Channel Configuration

Use Channel Configuration for two purposes:

Use the Export/Import tab to inform G3 RMS about your acquisition costs. For example, you might pay a fixed fee of 5 for all bookings from your CRS. And for a reservation from an Online Travel Agency (OTA), like Booking.com, you pay an additional fee of 20% of the value of the reservation.
Use the Forecast Settings tab to define how G3 RMS displays data in the Channel Forecast dashboard. For example, define your top five channels.

What Are the Benefits of Setting up Channel Costs?

Channel Costs don't impact the forecast and decisions (unless you use Channel Optimization). But they display in the Channel Forecast and Business Insights dashboards. Those dashboards help you understand the costs and, therefore, better manage channels. For example, use the dashboards to:

Understand how channel costs impact Net Revenue, Net ADR, and Net RevPAR Revenue Per Available Room. The total room revenue divided by the total number of rooms (capacity). For the capacity definition, see the At a Glance - RevPAR topic (under Data Details). of every reservation and compare that to last year.
Perform a true, cost-adjusted revenue comparison between channels, like a commissionable versus a merchant-model OTA.
View a forecast of business by channel and the expected channel costs.

Use an Excel template to import your initial values or to export existing setup. You also use the export option to review and change your costs. Review the best practices for defining channel costs.

Setting Up Channel Configuration

Export/Import Channel Costs

Click , then External Data, and then Channel.
Click the Export/Import tab.
Select the template type:
- To set up Channel Costs for the first time, select Blank.
- To update existing costs, select Current Settings. Note: Importing the worksheet deletes existing costs without keeping a record of the old values. Always review your new costs before you import.
Click Export.
Add costs or change existing values as needed.
- Click an empty field (Source, Channel, etc.) and select from the options that G3 RMS found in your reservations data. Don't enter new values.
- When you enter the cost for Monday, it copies to all days. If needed, edit by day of week.
- Enter the cost in the same currency that your property sells at, which is the same as RMS currency listed in Important Information.
- See Data for definitions and view the Best Practices and Scenarios.
Save the modified workbook in an XLSX format.
Click the Choose File button.
Navigate to and select the saved workbook.
Click Import.
G3 RMS validates the workbook to check for data and formatting errors. If the system finds no errors, it confirms the upload with a message. If it finds errors, it cancels the import and tells you which rows have errors. Click the Excel icon to export the error list. Correct the errors, then import the workbook again. See Fix the issues that cause import failures.

Forecast Settings

Click , then External Data, and then Channel.
Click the Forecast Settings tab.
Select your weekend days. G3 RMS uses these days of the week when it displays weekend data in the Channel Forecast dashboard.
Select if you want G3 RMS to Present forecast data by Channel or Source in the dashboard.
Select defaults. Based on your selection in step 5, define the top channels or sources. By default, the dashboard displays data for those selected.

Data in Channel Costs

If you exported a Blank worksheet, you can select from the Sources, Channels, market segments, rate codes, and room types that G3 RMS found in reservations data. If you are updating existing Channel Costs, you select the options from your last import.

