Channel Revenue Allocation and Meal Plan Reporting Guidelines

This guide explains how to configure Channel Revenue Allocation in Cloudbeds. When enabled, this feature is used to:

• Accurately display add-on and meal plan revenue for channel reservations in the Reservation Folio, ensuring totals match between Cloudbeds and your channel partners.
• Enforce rate plan controls on OTAs, such as rate plan availability limits by automatically closing a mapped channel rate plan when its configured limit is reached.

Step 1 - Cloudbeds Settings Checklist

Before proceeding with the configuration, be sure that you have the following setup on the Cloudbeds PMS:

1.1 - Item Setup

1. Create a new item or use an existing one (for Meal Plans, see below)
2. While editing the item, be sure to add the taxes or fees applied to this item.

• Go to the Sources tab on the Property page and ensure the taxes/fees you have set up on Cloudbeds match your channel setup in third-party sources. For example, if two taxes are applied to the reservation on the channel, those two taxes must be set on the item created in Cloudbeds.

1.2 - Create a Meal Plan Type Add-on

Cloudbeds allow properties to easily track meal plans, including breakfast items, within rate plans or add-ons. If you do not have meal plans configured, click here to configure one.

1.3 - Configure the Add-on Product

1. Access the Add-ons tab on the Products page
2. Create an Add-on product to track the add-on revenue on the Reservation Folio for the channel reservations.
3. Associate the Add-on product with the item created or chosen in Step 1.1.
4. Configure the Add-on product settings and intervals.

1.4 - Taxes and Fees

• Create or use Taxes and Fees on Cloudbeds that match those configured on your channel.
• Specify where those taxes/fees apply to Items and/or Reservations.
• Revisit Step 1 and ensure Items have the correct taxes/fees applied if needed.

1.5 - Sources

• Verify that all applicable taxes/fees are selected for your desired/active Reservation Sources.

1.6 - Rate Plan and Packages

1. Create a Cloudbeds rate plan or use an existing rate plan.
2. Ensure the Add-on you created is associated with the Cloudbeds rate plan (see image below).
3. Ensure the Cloudbeds rate plan interval settings match the add-on interval settings.

Step 2 – Enable the Feature

Once your property's configuration is complete and all required settings from Step 1 have been reviewed, you can enable the feature directly from the Distribution Settings tab.

1. From your Account Menu , click Distribution  
2. Go to the Settings tab
3. Turn ON the Channel Revenue Allocation toggle
4. Click Save

Once the feature is enabled, proceed to Step 3 to complete your rate plan mapping.

Step 3 - Distribution Rate Plan Mapping

1. Go to the Distribution page
2. Search for the channel to have the rate plan with the add-on mapped 
3. Click to manage
4. Go to Rate Plan mapping
5. Map the rate plan with the associated add-on to the channel rate plan accordingly
6. Click to save.

The configuration is complete. Repeat the same steps for every channel/accommodation that you have a rate plan with the add-on created after verifying the configuration is correct through a report.

Add-ons and Meal Plans Reporting 

Verifying New Reservations with Channel Revenue Allocation

1. Channel Rate Plan: Ensure the Channel rate plan(s) are visible on the reservation summary page.
2. Verify that the reservation displays the Cloudbeds rate plan for each accommodation.
3. Breakfast Icon: Verify that the breakfast icon is displayed for reservations from Booking.com and Agoda when the Channel rate plan is marked as Breakfast included.
   • The breakfast icon will not be displayed for Expedia reservations because Expedia does not send that information to Cloudbeds.
4. Add-on Folio Revenue: Verify that the add-ons are correctly displayed on the Reservation Folio depending on their settings.
5. Reservation Totals: Ensure that the reservation totals match between Cloudbeds and the channel.

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Verifying Cloudbeds Insights Reports

Cloudbeds Insights Reporting feature enables you to include a new column that shows the name of the channel rate plan. This is particularly useful for generating various reports, such as breakfast-by-rate plan reports for your kitchen staff and rate plan production reports for your revenue team. 
Add and verify the following columns:

Rate Plans - Channel Names: This column displays the name of the channel rate plan when revenue allocation is enabled.

Rate Plans - Public Names: This field already exists, but it is beneficial to display it alongside the channel rate plan.

Reservations Report:

Financial Transactions Report: