Channel Integration

Argonautas connects your properties to major online travel agencies (OTAs) like Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and Google Vacation Rentals through a central distribution network. You manage every connection and check its sync status from one page, the Channel Manager.

Overview

Channel integration lets you distribute your property listings, rates, and availability across multiple booking platforms without manually updating each one. When a guest books through any connected channel, the reservation automatically flows into Argonautas and availability updates propagate to all other channels in real time.

The app says "Distribution" rather than naming a specific provider, so the technology underneath can change without changing how you work.

How It Works

Connecting a Property

Before a property can be distributed to OTAs, it must pass a validation check. The system verifies that required fields are complete:

• Property name and description
• Address and location
• At least one photo
• Room configuration (bedrooms, beds, bathrooms)
• Base rate and currency
• Cancellation policy

Once validated, the property can be connected to the distribution network. Each connected property receives a Distribution ID that links it to its counterparts on the various OTA platforms.

The Channels Page

Click Channel Manager in the sidebar (under Distribution). One page shows every direct-booking villa:

1. Status line: whether distribution is active, not configured, or has villas with sync errors; when the last push went out; how many pushes ran in the last 24 hours and how many failed; how many OTA connections are live; and links to the open alerts and All logs.
2. Villa table: one row per villa with its status, its last sync, its OTA channels (Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Google; each chip's colour shows whether that connection works) and whether its rates are Pushed or the Owner manages them. Need attention shows only villas with a sync error, a pending first sync, no connection yet or a broken OTA link. The search box finds a villa by name.
3. Sync now pushes one connected villa again. Sync all villas in the header queues a sync for every connected villa; statuses update as each one finishes. A villa that is not connected yet shows Set up instead.
4. Recent activity: the latest pushes and pulls, with All logs for the full history.

Click a row (or its Channels tab link) to open that villa's Channels tab, where you connect OTAs, map listings and switch Push rates to channels on or off.

If distribution is not set up for your company, the status line reads Distribution not configured and the villa's Channels tab asks you to contact your administrator.

The OTA Fee and Price Markup

Each connected channel's card on a villa's Channels tab has an OTA fee box: the percentage that OTA keeps from what the guest pays. Enter it (0 to 99.99) and click Save. Argonautas then raises the prices it sends to that channel by a matching price markup, so that after the OTA takes its fee, the payout equals the rate you set in Argonautas. With a 0% fee, no markup is added.

The OTA fee is the channel's money. It is not your management commission, and changing it doesn't change your commission. Argonautas also uses it to estimate the OTA's fee on bookings from that channel until the OTA reports the real amount.

The markup is fee ÷ (1 − fee), rounded up to two decimals. For example, a 15.5% fee becomes an 18.35% markup (0.155 ÷ 0.845 = 18.343…%, rounded up). A $1,000 night is sent as $1,183.50, and after the OTA keeps 15.5% the payout is $1,000.06, never less than your rate.

How the markup is applied depends on the channel:

• Vrbo: each listing carries its own markup, so villas that share one Vrbo account can have different fees.
• Airbnb and the other channels: one markup covers the whole OTA account. If several villas share one Airbnb account, give them all the same OTA fee. While their fees differ, Argonautas doesn't change that account's markup: it raises a critical Rate Error alert titled OTA price markup not updated, and the listings keep their previous markup until the fees match.

On an Airbnb card with a fee above 0%, a note reminds you to check the co-host payout setting if the villa has an Airbnb co-host arrangement.

If Argonautas manages the villa's Pricing on Airbnb (in the channel's settings drawer), the extra-guest price it sends gets the same markup, rounded up to a whole amount, so you still receive your season's extra-guest fee. While the account's markup doesn't match this villa's fee (for example, while differing fees hold the markup back), the extra-guest price isn't sent and the drawer explains why.

Scheduled Fee Changes

When an OTA announces a fee change for a future date (for example, a new Vrbo fee when each listing's subscription renews), Argonautas support can schedule it for you. There is no screen for this in the app. Contact support with the channel, the date and the new fee.

On the effective date, in your company's time zone, the new fee is applied within the hour and the new markup is sent. The OTA fee box then shows the new value.

If someone changed that channel's fee by hand in the meantime, the scheduled change is skipped and a critical Scheduled Fee Change alert tells you so. Check the fee and set it yourself. If the fee changed but the new markup couldn't be sent, a critical alert says so, and prices keep the old markup until the push succeeds.

Key Concepts

Sync Types and Frequencies

The distribution network synchronizes three categories of data, each on its own schedule:

Sync Type	Frequency	Direction	What It Covers
Content	Every 24 hours	Push	Property descriptions, photos, amenities, policies
Pricing	Every 1 hour	Push	Nightly rates, seasonal pricing, length-of-stay discounts
Availability	Real-time	Both	Calendar blocks, booking confirmations, cancellations

Availability syncs both ways. When a booking arrives from an OTA, your calendar updates immediately. When you block dates in Argonautas, the block pushes out to all connected channels.

Sync Statuses

Each villa shows one of five statuses:

• Active: the villa is connected to the distribution network and syncing.
• Pending first sync: the villa is connected but its first sync has not completed yet.
• Sync error: the last sync failed. Check the sync logs for details, then use Sync now.
• Disabled: distribution is switched off for this villa.
• Not connected: the villa has not been connected to the distribution network. Open its Channels tab to set it up.

