This FAQ covers how our system syncs information, how reservations are assigned, and what to expect when selling on different OTAs.
What information does Cloudbeds PMS send to distribution channels?
Cloudbeds PMS uses its channel manager to send rates and availability information to your distribution channels.
Cloudbeds sends:
- Room rates (As set in the Availability Matrix / Base Rates section or on the calendar)*
- Availability
- Restrictions (MinLos, MaxLos) - except for the calendar-based channels.
*The exception is calendar-based channels such as Airbnb iCal connection, VRBO, and Flipkey, which only accept and transmit availability.
Cloudbeds does not send:
- Room or property pictures
- Room descriptions
- Amenities
- Policies
- User info
- Room type changes
Always check the supported features for each channel in the channel mapping page for detailed information, as shown below:
How to sell dorms on hotel-based channels?
Many hotel-based channels (such as Expedia, Booking.com, etc.) are designed to market an entire room—not dorm beds. Since they are designed to sell whole rooms only, selling dorm beds requires special configuration.
When selling on these channels, each dorm bed must be listed as an individual "Room" with an occupancy of one (1). To ensure guests know it's a dorm bed, the name of the room should be something like "1 Bed in an 8-Bed Dorm".
When you market a dorm bed on a hotel-based Channel/OTA, keep the following in mind:
- The guests will only see these dorm beds if they search for 1 person at a time. If they search for rooms with an occupancy of 2 or more, the dorm beds won't appear in their search.
- If a guest wants to book multiple guests for a single dorm room, they will have to book the same room multiple times.
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Channels/OTAs affected:
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- Decolar
- Almost all other hotel-based (not hostel-based) channels
Follow the steps below to correctly sell dorms on hotel-based channels:
1 - Configure the dorms on the channels
When selling on these channels, dorms need to be configured as follows:
- Create as many individual rooms as you have dorm beds.
- The occupancy must be set to 1 person.
- The name of the room should be something like "One Bed in an X-Bed Dorm".
Example:
Let's say you have a dorm room that you want to market on one of these channels:
- 6-Bed Mixed Dorm
When setting the dorm up on the channel/OTA, it should be created like this:
- Create six individual/private rooms on the channel/OTA.
- Ensure the occupancy of each room is set to 1 person.
- Name each of the private/individual rooms as "One Bed in a 6-Bed Mixed Dorm".
2 - Create the dorm(s) inside of Cloudbeds PMS
For detailed instructions on how to set up rooms inside Cloudbeds PMS, check this article.
In the example above of the 6-Bed Mixed Dorm, it would look like this inside Cloudbeds PMS:
3 - Map the dorms between Cloudbeds PMS and the Channel/OTA
If you follow the steps above carefully, the mapping step will be straightforward since the dorm room type in Cloudbeds PMS will match perfectly to the room type that you created on the Channel/OTA earlier.
Even though the room on the OTA is a "private room" with a quantity of 6, the mapping remains the same – map the Cloudbeds PMS dorm room to the Channel/OTA Room Type that you created.
Check Distribution Channel Mapping Guidelines for detailed information on room mapping.
4 - Availability Updates
Now that you have mapped the Cloudbeds PMS Dorm Room to the Channel/OTA "Dorms," the availability will constantly be updated.
Example:
If 1 person books in the 6 Person Mixed Dorm, Cloudbeds PMS will tell the Channel/OTA that only 5 of the beds are left. The Channel/OTA will reduce the number of available "rooms" from 6 to 5.
- Shows how this looks inside of Cloudbeds PMS.
- Shows how this looks on the Channel/OTA Extranet.
- Shows how this looks on the Channel/OTA guest site.
I changed my property channel ID, how can I connect it to Cloudbeds PMS?
On certain occasions, you may want to create a new property in the channels (OTAs) and connect it to Cloudbeds PMS, replacing the current property channel ID that you have connected before.
In order to replace an old channel ID with a new one, you will basically follow the same steps used to connect a new channel.
The change in mapping can be done only after you have the new property configuration ready in the channel's extranet.
Cloudbeds is unable to map multiple channel properties to one single account. The following steps will replace the existing channel ID with a new one.