Field	Description
Universal/Specific	Select Universal for costs that apply to every booking that includes a certain Source, Channel, Market Segment, Rate Code, or Room Type. Define Universal costs for only one of those five fields (Source, Channel, etc. ) and set all other levels to All. For example, all bookings with the Source Our Website have a fixed cost of 5. Select Specific for exceptions to when the cost applies. For example, all bookings with the LCA market segment have a 10% commission cost. But if the market segment is LCA and the rate code is LCA1, the commission is zero. See How to use Universal vs. Specific Channel Costs.
Source	Select the source that you want to define Universal or Specific costs for. Select All if the costs apply to all sources. See Understand how to use Source vs. Channel.
Channel	Select All if the costs apply to all channels. Or select a specific channel that you want to define costs for. See Understand how to use Source vs. Channel.
Market Segment	Select All if the costs apply to all market segments. Or select a specific market segment that you want to define costs for.
Rate Code	Select All if the costs apply to all rate codes. Or select a specific rate code that you want to define costs for. Use this also to define a Rate Code Pattern — see the next row. For example, you have three rate codes that have the same fixed cost: EXP20, EXP25, and EXP30. Enter EXP* and G3 RMS applies the cost to all rate codes that begin with EXP. The asterisk * is a wildcard character that represents one or more characters.
Rate Code Pattern	Select Use Pattern if the channel costs apply based on the rate code name pattern that you define in the Rate Code column. This saves time compared to adding each rate code separately. For example, all rate codes that start with EXP have a certain fixed cost.
Room Type	Select All if the costs apply to all room types. Or select a specific room type that you want to define costs for.
Start and End Date	Enter the dates when the costs apply Use the DD-MM-YYYY format.
Commission/Merchant	Defines a channel cost when you pay a portion of the reservation revenue. Commission: the channel sends reservations including the costs, and the commission is deducted after check out. Use this for any commissionable channel. Merchant: the channel sends reservations with the commission already deducted. Use this for all merchant model, or net, OTAs. Example: you set up one OTA Source as Merchant with 25% Percentage Cost, another OTA as Commission with 10%. For each OTA, G3 RMS receives a 1-night booking: the merchant OTA has a rate of 75, the commissionable OTA is 100. Based on your configured costs, G3 RMS knows that 75 is the rate after the OTA keeps their margin of 25%. Thus, in the Business Insights dashboard, the system shows the Gross Revenue of the merchant booking as 100. Similarly, it shows the adjusted Net Revenue for the commissionable OTA booking as 90.
Booked/Stay/Arrival	Select Booked if the costs apply based on when the reservation is booked. Select Stay if the costs apply based on the occupancy date. Select Arrival if the costs apply based on the arrival date. For example, you set a 10% Commission cost for Sunday, 15% for Monday, and 20% for Tuesday. And a two-night booking is booked on a Tuesday and for an arrival on a Sunday at $100 for each night. If you select Stay, G3 RMS assumes 10% commission for Sunday and 15% for Monday. If you select Arrival, it assumes 10% for both nights. If you select Booked, it assumes 20% for both nights. Note: Fixed Costs apply by arrival date for both Stay and Arrival, since they apply only once per booking. If the above example is for Fixed Costs of 10, 15, and 20 and you select Stay, G3 RMS assumes a total cost of 15, based on the Monday arrival.
Fixed Cost (by day of week)	A channel cost with a specific value that you pay per booking at the selected level. For example, you pay a $5 delivery fee for each reservation received via your CRS. Enter the cost for Monday and it copies to all days. If needed, vary by day of week. You must enter a value for this field, enter zero if a channel charges only a Percentage Cost. Enter the cost in the same currency that your property sells at, which is the same as RMS currency listed in Important Information. You can use only Fixed Cost, only Percentage Cost, or both for a channel.
Percentage Cost (by day of week)	A channel cost that is determined as a percentage of the room revenue per night and that you pay for each reservation at the selected level. For example, you pay a 25% cost per room night for a reservation from an OTA. Enter the cost for Monday and it copies to all days. If needed, vary by day of week. You must enter a value for this field. You can use only Percentage Cost, only Fixed Cost, or both for a channel. Note: if the room rate that your reservations system sends to G3 RMS includes non-room elements like breakfast, tax, or resort fees, then the cost is calculated inclusive of those values.

Best Practices

Channel costs can be very complex. Follow the below recommendations to simplify the task of defining the channel costs for G3 RMS. See the scenario for setup examples.

Understand How G3 RMS Calculates Channel Costs

G3 RMS looks at five fields in each booking to determine the costs: the Source, Channel, Market Segment, Rate Code, and Room Type. In the Excel template, you define the costs for those fields. You use either Universal or Specific costs.

If more than one cost applies to a booking, G3 RMS adds them up. There can be up to 5 Universal costs per booking, one for each field. But there can only be one Specific cost per booking.

Use Universal and Specific Costs for Faster Setup

Use Universal to define costs that apply every time that a booking includes one of those five fields. For example, every booking with the Source Our Website has a fixed cost of 5. Define Universal costs for only one of the five fields and set all other levels to All.
Use Specific to define costs that have exceptions. For example, all bookings with the LCA market segment have a 10% commission cost. But if the market segment is LCA and the rate code is LCA1, the commission is zero.
You can define Specific Costs for a combination of fields. If more than one Specific cost applies to a booking, G3 RMS uses the one with the higher number of defined fields (meaning, not set to All). In the above LCA example, the 10% commission cost is only defined at the market segment level (LCA), the other four fields are set to All. The 0% commission cost is defined for the market segment (LCA) and the rate code (LCA1), so for two fields. In that case, the more specific definition for the rate code (with two fields) "wins," and G3 RMS assigns 0% commission.

Use Universal Costs if You Are Concerned about Input Errors

You might be concerned that G3 RMS assigns no costs to input errors (for example, a market segment isn't updated when the rate code changes) and bookings for new rate codes. See the Expedia examples in the scenario for how to avoid this.

To avoid incorrect costs for new rate codes, you can also use Rate Code Patterns. They are useful if you have rate codes that have the same cost and a similar naming convention. For example, you have three rate codes that have the same fixed cost, EXP20, EXP25, and EXP30. Enter EXP* and G3 RMS applies the cost to all rate codes that begin with EXP.

Fix the Issues that Cause Import Failures

If the worksheet has data or format issues, the import fails. To avoid failures, ensure the following:

Don't create unclear cost definitions. This occurs when multiple specific costs with the same number of defined fields (meaning, not set to All) apply to a booking. See the Scenarios section for an example.
Don't add, delete, move, or rename columns.
Don't change the name of the Channel Costs tab.
File type remains .xlsx.
Don't create any overlapping periods. If you leave days undefined, G3 RMS assumes there are no costs for this period.
Don't leave the Fixed and Percentage Cost fields blank, enter zero, if needed.

Understand How to Use Source versus Channel

Our clients use Sources and Channels in different ways, and there isn't one industry standard. Usage also depends on the available data from your reservation system. Many systems can define both the booking source and the channel for a reservation. Others only support one or the other. Use these fields based on your property. G3 RMS doesn't assume any hierarchical order between them or any of the other fields.

