Channels Hub

Channels in the sidebar is where you work with your channels. Settings → Channel Management is where you connect them. Two screens, two jobs.

Think of Settings as the plumbing and the Hub as the tap. Once a channel is connected and mapped, you should barely need Settings again — but the Hub becomes part of your morning.

Four figures per channel, and together they answer whether that channel is worth what it costs you.

Revenue with commission is the one to watch. A channel sending you plenty of bookings at a high commission and a low average rate can be earning you less than a quieter channel with better rates.

Compare them once a month and let them shift where you put your effort. Three patterns are worth reacting to.

One channel dominates your bookings. Good demand, but it also means your occupancy depends on somebody else's ranking algorithm. That is the argument for pushing your own booking site harder — same guests, no commission.

A channel has a low average rate. Check your rates and restrictions on that channel. Often it is selling your cheapest rate plan because the better ones are not mapped, or a minimum stay is missing on your busy dates.

A guest score is slipping. Scores feed OTA ranking, and ranking feeds bookings, so a falling score costs you money with a delay. Read the recent reviews in the Hub and look for the repeated word.

In the Hub, under the channel the guest wrote from. Open the thread and reply there — you do not need to log into the OTA.

Each conversation opens in a panel with the full history, so you can see what was already promised before you answer. You can send attachments, and photos guests send you open full size.

Most OTA messages before arrival are the same handful of questions: what time can we check in, is there parking, can you arrange a transfer, is the room quiet.

In the Hub, per channel. Open a review to see the full text and the guest's rating.

Reading them in one place is more useful than it sounds, because patterns show up that you miss one review at a time. Three guests mentioning the shower in different months is a plumbing job, not three opinions.

Two things worth doing regularly:

• Look for the repeated word. One complaint is noise; the same word three times is a task.
• Watch what people praise. If guests keep mentioning your breakfast or your terrace, that belongs in your description and on your booking site. Your best marketing copy is written by your guests.

Airbnb guests often ask before they book, and an inquiry gives you two ways to answer beyond replying in words.

• Pre-approve — tells the guest they are welcome to book those dates. They still have to complete it, but you have removed the doubt.
• Special offer — send those dates at a price you choose. Useful for a longer stay, a returning guest, or filling a gap between two bookings.

Answer quickly. Airbnb weighs response time in how it ranks you, and a guest asking about a weekend is usually asking three places at once.

That arrives as an alteration request, and you can Accept, Decline, or Cancel request. Nothing changes on your calendar until you accept.

If a booking has one waiting, you will see a banner on the reservation telling you how many are pending — so you do not accidentally work from dates the guest has asked to change.

Before accepting, check the new dates are genuinely free and the price still works for you. A three-night stay shortened to one on a busy weekend is a real cost, and declining is a legitimate answer.

Two minutes, in this order.

1. Unanswered messages. These are guests deciding right now. A fast reply wins bookings and lifts your ranking on most channels.
2. Pending Airbnb requests, if you use Airbnb. They block your calendar until you answer.
3. New reviews. Read them while the stay is fresh — you will remember the guest and understand the comment.

Save the performance numbers for a monthly look. They do not change meaningfully day to day, and watching them daily just costs you time.