This guide provides technical steps to establish a synchronization link between Booking.com and the YieldPlanet Channel Manager.
Core Prerequisites
- Valid Booking.com hotel ID.
- Active YieldPlanet account.
- Confirmation of pricing model: Standard (Price per day) or OBP (Occupancy Based Pricing).
Connectivity Provider Configuration
To initiate the integration, the property must authorize YieldPlanet within the Booking.com extranet:
- Log in to the Booking.com Extranet.
- Navigate to Account > Connectivity Provider.
- Search for and select YieldPlanet as the designated channel manager provider.
-
Select the specific Connection Type.
Connection Type Optimization (1-Way vs. 2-Way)
For specific synchronization requirements, follow these protocols:
- 1-Way Connection Setup: Activate Availability and Rates first. This sequence ensures all room types and rate plans are mapped before data flow begins, preventing errors with unmapped reservations.
- Booking Retrieval: Enable the Booking Retrieval option only after the YieldPlanet mapping process is finalized.
Activation and Support Notification
Final activation requires manual confirmation from the YieldPlanet support team. Provide the following details to ensure correct mapping:
- Confirm the connection request has been sent via Booking.com.
- Specify the property's pricing configuration:
- Standard: Prices set per day.
- OBP: Prices set by occupancy levels.
Importing Pre-Connection Bookings
Reservations confirmed on a booking channel (e.g., Booking.com) before the channel connection was fully activated in YieldPlanet will not automatically download into your calendar. This can lead to discrepancies and potential overbooking.
- Problem: Reservations made on a channel prior to its connection activation in YieldPlanet are not appearing in your calendar.
- Solution: These reservations need to be manually downloaded by support. Contact the support team with the following information:
- The specific property ID.
- The booking channel ID where the reservations were made.
- The dates of the missing reservations.
- Note on Cancelled Bookings: If a reservation was confirmed and subsequently cancelled on the booking channel before it could be downloaded into YieldPlanet, it might appear in YieldPlanet without complete information. This is because the channel may not send full details for bookings that are already cancelled by the time YieldPlanet attempts to retrieve them.
Troubleshooting
- If you encounter issues or find a large number of obsolete rooms, it is recommended to contact support. An agent can assist by performing an initial cleanup and removing old mappings to simplify the process for you.
- Ensure that data distribution to Booking.com is deactivated while you are performing the mapping to prevent sending incomplete or incorrect data.
- Understanding Allotment Behavior with Disabled Max Allotment: If a hotel has multiple rate plans (e.g., BAR and Non-Refundable) and the Non-Refundable rate plan is closed, the system will send the collective allotment at the room level. The open/close status will be managed at the individual rate plan level. This means BAR should remain open, and Non-Refundable will be closed, without affecting the overall room allotment sent.
- Intermittent Room Selection Issues: If you experience issues where you can sometimes select additional rooms and then not anymore, hover your mouse over any grayed-out checkboxes to see if a tooltip provides additional information or reasons for the restriction.
Key Terms Summary
- Connectivity Provider: The third-party software (YieldPlanet) managing property data.
- 1-Way Connection: Data flows in a single direction (usually extranet to manager).
- Booking Retrieval: The process of pulling reservation data into the Channel Manager.
- OBP (Occupancy Based Pricing): A pricing model where rates vary based on the number of guests in a room.