For our examples and scenarios, we assume that every booking has a source and a channel. And the source is the "parent" of channel. For example, Global Distribution System (GDS) is the source that includes multiple channels, like Sabre, Amadeus, etc.

Scenarios

Below you see the Channel Costs setup for a property. Below the table, you can see what costs G3 RMS assumes for some example bookings, based on this setup. For simplicity, the scenario:

Shows only some of the available columns, for example, no Room Type level.
Shows the default costs instead of by day of the week.
Shows only a few cost definitions, for example, only two sources.

#	Universal / Specific	Source	Channel	Market Segment	Rate Code	Type	Fixed Cost	Percentage Cost
1	Universal	CRS	All	All	All	Commission	5	0
2	Universal	GDS	All	All	All	Commission	10	0
3	Universal	All	Call Center	All	All	Commission	12	0
4	Specific	All	Amadeus	All	All	Commission	0	10
5	Specific	All	Amadeus	LCA	All	Commission	0	0
6	Specific	All	Amadeus	LCA	LCA1	Commission	0	5
7	Universal	All	All	All	EXPCOM20	Commission	0	20
8	Universal	All	All	MER	All	Merchant	0	25
9	Universal	All	All	All	EXP30	Merchant	0	5

Two Universal Costs Apply

G3 RMS receives a booking with Source CRS, Channel Call Center, Market Segment BAR, and Rate Code BAR. The system determines a total cost of 17 by adding the costs of the two rows that match:

Row 1 for the Source (fixed cost of 5)
Row 3 for the Channel (fixed cost of 12).

One Universal and One Specific Cost Apply

Booking: GDS/Amadeus/BAR/BAR

The system assumes a fixed cost of 10 (row 2) and a percentage cost of 10 (row 4). If this is a two-night stay, G3 RMS assumes a fixed cost of 10 (once per booking) and a percentage cost of 20 (10 per day).

Multiple Specific Costs Match a Booking

Booking: GDS/Amadeus/LCA/LCA1

Total costs are 10 fixed and 5% commission:

Row 2 for the GDS Source, 10 fixed.
Rows 4 (Channel), 5 (Market Segment) and 6 (Rate Code) all apply to the booking. G3 RMS uses only line 6 (5%) since it has the most fields defined.

Expedia bookings

Expedia bookings at this property come via CRS and differ by rate code and market segment.

Bookings at the commissionable model have a Percentage Cost and are in market segment COM.
For Merchant model bookings, in market segment MER, the normal Percentage Cost is 25 for rate code EXP25. For Promotions, the property sometimes agrees to higher Percentage Costs, 30%, EXP30.

CRS/Expedia/COM/EXPCOM20

The total costs are 5 fixed and 20% commission:

Row 1 for the CRS Source, 5 fixed.
Row 7 for the EXPCOM20 Rate Code, 20% commission.

CRS/Expedia/COM/EXPCOM25:

Total costs are 5 fixed. Only the CRS Source costs of row 1 applies to this booking.

This shows the problem of defining costs for specific rate codes. EXPCOM25 is a new commissionable Expedia rate code that the property forgot to add to the channel costs. To avoid this, define costs at the market segment level with exceptions at the rate code level. See the next example.

CRS/Expedia/MER/EXP30:

Total costs are 5 fixed and 30% commission:

Row 1 for the CRS source, 5 fixed
Row 8 (25%) and Row 9 (5%) apply and are added together, for a total 30% commission.

Setting a Universal cost at the Market Segment level for MER avoids the issue of the previous example.

And the Universal cost for EXP30 helps avoid missing channel costs for input errors. For example, if an EXP30 booking is manually added but has the wrong Source, Channel, and Market Segment, G3 RMS still assigns some cost. However, if a manually entered booking has the EXP25 rate code but an incorrect Source and Market Segment, G3 RMS doesn't find any matching costs and assumes it's zero.

Costs Vary at Rate Code Level

What if a rate code involves a commission payment in some cases only? For example, you pay 10% commission for a booking at BAR from your GDS channel when a travel agency is attached and zero % commission otherwise. In that case define the cost for the more frequent scenario.

Unclear Setup

Universal / Specific	Source	Channel	Market Segment	Rate Code	Type	Fixed Cost	Percentage Cost
Specific	GDS	All	CP	All	Commission	5	10
Specific	GDS	Sabre	All	All	Commission	5	15

If a booking contains GDS/Sabre/CP, G3 RMS can't know which of these two costs apply. That's because they both match and they both have two fields defined. An import with such an unclear setup causes an import failure.

However the below setup is valid, even though a GDS/Sabre/CP booking matches both definitions. That is because, if two specific cost definitions match a booking, G3 RMS chooses the more specific one. In this case the system uses the second definition and applies the 15 percentage cost.

Universal / Specific	Source	Channel	Market Segment	Rate Code	Type	Fixed Cost	Percentage Cost
Specific	GDS	Sabre	All	All	Commission	5	10
Specific	GDS	Sabre	CP	All	Commission	5	15