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OTA Integration FAQ
OTA integration; It means connecting your Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, hotel website, agency and PMS to each other “correctly”.
In correct installation:
- •price & inventory are updated from a single place,
- •it appears synchronously in all OTAs,
- •overbooking risk decreases,
- •channel efficiency increases.
In case of incorrect installation:
- •wrong price/room goes out,
- •sales are opened on closed dates,
- •double booking (overbooking) occurs,
- •reporting is broken due to missing reservation data.
Brief Summary
OTA Integration FAQ; It aims to ensure accurate and synchronous flow of room/price/availability and reservation data in the PMS–channel manager–OTA (Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, etc.) trio. In the right setup, price & inventory are managed from a single source, parity is more controlled, stop-sell/min. Like at night, rules are enforced centrally and the risk of overbooking is significantly reduced. The most critical part of the process; error-free room type + rate plan mapping, verification of the flow with test reservations (including cancellation/change) and routinization of post-go-live log/warning tracking. Incorrect installation directly leads to loss of revenue and reputation, such as incorrect price/room publication, sales on closed dates, incomplete reservation data and reporting errors.
Brief Summary
OTA integration; It provides automatic synchronization of room, price, availability and reservations between PMS-channel manager-OTA; It reduces overbooking and price errors with correct mapping and testing.
Frequently Asked Sample Queries
- What is OTA integration and how does it work?
- How to integrate Booking.com and Expedia into PMS?
- How to prevent overbooking?
- How to do room and price mapping in Channel Manager?
OTA Integration Overview
What exactly is OTA integration?⌄
OTA integration; It is a set of technical connections that ensure secure, fast and two-way (if possible) flow of:
- •room & price,
- •availability & closing,
- •reservation and change
What does it mean to work without OTA integration?⌄
- •you enter prices and availability into each OTA panel separately,
- •as the number of channels increases, the risk of error and workload increases,
- •the risk of overbooking and wrong prices increases,
- •combining reports becomes difficult.
Which systems does OTA integration include?⌄
In typical architecture:
- •PMS (hotel management system) – rooms, rates, reservations,
- •Channel Manager – bridge between PMS and OTAs,
- •OTAs – Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, Hotels.com, etc.,
- •Hotel website booking engine – often integrated with the channel manager.
Does OTA integration work the same for all OTAs?⌄
Although the principle is the same;
- •each OTA's integration protocol,
- •data fields,
- •some special rules and restrictions
Is OTA integration only for big hotels?⌄
No. As the number of channels + booking volume grows, the value of integration increases, even if you are a boutique hotel. It is unrealistic to work without integration even for small and medium-sized hotels, especially if the OTA volume is high in destinations such as Antalya, Belek, Kemer, Side, Bodrum and Alanya.
Who is the OTA Integration service suitable for?⌄
- •hotels that currently work with OTAs and experience errors and overbooking,
- •hotels that will add a new OTA/channel manager,
- •Hotels that renew their PMS and want to establish an integrated channel structure,
- •All facilities that make multi-channel sales in destinations such as Antalya–Belek–Kemer–Side–Bodrum–Alanya.
Short Questions
What is OTA integration and how does it work?
It is the connection structure that enables automatic and synchronous flow of room, price, availability and reservation data between PMS-channel manager-OTA.
How to integrate Booking and Expedia into PMS?
Usually PMS → channel manager → OTA; The channel manager receives the room/price from PMS, forwards it to OTAs such as Booking/Expedia, and writes the reservations from OTA back to PMS.
Why is rate parity important and how is it protected?
Rate parity; It means offering the same or controlled price for the same room on different channels. With integration and the right price plan setup, you can maintain price balance across all OTAs and your website.
How to prevent overbooking?
All channels use synchronous inventory via the same PMS & channel manager, keep manual intervention to a minimum and manage closed dates/stop-sell through the integrated system.
How to make room/price matching between channel manager and OTAs?
You must map each PMS/OTA room and price type exactly to its counterpart in the channel manager; If the room-plan-market based mapping is not done correctly, the wrong price/structure will be published.
Who is the OTA Integration FAQ suitable for?
It is suitable for all hotels that want to stabilize the PMS + channel manager + OTA trio and manage price/inventory from a single panel.
OTA Integration Architecture & Service Scope
How is the OTA integration architecture constructed?+
In standard architecture:
<ol>• • • • </ol>
This structure means prices and inventory managed from a single source (PMS).
PMS is the source of room types and price plans.
Channel manager distributes the room & price data received from PMS to OTAs.