Incoming Bookings

When a guest books through a connected OTA:

1. The distribution network sends the reservation to Argonautas.
2. A new booking record is created with the OTA reference number, guest details, and stay dates.
3. Availability immediately updates across all connected channels to prevent double bookings.
4. The booking appears in your Bookings dashboard with the source channel indicated.

This happens automatically. No manual entry is needed.

Property Validation

Not every property field is required for day-to-day management, but OTAs have strict content requirements. The validation check before connecting ensures your listing meets the minimum standards across all major platforms. If validation fails, you will see which fields need attention before the property can be distributed.

Connecting to Google Vacation Rentals

Google Vacation Rentals (GVR) is connected through a guided wizard rather than the standard mapping flow. From a property's Channels tab, choose Google Vacation Rentals to open a three-step wizard:

1. Readiness: the wizard checks that the property meets Google's requirements. It confirms you have at least 8 photos uploaded and flags anything blocking the connection. (A multi-unit complex with more than one active unit type can't connect as a single Google listing. Each unit type needs its own connection.) You can't continue until any blocking issues are resolved.
2. Settings: configure how guests book:
   • Use Channex booking engine: on by default; guests book through a hosted booking page. Turn it off to point Google at your own booking URL instead (you'll be asked to enter it).
   • Collect credit card at booking: when the built-in booking engine is on, choose whether card details are captured during booking.
   • Send email notifications: optionally receive an email whenever a new booking arrives from Google, sent to an address you specify.
3. Confirm: review your choices (booking engine, booking URL, card collection, notifications) and click Connect to Google.

Once connected, Google Vacation Rentals behaves like any other channel on the Channel Manager page. Content, rates, and availability sync on the same schedules described above.

Multi-Unit Properties

Multi-unit properties sync to distribution channels differently from single-unit properties.

How It Works

A multi-unit property (a complex with multiple unit types) maps to a single listing on the distribution network. Each unit type within that property maps to a separate room type on the channel. For example, a resort with "Garden Villa" (4 units) and "Oceanview Suite" (2 units) appears as one property listing with two room types.

Availability syncs as a count, not as open/closed. If 3 of 4 Garden Villas are booked for a given date, the channel sees 1 Garden Villa available. When all units of a type are booked, that room type closes automatically.

Distribution IDs

Multi-unit properties show a Distribution ID for the property (the complex), not for individual units. Each unit type also has its own room type ID within the channel. These are managed automatically and do not appear on the Channel Manager page.

Connecting a Multi-Unit Property

The connection process is the same as for single-unit properties. Once connected:

• All unit types are synced to the channel as room types.
• New unit types added after connection are linked to the channel automatically.
• Availability and rates sync per unit type.

If a unit is put into maintenance mode, the available count for that unit type decreases on the channel immediately.

Content and Rate Plans

Each room type's content on distribution channels is drawn from the first active unit of that unit type:

• Description: the unit's full description is used as the room type description on the channel.
• OTA Title: if the unit has an OTA title set, it is used as the room type title; otherwise the unit type name is used.
• Photos: the unit's photos are included in the room type listing.
• Amenities: shared complex amenities and unit-type-specific amenities are merged together for each room type automatically.

To update how a room type appears on OTAs, open the first unit of that type from the unit types table and edit its description, OTA title, and photos.

Rate plans added or modified via the Channels tab are pushed to the connected channel immediately. You do not need to wait for the next scheduled sync cycle.

Common Questions

Can I connect a property to some channels but not others? Channel connections are managed at the OTA level within the distribution network. Contact your administrator to configure which OTAs each property is listed on.

What happens if a sync fails? The villa's status changes to Sync error and the failure details appear in the sync logs. The system retries on the next scheduled sync cycle. You can also retry at once with Sync now on the Channel Manager page.

How quickly do availability changes propagate? Availability syncs are real-time. When a booking is created or cancelled, in Argonautas or on an OTA, the update typically reaches all connected channels within seconds.

Can I pause syncing for a property? To stop sending rates for a villa while availability and bookings keep flowing, switch off Push rates to channels on its Channels tab. To take a villa off distribution entirely, contact your administrator.

Why is there no channel manager on one of my properties? The property was imported from your property-management system (Beds24 or Hostfully). That system already lists it on the OTAs, so Argonautas never pushes its rates or availability out. Its Channels tab shows a Distribution card reading Channels are managed by Beds24 (or Hostfully) instead of the channel manager. Manage its OTA listings in your PMS. See PMS Integrations.

I see "Pending first sync" on a newly connected villa. Is that normal? Yes. The first full content sync runs on the next scheduled cycle, or you can start it with Sync now on the Channel Manager page. The status changes to Active once it completes.

Related

• Booking Window and Unpriced Dates: how far ahead guests can book, and why unpriced dates are closed
• Airbnb Booking Settings: keeping check-in, check-out, cancellation policy and guest controls matching Airbnb
• Syncing Villas: Sync now, Sync all and the sync logs
• Properties: managing your property listings
• Bookings: viewing and managing reservations
• Sync Troubleshooting: sync logs, channel alerts and common errors
• PMS Integrations: properties whose channels are managed by Beds24 or Hostfully