- Select Cloudbeds Channel Manager as your channel manager in the channel's extranet.
Check the related connection guides below for specific channel instructions:
- Booking.com
- Agoda
- Expedia
- Hostelworld
- For other channels not listed above, you can follow the steps in the regular channel connection guide.
- Click here to inform our support that you requested a channel ID change and provide the new ID, so we can verify the request and update the credentials in your account.
- Once the request for connection has been confirmed by the Cloudbeds Support Team, you'll receive an email asking you to complete the activation and mapping.
- Complete mapping and you're done.
Why is the guest information (email, address, phone) not included in the reservation?
If there is a piece of information missing, it means that the OTA did not send it to Cloudbeds Channel Manager.
For certain OTA (channel) reservations, you may not receive all of the information that you desire. Most properties want as much information as possible, such as email address, guest physical address, phone number, etc. However, the OTA is the source of this incoming information, not Cloudbeds PMS. Cloudbeds will always display the full information that the OTA provided.
In the example below, the guest email address is missing from the channel manager information:
To resolve this, you'll need to reach out to your OTA Account Manager (not the OTA customer support team) as only your Account Manager can check if that determined information is meant to be shared with the property or not and solve the issue on their side. Inform the account manager that you are missing guest data from the bookings that are forwarded to Cloudbeds, and they will check if it is possible to update channel settings for you.
What are alias emails?
As you receive a reservation from some channels (like Booking.com, Agoda, Expedia), you may notice that it has a different format of guest email with the following domain.
Check the following example from Booking.com to see how those emails look:
Channels use alias emails to protect guest privacy and avoid spam. Partners can use the alias email to reach out to the guest normally. The alias email will be deactivated a few days after guests check out.
There is no possibility for them to disclose real email data due to compliance reasons.
Will these guests see emails sent from Cloudbeds PMS?
Whenever a property sends an email to an alias address, the guest will receive it in their inbox normally.
Properties can use the alias email structure outside of the channel extranet to communicate with guests, and this is fully supported.
If you want to check if an email was delivered, check your email delivery logs.
Do distribution channels support the additional guest prices set in Cloudbeds PMS?
No. All prices for additional guests that you configure on Cloudbeds PMS will not reflect in the channel's extranet.
The only rates sent to OTAs are those you designate in either the intervals of the Base Rates, Calendar, or Availability Matrix.
You need to set additional guest prices directly with your extranet account manager or support team (depends on each channel). Currently, only Booking.com, Expedia, and Decolar allow properties to add prices per additional guest directly in their extranet.
For all the other channels, we recommend you to map only the room types that do not have an additional guest price.
How to set additional guest prices for the channels that support it?
The additional guest pricing must be set directly in the channel extranet. Find below the settings for Booking.com, Expedia, and Decolar.com. If you have any questions on how to manage your extranet, please contact the channel's support team directly.
Let's use a 4-person bedroom as an example:
- Maximum occupancy: 4 guests
- The Base Rate on Cloudbeds PMS is set for 2 guests only
- The prices for the 3rd and 4th guest will be additionally charged
Booking.com
Per Person Pricing must be created by your Booking.com account manager, who is responsible for making these settings in their system. This is called "Derived Prices", and you will have to tell your account manager that Cloudbeds will send the base rate for "X" person(s) and ask them to add the price for each extra adult (by deriving up from the rate Cloudbeds sends).
When activating the Derived Pricing feature, you must establish the maximum occupancy for that room type. In this example, the room type has a maximum occupancy of 2 guests. Keep in mind that the maximum occupancy is the rate registered at Cloudbeds PMS's Base Rate/Availability Matrix.
After setting up the maximum occupancy and activating derived pricing, the room will be displayed as shown below in Booking.com extranet:
Note that the prices for the 3rd (x3) and 4th (x4) guests have been activated.
In the example above, the price of C$ 159 (for 2 guests) is the price sent by Cloudbeds PMS.
The price for each additional guest must be set directly at Booking.com extranet – currently, it can't be sent through Cloudbeds PMS.
Please check with your Booking.com Account Manager about any restrictions.
