Guide · Channel manager
A channel manager, built into your PMS.
What a channel manager does, how Host Labs PMS keeps every OTA in sync with one calendar, and how it stops a room being sold twice.
What does a channel manager do?
A channel manager connects your property to the online travel agencies (OTAs), such as Booking.com, Airbnb, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Agoda, Expedia and more: it brings their reservations into your PMS and sends your availability and rates back to all of them, so a room sold on one site closes on the others.
Why a built-in channel manager is better
When the channel manager is part of the PMS there is one calendar and one availability count. Nothing is copied between two systems, and nobody pays for or logs in to two.
- Availability is worked out from your actual bookings, never typed in
- Reservations arrive with a room assigned when one is free
- Payments, food and ID details your team recorded are never overwritten by a later OTA update
- One login, one bill and one support contact
How Host Labs keeps every channel in sync
Every reservation, change and cancellation from the channels is applied to your calendar, and every change on your side is sent back out.
| What happens | What Host Labs PMS does |
|---|---|
| A guest books on an OTA | The reservation arrives with a room assigned when one is free, and your team is alerted |
| The guest changes dates or rooms | The new dates are checked against your calendar before anything moves |
| The guest cancels | The booking is cancelled; if the guest is already in the house it is flagged for you instead |
| Any booking changes | Rooms left for each room type and night are sent to every channel |
| You change a rate | Rates per room type and rate plan go out for any date range |
| You need to stop selling | Dates close on every channel at once, and reopen in one step |
How double bookings are prevented
Double bookings happen when two channels sell the last room before either hears about the other. Host Labs PMS keeps one availability count per room type and night, updates every channel after each change, and shows any clash on the calendar so it is fixed before the guest arrives.
OTA prices and GST
OTAs send the price before tax and the tax they added. Host Labs PMS keeps both, uses the OTA's own price before tax to pick the GST slab, and shows the breakdown on the bill and the invoice.
Channels you can sell on
Booking.com, Airbnb, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Agoda, Expedia and 10 more, and your own website and booking page, all from one calendar.
Already use a channel manager and want to keep it? We help you connect it to Host Labs PMS.
Questions
What is the difference between a PMS and a channel manager?
A PMS runs the property: bookings, rooms, guests, billing and reports. A channel manager connects it to the OTAs. Host Labs PMS includes both, so there is one calendar.
Which OTAs does Host Labs PMS connect to?
Booking.com, Airbnb, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Agoda, Expedia, Google, Trip.com, Tripadvisor, Hotels.com, Cleartrip, Yatra, EaseMyTrip, Trivago, Travelguru, Hostelworld, plus your own booking website. Another channel you sell on can be added on request.
How quickly is availability updated?
After every change: a new reservation, a modification, a cancellation, or a booking your team makes.
What happens if an OTA cancels a guest who is already staying?
Nothing is cancelled. The booking is flagged for your team to sort out with the channel.
Can I keep my current channel manager?
Yes. On request, we help you connect the channel manager you use today.
Read next
- Integrations: Host Labs PMS has its own channel manager for Booking.com, Airbnb, MakeMyTrip, Agoda and other OTAs, and helps you connect yours if you already use one. Guests pay by UPI; a payment gateway is integrated on request.
- Homestay software: What homestay management software does, what to look for, and how Host Labs PMS runs bookings, OTAs, food, UPI payments and GST for homestays, B&Bs and guest houses.
- Hotel GST invoicing: How GST on hotel and homestay rooms works in India from 22 September 2025: slabs per room per night, CGST and SGST, food at 5%, OTA prices with tax, and GST invoices.
- Pricing: Core: the PMS and channel manager in one subscription, with the booking engine and guest app, from ₹1,800 a month per property + GST. Plus adds AI and 500 credits a month from ₹3,499. 21 days free.