Huge Update: iGMS Is Now Integrated with Booking.com

Autumn is the best season to start something great and new. For iGMS, September is also a special month as we’re ready to reveal a huge, mind-blowing (you name it!) update to the general public.

We’re thrilled to introduce a new direct integration with one of the largest online travel platforms—Booking.com. Our team has been working tirelessly to make it finally happen so that you can enjoy the perks of the new integration to the fullest.

On top of our existing functionality that enables our customers to manage their properties on Airbnb and Vrbo/HomeAway effectively, you can now take advantage of the fresh-out-the-oven functionality available for the Booking.com integration.

Read on to find out what features can come in handy to automate and scale up your business.

How You Can Benefit from the New Integration 

Booking.com is one of the largest and most popular vacation rental platforms, boasting around 28 million listings and attracting hundreds of millions of users monthly. Listing your property on Booking.com can be a real game-changer for your business. Being a titan of the travel industry, Booking.com can present your vacation rental to a wide expanse of potential guests from different corners of the world.

We know that juggling multiple accounts and listings can get overwhelming, especially when you do it manually. From now on, in addition to Airbnb and Vrbo/HomeAway accounts, you’re able to connect your Booking.com properties to iGMS and manage all multiple accounts and listings via a single interface. 

Using the new integration, you can create and publish your listings on Booking.com via the iGMS dashboard as well as connect your existing properties to automate various routine tasks and processes. You can synchronize your reservations across multiple platforms, automate guest communication, manage hotel inventory, and receive payouts.

Manage Your Booking.com Listings Effortlessly via iGMS

The iGMS integration takes into account the peculiarities and key features of the Booking.com platform covering all the significant aspects of effective vacation rental management. 

Once you integrate your Booking.com listing with iGMS software, you’ll get access to the following functionalities: 

Unified Inbox 

Excellent and timely communication is key to building a connection with your guests and receiving positive feedback after their checkout. Amplify your communication skills, and don’t miss a single message, by using the iGMS Unified Inbox and smart messaging features. Your messages will be organized into a single feed, and you can find and reply to them promptly.

Automated templates and triggered messaging ensure your replies are sent to your guests without any delays at preset dates/times. You can rest assured that your guests are informed at every stage of the reservation process. 

Key peculiarities: 

• Unlike Airbnb, Booking.com reservations are always instant and don’t require any confirmation from the host’s side. That’s why the “Upon Inquiry” template is not available in the templates list.
• Automated communication with a user who has booked via Booking.com is only possible if they provided their emails to the platform. This feature is not available for reservations that were created prior to the property import to iGMS. It works only for new reservations or old reservations that were altered after the property import.

Availability Management via Multi-calendar

If you have been looking for a solution that will help eliminate the risk of receiving a double-booking, iGMS has come to your rescue. Not only will the iGMS Multi-calendar keep all your reservations organized in one dashboard, but it will also synchronize your incoming reservations from all the integrated platforms.

Once you receive a reservation for your Booking.com property that is grouped with the same properties on other platforms via channel manager, the corresponding dates will be crossed out automatically from your listings on other integrated OTAs. 

If a guest modifies a reservation, changes will be automatically displayed in the iGMS Multi-calendar within a few minutes. But what if a guest contacts you and asks to alter a reservation on their behalf? It’s as easy as could be—you can change the required information and update the reservation on Booking.com directly via iGMS. 

Our software ensures that you have access to the data on availability at your fingertips without logging in to your Booking.com and other OTAs. 

Key peculiarities:

• Cancelations from the host’s side are only possible if the guest has provided incorrect credit card details, or if the amount of funds is insufficient to pay for the reservation. Another cogent reason for canceling a reservation is when a guest hasn’t shown up.  
• You can change availability and pricing using Single and Multi-calendars only for properties with a standard rate.

Rates Management 

The rate structure on Booking.com is more complex than on Airbnb and Vrbo/HomeAway OTAs. 

Prices for a property listed on Booking.com may differ depending on the service package you offer to your guests (whether you provide breakfast, a free cancelation option, or promote a limited-time deal). 

To reflect the same functionality offered by Booking.com and provide you with a convenient tool for managing your rates, we’ve introduced a Multi-calendar Rates View. In addition to a standard and derived rates, you can set any independent rates, as well as availability, pricing, and minimum stay for your properties via the Multi-calendar Rates View, and all the changes will be automatically applied to your listings on Booking.com.

Key peculiarities:

• In the regular view of the Multi-calendar, only standard rates are displayed. To change a derived or any other rate, you need to open the Multi-calendar Rates View.
• To change a default rate and adjust other settings such as a cancelation policy or maximum stay requirement, you should use our Room Type Editor or Hotel Editor.

Payment Processing

Unlike Airbnb, which has its payment processing system, Booking.com uses external payment services. To enable hosts to receive payouts without logging off their iGMS account, we’ve introduced a long-awaited payment processing feature.

You’ll be able to create invoices and itineraries for your guests with a detailed fee breakdown. To get an invoice for each reservation, you can connect your Stripe account to iGMS. Reach out to Booking.com support to switch you from its internal payment system to start receiving payments via Stripe.

How to Connect Your Booking.com Account 

To connect your Booking.com account to iGMS and start automating your operations is a breeze, just follow these steps:

1. Go to Accounts & Listings, click on the blue Connect Account button and select Booking.com from the list of the suggested platforms
2. Select the Connect to Property option to connect an existing property
3. Read carefully the instruction on how to choose iGMS as your connectivity provider
4. Log in to your account on Booking.com
5. Select the necessary property and click the Account button
6. Click the Channel Manager option and then select the Connect your channel manager option
7. Select iGMS from the list
8. Activate the following checkboxes: Reservations, Rates & Availability and Content & Photos and then click the Next button
9. Accept the Terms & Conditions by activating the checkbox and then click Accept.

Once the connection is approved, Booking.com will send you an email. You should follow the instructions in the email to complete the setup. iGMS will confirm your connection within 24 hours and transfer all the data regarding future reservations.

How to Create a New Booking.com Listing via iGMS 

In case you don’t have a listing on Booking.com yet or you need to add a new one, you can easily accomplish it from the iGMS software. Establishing your presence on multiple platforms, including Booking.com, will help you enhance your occupancy rate. To create a new Booking.com listing, follow these steps: 

1. Go to Accounts & Listings, click on the blue Connect Account button and select Booking.com from the list of the suggested platforms
2. Select the Create New Property option to connect an existing property
3. Start creating your property. Be sure to fill out the mandatory fields: 

• Property Name
• Address
• Photos (add at least one photo)
• Legal entity ID (reach out to Booking.com customer support to get your Legal entity ID)
• Primary contact in the Contacts section
• Invoicing address
• Cancelation policy

As the process of setting a new listing may take some time, iGMS will save the draft of your listing automatically. You’ll be able to go back and continue editing from where you left off.

We genuinely hope that our new Booking.com integration, along with the new functionality, will make a difference for hosts and help to expand their businesses further. 

We’re excited to share more fantastic news for our current and new customers—there are no extra costs charged for using this brand-new feature. So, the value for money of our software now is better than ever.

Haven’t signed up for iGMS yet? It’s the perfect time to join thousands of satisfied iGMS customers. By automating your business, you’ll make a big leap forward while saving your time and effort on multiple tasks and day-to-day operations.