Expedia
In order to set the additional guest price in this channel, you must contact your Expedia account manager or support team and request the activation of the feature "Extra Guest Fee". Make sure that the pricing model is set to "Per Day Pricing".
When activating this feature, set again in the extranet the maximum occupancy for the room type and the prices that will be charged for additional guests.
If everything is set accordingly, Expedia will look like this:
Decolar.com / Despegar
A number of settings must be defined in Decolar's extranet in order to establish an additional guest price. Contact your account manager or reach out to their support team to perform the right adjustments in the extranet.
Below, we'll list the most important settings that must be adjusted:
- Access "Conteúdo web" (Web content)
- Click on "Edição Habitações" (Edit Rooms)
- Click on "Ver" (See) to open the room you want to edit
- Click on "Ver quarto em Extranet Decolar" (See room in Decolar's extranet)
On this page, the settings must be as follows:
- Pricing Model = Set it to "Price per Room"
- Maximum occupancy for this room = Must match the settings in Cloudbeds PMS
- Minimum and maximum number of adults = Must match the settings in your Cloudbeds PMS account
- Children = Remove all prices related to children and infants
- Extra fees = Enable the option to charge extra fees
If you find any setting mentioned above that does not match the ones you have in your extranet, contact your account manager or Decolar's support team to make the necessary adjustments.
Next, click on "Ver taxas extras por hotel" (See extra fees by hotel):
Then:
- Remove all prices for babies and/or infants
- Insert the price for additional adult guest
Decolar.com allows you to only set a single price, as shown below:
Now that you have already created all the required settings in Decolar's extranet, let's move on to the last step: combining extranet's information with your Cloudbeds channel manager channel mapping.
- Click on the gear icon in your Cloudbeds PMS account and go to Channels.
- Search for Decolar/Despegar and click on the "Enabled" button to check your mapping. Click on "Next" until you see the mapping screen.
If Decolar.com is not yet an active channel in your account, check our Connection Guide for detailed instructions.
On the mapping screen, ensure that the following settings are properly configured:
- Charge Type: "Per Room" (as previously set in your Decolar extranet).
- Extra-Bed field: Select "Extra bed rate set below" to enable pricing input in the next step.
- Extra-Bed Rate: Insert the additional price. Ensure that it matches the rate set in your Decolar extranet.
- Extra Bed Age: Select "Adults" if the additional charge applies only to adult guests.
After mapping is complete, the rates in the Decolar extranet should appear as follows:
Once this setup is done, your additional guest pricing will be properly reflected in Decolar.com, ensuring that extra guests are charged correctly according to your settings.
Why isn't my reservation assigned to the same room or unit for the entire stay? (No continuous availability)
This is likely due to a lack of continuous availability.
Cloudbeds PMS syncs availability based on accommodation types rather than individual room units. This approach aligns with how most channels operate, especially hotels, and helps prevent calendar gaps, maximizing occupancy and revenue potential.
As a result, the system displays availability for a room type over a range of dates, even if no single unit is available for the entire stay.
For example, if you have a Twin Room type with 5 individual units, the system manages the availability of the entire Twin Room type rather than for each specific unit within it.
How does this affect reservations?
- Using the same example, if the Twin Room type as a whole is available for 3 nights starting today, a reservation cannot be automatically assigned to a specific room if we have one unit available for only 1 night and another unit available for 2 nights (see GIF below).
- When the availability is not continuous for the same room, customers can still make a reservation; however, manual intervention will be required to assign them to a specific room.
Discover additional information about Auto Room Assignment in the important considerations section.
How can you manage these cases?
- Typically, you can resolve them by manually adjusting the reservations.
- First, find the unassigned reservation. The most common way to find these reservations is by checking the number displayed at the top of the Calendar. When you click on it, you'll see a message indicating that there is no continuous availability.
- Next, move existing reservations between units of the same room type to create space for the new booking, and assign the reservation to the unit that was freed.
If rearranging existing reservations does not create continuous availability on the calendar, you may need to split the booking. In such cases, it is important to inform guests beforehand that a room change will be required during their stay.
For more details, refer to the instructions on creating a new reservation in the Split View.
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