Reservations from OTAs are written back to PMS through the channel manager.
Hotel website booking engine often works in connection with PMS through the channel manager.
How does PMS–channel manager–OTA data flow work?+
- •<strong>PMS → Channel Manager:</strong><br/>room/inventory, price, minimum night, closing information.
- •<strong>Channel Manager → OTA:</strong><br/>price & inventory update in a format suitable for each OTA.
- •<strong>OTA → Channel Manager → PMS:</strong><br/>new reservation, change, cancellation and no-show information.
What does OTA Integration service include?+
- •analysis of the existing PMS and channel manager structure,
- •determination and preliminary preparation of the OTAs to be used,
- •making the room & price plan structure suitable for integration,
- •PMS–channel manager–OTA mapping (room, price, market, package),
- •flow verification with test reservations,
- •creating procedures for risks and error management,
- •reporting and optimization suggestions.
What is rate parity, why is it critical?+
Rate parity; It is the principle of offering the same price (or within certain difference rules) for the same room and date on the channels you control. When rate parity is broken:
- •Disagreements with OTAs and business partners,
- •loss of “trust” on the guest side,
- •penalization or loss of visibility on some channels may occur.
Does OTA integration only cover major OTAs like Booking–Expedia?+
No. Many channel managers; In addition to major OTAs, it supports integration with niche OTAs, local agencies, metasearch and even web booking engines. The important thing is to choose channels that are meaningful to you and build the integration architecture accordingly.
Process & Operation: Mapping, Testing, Commissioning
How to start the OTA integration process?+
<ol>• • • • • • • </ol>
Analysis of your PMS and channel manager structure,
clarifying which OTAs to work with,
simplifying/standardizing your room & price plan structure,
Making the necessary configurations on the PMS & channel manager side,
Opening property and connection settings on the OTA side,
mapping and test reservations,
go-live and first period monitoring.
How to do OTA room/price mapping with Channel Manager?+
- •Each room type in the PMS is mapped to the room type in the channel manager.
- •Each rate plan in the PMS (standard, non-refundable, HB, AI, etc.) is mapped to the rate plans in the OTA.
- •If market/country based distinctions are in use; These are also included in the mapping.
Why are test reservations important in OTA integration?+
Test reservations;
- •whether the price is correct,
- •whether it is the correct room type,
- •whether the reservation has been recorded in PMS completely,
- •whether the cancellation/change flow works correctly
What should be taken into consideration after OTA integration is activated?+
- •Checking PMS-channel manager-OTA logs frequently in the first days,
- •making sure that prices, inventory and closings appear correctly on all channels,
- •checking whether the description and photo contents are consistent,
- •regularly monitoring error and warning notifications (channel manager/PMS dashboards).
How long does it take for OTA integration?+
If your PMS & channel manager infrastructure is ready and your room/price structure is not too complex, the integration and testing process for a single OTA can usually be completed within a few days. For chains with many OTAs and complex room/price/market structures, the process may take weeks.
Performance & Reporting: What Does OTA Integration Gain?
How does OTA integration increase revenue?+
- •simultaneous price and inventory updates in all channels → rapid reflection of campaign and price decisions,
- •reduction in false closings → decrease in the number of vacant rooms,
- •channel-based performance reports → more focus on efficient channels.
How is OTA performance reflected in PMS & channel manager reports?+
With the right integration; Via PMS:
- •OTA based nights and revenue,
- •market and country based performance,
- •commission/direct revenue comparisons
How does OTA integration reduce the risk of overbooking?+
- •work of all channels connected to the same PMS inventory,
- •elimination of double manual entries,
- •real-time or frequent synchronization,
- •central management of rules such as stop-sell and minimum night
If OTA integration is faulty, how will it affect performance?+
- •wrong price submission → loss of revenue or guest dissatisfaction,
- •wrong room mapping → different room type instead of the room the guest expects,
- •closed dates appearing open → overbooking,
- •missing reservation data → error in reporting and decision processes.
Which reports should I check regularly after OTA integration?+
- •channel-based revenue and occupancy,
- •market/country-based distribution,
- •cancellation and no-show rates,
- •commission load and net income,
- •mapping and error logs.
Wrong Price/Room, Overbooking, Closed Dates, Missing Data
What causes incorrect price/room transfer and how to prevent it?+
<strong>Causes:</strong>
- •incorrect mapping,
- •later manual changes,
- •PMS/price plan structure not suitable for OTA.
- •Mapping carefully,
- •making price changes only from PMS or channel manager,
- •Seeing deviations early with test reservations and regular checks.
