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    Channex is an API platform designed to help Property Management Systems (PMS) seamlessly connect with multiple Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). Our service simplifies the complexity of OTA integrations, allowing you to focus on building great PMS experiences while we handle the connectivity.

    Prerequisites

    Before starting your integration with Channex, please ensure the following:

    • You are a PMS or a software system capable of managing property availability, rates, and reservations.
    • You have a developer (or technical team) who can build and maintain the integration using our RESTful API.
    • You have access to at least one hotel/property account to use for testing availability, rates, and booking flows.
    • Your system can securely store API credentials and manage authentication
    • You are able to process and synchronise inventory updates in real time (recommended for best results).
    • (Optional but recommended) You have a clear plan for how your system will handle booking modifications, cancellations, and overbookings.
    Step 1

    Get Access and Prepare Your Environment

    1. Review the API Documentation

    Start by reading our API docs at docs.channex.io. This will help you understand the API structure, authentication, and key workflows for your integration.

    2. Create a Staging Account

    Sign up for a free account on our Staging Environment at staging.channex.io.

    The staging environment lets you safely build and test your integration before going live.

    3. Generate an API Key

    After creating your account, generate an API key to authenticate your API requests.

    Step 2

    Create Your Property, Rooms, and Rates

    We recommend creating properties, room types, and rate plans via the API. This approach speeds up onboarding and reduces the risk of manual data entry errors.

    Create a Property

    Use the API to create a property (hotel or rental).

    Add Room Types

    Define the rooms available at your property (e.g., Single Room, Suite).

    Set Up Rate Plans

    Create rate plans for your rooms (e.g., Standard Rate, Non-Refundable).

    Step 3

    Send Availability, Prices, and Restrictions

    You'll need to update your property's availability, prices, and restrictions using two separate API calls:

    Update Availability

    Use this API to send the number of available rooms for each date.

    Update Prices & Restrictions

    Use this API to send daily rates and apply restrictions such as minimum stay or closed dates.

    Verify Your Updates:

    • • Check the API response for confirmation that your update was successful.
    • • You can also log in to the Channex UI to double-check your availability and prices are correct.
    Step 4

    Receive Bookings

    This is the final technical step before certification. You will need to receive new bookings from OTAs through Channex and save them into your PMS. After receiving a booking, you should also update your property's availability — even though Channex will already send automatic updates to OTAs. This ensures your system stays in sync.

    Two Ways to Receive Bookings

    You can choose Pull or Push, or combine both for better reliability. Both methods are scalable when implemented correctly.

    Option 1: Pull Method (Recommended for Simplicity)

    Use the Booking Revisions Feed API to check for new bookings across all properties.

    Best Practice:

    Always request bookings for all properties in one API call. Avoid checking per property — this causes unnecessary load and many API calls per hour.

    If no new bookings are available, the API will return an empty result.

    When you receive a booking:

    • • Save it in your PMS.
    • • Acknowledge the booking to confirm receipt:

    Acknowledging is mandatory. Without it, Channex will continue sending the booking in the feed.

    Option 2: Push Method (Webhook Notifications)

    Channex can send a Webhook to your system as soon as a booking is created.

    • Create your webhook here:

    • Your webhook URL must use HTTPS.

    • Your server must respond with a success status code (200 OK) even if an error occurs in your PMS (e.g., overbooking).

    When you receive a webhook:

    1. 1. Pull the booking revision by ID:
    2. 2. Save the booking in your PMS.
    3. 3. Acknowledge the booking:

    Important:

    Even if using webhooks, you must implement the Pull method as a backup, running every 15–20 minutes (cron job). This ensures you don't miss bookings if a webhook fails.

    Final Step

    Certification

    Before going live in production, your integration must pass the Channex Certification Process. This ensures your system works reliably and efficiently.

    What We Look For During Certification:

    • Your integration is efficient and does not flood our servers with unnecessary API calls.
    • You are using the correct API endpoints and following best practices.
    • Any workflows that could cause overbookings or missed updates are addressed before launch.

    View the full certification tests here:

    If your PMS doesn't support a specific feature, just let us know in the test notes.

    Important:

    • • Do not use Postman or manual API tools for the certification test.
    • • All actions must be performed through your application to demonstrate a working integration.

    Final Review:

    Once you complete the certification tests and submit the form, we'll arrange a live screen-sharing session to:

    • • Review your test results
    • • Watch your application perform key API operations in real time
    • • Answer any final questions