As of March 2020, you can create multiple rate plans for each room type and have those sync to channels.
This feature requires the Cloudbeds Plus plan or higher/equivalent.
We are currently on a closed pilot and we will send out a notification as soon as this feature is officially released. If you want to ensure that you are notified of this feature, please reach out to our support team.
At the moment, only the following channels support this feature:
- Hostelworld
- Booking.com
- Agoda
- Expedia
How to sync myfrontdesk Rate Plan & Package to Channels
1. Access myfrontdesk Rate Plans & Package pages and click to create a new rate plan
Check this article for further details about How to Add Rate Plans and Packages
2. While you are creating the Rate Plan, you must select 'YES' to enable the rate plan for Channel Mapping
3. One or more intervals need to be created
Remember to select the Accommodation Types for which to enable rate plans for channel mapping
4. Save the Rate Plan
All Rate plans created on channel's extranet prior to this new feature (March 2020) can be synced, but you need to disable any “rate derivations” on channel's extranet in order to allow those rate plans to be controlled by myallocator (channel manager by Cloudbeds).
As an example, check Hostelworld's extranet below.
In order to allow rate plans to be controlled by the channel manager, click to 'edit' the corresponding rate plan:
Make sure that the rate plan is set as 'amount' and not as 'percentage'. It means that you're removing channel's permission to control this rate plan.
Please note that channels work differently from each other, so please contact the channel's support team or your Account Manager if you have any questions about rate derivation and how to remove them.
Now that you removed the rate derivations from all desired rate plans, it's time to sync them. Please check step 3!
Let's take Hostelworld as an example:
- Access the 'Channel Distribution' page
- For active Channel, click on 'Enabled' to access the channel mapping
- Click into channel > click to VIEW / EDIT Rate Plan Mapping step
If the channel is not yet enabled, you need to proceed through setup flow and map rate plans as desired.
4. Click on 'Configure' to map desired rate plans for each room type
The Rate plans you have created on myfrontdesk are listed on the left side.
Use the drop-down menus to map the channel's rate plans to the rate plans on myfrontdesk.
A note about Hostelworld:
Hostelworld allows users to have a maximum of four rate plans per room type on their extranet: Standard, Non-Refundable, Bed & Breakfast, Bed & Breakfast Non-Refundable.
Each rate plans supporting the following restrictions: Closed, Minimum Length of Stay, Maximum Length of stay.
Please check the following example:
The myfrontdesk 'Last Minute' Rate plan was synced with Channel's Non-Refundable Rate
If you select the same channel rate plan to multiple myfrontdesk rate plans, an error message will be displayed
You need to map the desired rate plans for each room type.
Once you finish, the system will display the rate plans statuses:
- Green checkmark: Rate Plans mapping was completed for this room type
- Yellow warning icon: some rate plans remain unmapped for the room type (it doesn't block you from moving forward - not all rates available on the extranet might need to be mapped with rate plans inside myfrontdesk)
- Red icon: at least one rate plan needs to be mapped to continue to the next step
3. Save the changes done and complete the mapping process. Once you finish, the system will automatically send a full refresh to the channel
The only way to check if the rate plan was successfully synced is checking the channel's extranet - if your rates and availability match between myfrontdesk and channel's extranet, it means that the sync was completed.
Please check Hostelworld as an example:
All Rate plans created on myfrontdesk system prior to this new feature (March 2020) can be enabled for rate plans by doing the following:
- Find the rate plan on the Rate Plans & Packages page > Click edit
- Select to enable rate plan for Channel Mapping
A warning message will be displayed. Click on 'OK' to confirm
3. Ensure that your intervals are up-to-date and not expired (for example past dates)
Scroll down to the Availability section to check the start and end dates - If needed, click on the 'Edit' icon to edit your date range.
4. Select accommodation types for which to enable rate plans for channel mapping
Click to 'Edit' the Interval to select accommodation types
Once you finish, click on 'Save Interval' > 'Save'
6. Visit the desired channel on the Channel Distribution page. Click to access the channel mapping > VIEW / EDIT Rate Plan Mapping step > Click on Configure > Map rate plans as desired (please check Step 2 from this article for further details)
7. Send a full refresh
If the channel is not enabled yet, you need to proceed through setup flow and map rate plans as desired.
To prevent rate plans from being updated on myallocator (channel manager by Cloudbeds), you need to edit the rate plan and disable the channel mapping option. Please follow the steps below:
- Access the Rate Plans & Package page
- Click to Edit the package
- Disable the option 'Channel Mapping' by selecting 'No'
When you click to save, the following warning message will be displayed
Only after these steps, the rate plan will be completely removed from the Channel Mapping page.
To make sure that your Rate Plan was disabled for channel distribution, please check the Rate Plans & Packages main page - your rate plan should be like the example below
If you only deactivate the rate plan from the Rate Plans & Packages main page but do not click to disable the channel sync option by following the steps above, the rate plan will not be deactivated on the channel side.
Please check the following example:
Derived Rate Plan
The system doesn't allow you to edit a derived rate plan because it will override the rate plan rule. To do it so, you can:
Option 1: Visit the 'Rate Plans & Packages' tab > click to Edit the package and then update the percentage or amount previously configured
Option 2 - Since this is a derived rate plan (it means that the rate plan is derived from your Base Rate), you can also update the Base Rate through out Availability Matrix. Once you do that, the derived rate plan will be automatically recalculated.
Example:
Non-Derived Rate Plan
If it's a non-derived rate plan, you have 2 options:
Option 1 - When only a few days need to be changed
- Access the Availability Matrix and search for the desired rate plan
- Edit the package rate directly on the Availability Matrix table
Option 2 - Global Change
- Access Rate Plans & Packages Page
- Click to Edit the Rate Plan
3. Scroll down and click to Edit the Interval and update the Rates
Save the changes
Frequently Asked Questions
As this feature set touches several parts of the application - Rate Plans & Packages, Channel Distribution, Availability Matrix, Logs (Calendar and PIE Rate Manager to a lesser degree) - a user may be able to use some, all, or none of this feature set, depending on the roles they have been enabled for on the User Management section of the application.
NOTE: There are no separate Role toggles for this sync feature, and thus user access to the full feature set will be controlled by toggles already existing in the system.
If a user has access to one of the permissions below they will have access to all of the pages/settings as they always have had for that particular setting.
- Distribution is inactive > users will not be able to access Channel Distribution and thus unable to map rate plans.
- Create / Edit Rate Plans is inactive > users will be unable to create rate plans and enable them for channel mapping.
- Availability Matrix / Availability Block is inactive > users will be unable to send ARI Updates for rate plans through the Availability Matrix.
If a user wants full control of setting up the application at each point of the process, they need all those settings enabled.
If a user updates something that has somehow affects a channel-connected rate plan (e.g. changing a value on the availability matrix), it may also affect rate plans.
Yes, you can choose to enable a rate plan for Channels (via a new option on the Rate Plans & Packages page) and then choose to not enable it for mybookings.
The process to enable a rate plan for mybookings is controlled by a toggle on the Rate Plans & Packages page, and also by a checkbox on the sources dropdown on the Rate Plan form.
On the following example, the Last Minute package is available for Channels, but disabled for mybookings.
Yes, you can specify which myfrontdesk rate plans to sync to which channel during channel’s Rate Plan Mapping step of the channel setup.