How does the double booking (overbooking) problem arise?+
- •Keeping capacities outside PMS (Excel, notepad),
- •some OTAs being excluded from integration,
- •channel manager synchronization problems,
- •stop-sell and closing rules being made manually, not from the system.
How can I technically prevent overbooking?+
- •managing all salable inventory via PMS & channel manager,
- •avoiding manual stock tracking,
- •including all OTAs within the scope of integration,
- •defining minimum buffer (e.g. manual approval requirement for the last room),
- •regularly checking mapping and synchronization logs.
How to prevent sales from opening on closed dates?+
- •making closure and stop-sell decisions only from the PMS or channel manager,
- •not making different manual settings from OTA panels,
- •activating the closure rules by testing them,
- •applying extra controlled planning for special periods (holidays, high season).
What problems does incomplete reservation data cause?+
- •Invisible/missing reservation in PMS → check-in chaos,
- •channel-based inaccuracy in income reports,
- •missing past records of the guest,
- •incorrect forecast and planning.
Productive Search & Sector Focused OTA Integration (Antalya, Belek, Kemer, Side, Bodrum, Alanya)
Why is OTA integration critical in Antalya and surrounding destinations?+
- •high number of rooms,
- •working with many OTAs and agencies,
- •peak season and dynamic pricing.
How should OTA integration be structured in resort destinations such as Belek, Kemer and Side?+
- •country/market based price plans (DE, RU, UK, TR etc.),
- •long stay & package products,
- •precise management of early booking and campaign periods,
- •central management of minimum nights and closures.
What is important in price/performance regions such as Bodrum and Alanya?+
- •to be able to display the hotel's price-value balance accurately on OTAs,
- •to offer different room types without causing confusion,
- •to manage the inventory correctly during busy cancellation/no-show periods.
How should OTA integration be positioned for city hotels across Türkiye?+
- •quick response to short stay and last minute reservations,
- •control of MICE and corporate segment and OTA balance,
- •dynamic management of weekday/weekend demand differences.
How should OTA integration tie in with the hotel digital marketing strategy?+
- •balanced distribution of campaign prices across OTA + web + direct channels,
- •metasearch and remarketing campaigns working without stock & price errors,
- •direct booking campaigns not conflicting with OTA prices.
Mini OTA Integration FAQ
Is integration required for every OTA?+
Technically no; However, for all OTAs with significant volume, integration provides serious time and error savings.
Is it enough to work OTA only with the channel manager, is PMS integration necessary?+
It is possible in the short term; But if there is no PMS integration, reservations are still entered manually, increasing errors and workload. PMS integration is recommended in the long term.
Is it right to manage all prices only from the OTA panel?+
No; Prices should be managed from PMS or channel manager and reflected on all channels. Local changes made from the OTA panel may cause parity corruption.
Is it enough to establish and release the OTA connection once?+
No; Integration should be reviewed regularly due to mapping changes, new price plans and OTA terms.
Is it right to look for integration errors only on the OTA side?+
Not; Every link of the PMS, channel manager and OTA chain must be checked.
Is it necessary to book tests for every change in the integration?+
Yes, especially when there is a room/price/mapping change; A small test reservation can catch a big bug early.
Do I have to keep prices 100% the same on every channel?+
It depends on your rate parity policies and OTA agreements; But even if there is a difference, it must be conscious and rule-based.
Is it mandatory to work with a single supplier in OTA integration?+
No; However, establishing a simple, single-centered structure as much as possible on the PMS and channel manager side reduces complexity.
Is an IT team required for OTA integration?+
Not necessarily; Most PMS and channel manager integrations can be managed via the panel. However, expert supervision is recommended.
Can I get the OTA Integration service only as audit + roadmap?+
Yes; You can receive a consultancy package that analyzes your current integration structure, shows mapping and risks, and includes the correct installation steps.
Collaboration and Actionable Questions for OTA Integration
How can I get a quote for OTA Integration with DGTLFACE?+
- •your current PMS and channel manager structure,
- •the list of OTAs you work with (Booking, Expedia, Agoda, etc.),
- •your room & price plan,
- •the main problems you are experiencing (wrong price/room, overbooking, sale on closed date, missing data, etc.),
- •when you share a short brief with the new channels or markets you are targeting
What does the “consult an expert” call clarify on the OTA integration side?+
- •We clarify which PMS–channel manager–OTA combination you are using,
- •where you experience errors and risks,
- •your mapping and rate parity approach,
- •your overbooking and data loss risks,
- •short-term fixes and medium-term architectural improvements