Most owners know what their channels are, but few have asked themselves directly: if the biggest of them brings half as many guests tomorrow, what do I do? This article is not about how to reduce commissions or how to collect direct enquiries. There are separate articles for those. This one is about something else: how to arrange all the routes to your property as a portfolio and see where it is fragile.
The same platform, a different risk
For example: two guest houses (hypothetical, with no real data) use the same platform and are in a completely different position. The first gets two thirds of its reservations from it. The second gets one fifth, and the rest comes from recommendations, returning guests and the phone. If the platform changes its ranking, raises its price or suspends the profile by mistake, the first guest house has a problem and the second has an inconvenience.
That is why risk is not measured by whether you use a platform, but by what share of the inflow depends on one source. It is a question of concentration, not of principle.
The “what if” test in four steps
Take a sheet of paper and list your channels: platforms, phone, recommendations, returning guests, website, social media, partners such as agencies or nearby businesses. Then, for each one, answer four questions.
- What approximate share of enquiries and stays does it bring? “About half”, “a little” or “almost nothing” is enough. Where to find the data is described in the article on the simple note about sources.
- What role does it play? A platform may be the main source in the low season, and recommendations at the peak.
- How quickly can I replace it if it weakens? The phone and guests who already know you react in days; a new website or a new partner connection takes months.
- Who at the property keeps an eye on this channel, and when did they last check it?
You do not need exact numbers. The aim is to see one thing: whether there is a channel whose weakening you cannot absorb.
Roles, not a competition
Channels are often compared as rivals: which is cheaper, which brings more. It is more useful to give them roles.
- A discovery channel: it puts you in touch with people who do not know you.
- A return channel: it lets guests who already know you find you without a detour.
- A trust channel: recommendations, reviews, content that shows how you work.
- A fill-in channel: something you can switch on when a quiet period is coming.
When a channel performs two roles, it is convenient but also risky. When a role has no channel at all, that is your next job. You may find, for example, that you have good discovery and no return at all: guests who already know you have nowhere to find you except through the same platform.
What “reducing dependence” means in practice
You do not need to make a big change. Most of the steps are small.
- If a role is empty, add exactly one channel for it, not five.
- If one channel brings too large a share, do not deliberately limit it, but grow the others around it.
- If a channel depends on one person, write down how it works so that someone else can take it over.
- If the channel is someone else’s platform, keep the photos, descriptions and availability up to date, as you would for any other shop window.
Also check your contract terms with each platform. What you are allowed to offer a guest who came through it is set by the platform itself and differs between them.
The website’s place in the portfolio
The website is a channel that you can arrange in your own way: rooms with photos, services, an enquiry form. It is a natural place for the “return” role, because a guest who already knows you finds it on their own. It is not a guarantee of reservations and does not displace the rest; on its own it will do nothing if enquiries are not answered on time.
ISKA Website is a service offered on an individual quote. It shows the rooms with photos and, optionally, a “from” price, the services, the gallery, the offers and an enquiry form. The owner maintains it through ISKA: draft, preview, publishing and reverting to a previous version. It is not an online reservation system and does not accept payment. There is more on the product page.
The quarterly review
Once every three months, set aside an hour and go through the list again.
- Has the biggest channel changed, and how much weight does it carry now?
- Is any role left without a channel?
- Is there a channel that has collapsed or grown for no explicable reason?
- What is the one thing you will add or improve this quarter?
That way the portfolio stays a living document, not a one-off exercise.
What to do this week
- Write your channels on one sheet and add an approximate share to each.
- Mark which channel would be hardest for you to lose.
- Assign a role to each channel and find the empty role.
- Choose one small step for the weakest spot.