Click on the Refresh button next to Rates mapped. Wait a couple of minutes for your mapped channel room rates to be updated.
Newly created room rates may take up to 60 minutes to appear / to be ready to be mapped.
How do I update / refresh the mapping?
To update the mapping, or to try and help resend/push inventory to the channel, save the Channel rate configuration configuration, with or without making any changes. To do this:
Go to Distribution > Channels tab > find the channel.
Click on the channel’s ellipsis (...) button and select Edit room rates mapping.
Click Configure on the channel room rate, which will open the Channel rate configuration.
Click Save, with or without any update.
Does disabling a channel room rate send a stop sell to the channel?
Disabling a channel room rate will not send a stop sell to the channel. Disabling a channel room rate only blocks your platform from sending inventory updates to the channel. The same applies to disabling a channel. The room rate will still be listed on the channel.
If you don’t want to sell the channel rate on the channel, you can apply a stop sell through the Inventory grid (or via your PMS, if you have one connected). Otherwise, remove the room rate directly from the channel’s extranet.
Airbnb is an exception, as disabling a rate will deactivate the listing on the channel and stop it from being sold.
I don’t want to send inventory updates for a channel room rate to the channel, but I still want to receive reservations — how can I do this?
To map a channel room rate for reservation delivery only, map the rate, but leave Start updating channel on No. This will mean no inventory updates will be sent from your platform to the channel, but you will still receive reservations from the channel into your platform.
If you choose not to send inventory updates from your platform to the channel, you will have to manage the inventory directly on the channel, which may increase the risk of potential errors, and the risk of overbookings.
Do all channels support occupancy at both the room type and room rate level?
In your platform, you can set occupancy at the room type level, as well as at the room rate level. However, some channels manage occupancy at the room type level only.
The channel may offer to create other room rates as room types (for example, single, double, and triple rooms), however, this is not advised as it would triple the availability of the room type in your platform, leaving a high risk of overbooking due to the mismatched configuration.