Dynamic pricing with PriceLabs: connect it without getting lost
By GuestChat Team ·
Setting prices by hand works while you have one or two apartments and time to watch the local calendar. Beyond that, a dynamic pricing tool adjusts each night based on demand and occupancy in your area, and publishes it to your booking sites on its own. PriceLabs connects from the dashboard in a few steps.
Before you start
- You need a PriceLabs account, new or the one you already have.
- At least one property has to be set up under Booking channels. If not, the card tells you so and won't let you turn it on yet.
- Be clear about which booking sites you have connected: PriceLabs publishes to the ones you have under Booking channels.
Step 1: turn it on in the dashboard
In Settings, Apps section, you will see the PriceLabs card. Press Enable. That does two things at once:
- It sets up PriceLabs on all your properties.
- It generates your key: a single one, with access only to yours.
That key is restricted to your properties from the start. No other customer gets in with it, and yours doesn't depend on anyone else's.
Step 2: copy the key
Inside the card, use Show my key and copy it with the button. If you ever suspect it has been shared where it shouldn't have been, Generate a new key gives you a different one.
Step 3: paste it into PriceLabs
In PriceLabs, click Add Your Listings, look for the "Channex" system in their list and paste your key there. You only have to type that name inside PriceLabs: it is the connectivity provider your prices travel through. PriceLabs will load all your properties at once.
Careful: it starts publishing for real
As soon as you connect it in PriceLabs, it starts sending real rates to your booking sites. If you want to try it first, add a single property in PriceLabs and leave the rest for later. Watch how it behaves for a week, then add the others.
Step 4: decide who is in charge of the price
With PriceLabs connected, there are two systems that can set prices: the dashboard calendar and the tool. So that the last one to write doesn't simply win, in the Calendar, Settings tab, there is Derived prices, under "Who's in charge of each property". We explain it in detail in the article about who is in charge of the price.
What stays in the dashboard
Even if the tool sets the price, closing dates and protecting nights that are already sold is still the dashboard's job. That can't depend on an external pricing tool.
Common mistakes
- Turning it on in the dashboard and not pasting the key. The dashboard is ready, but PriceLabs publishes nothing until you paste it there.
- Choosing another system in the PriceLabs list. It has to be the one the card shows.
- Rolling it out to every property on day one. If something doesn't convince you, you find out in ten apartments at once.
- Still changing prices by hand in the calendar while the tool is in charge. Those changes aren't sent.
Checklist
- Properties set up under Booking channels.
- PriceLabs turned on in Apps and key copied.
- One test property in PriceLabs for a week.
- Derived prices decided for each property.
- A look at the calendar: the prices you see are the tool's.