Why is my inventory (ARI) not syncing or showing correctly on a channel?
Inventory (ARI updates: rates, availability, and restrictions) that is not syncing, or is showing incorrectly on a channel, is usually caused by one of these:
Mapping or disabled rates: the channel or its room rates are disabled or unmapped, so no updates are sent.
Channel support or data limits: the channel, or a specific channel rate, does not support certain inventory updates from Little Hotelier.
Connection or performance issues: slow updates, outages, or connection interruptions between Little Hotelier and the channel.
⚠️ If you see incorrect inventory on a channel, check the values in your Front Desk inventory. All rates should be managed in Front Desk, not Channel Manager.
Before you start
If your rates, availability, or restrictions are wrong or not syncing on a channel, first find where the difference starts:
Little Hotelier and the channel extranet differ: work through the checks below.
The channel extranet and the public website differ: contact the channel. It may be applying promotions, member or mobile discounts, or wholesale pricing.
Check what the guest sees
Look at the channel’s live booking website, the listing a guest sees. Note the exact booking details so you can check the same scenario everywhere:
The check-in and check-out dates.
The room type and room rate.
The occupancy and number of guests.
Then compare the same dates, room, and rate in all three places: your Inventory grid, the channel’s extranet, and the channel’s live website. Where they stop matching shows where the difference begins.
Check channel settings and connection
In My Apps > Channel Manager > Channels, open the affected channel’s Channel settings and check:
The property code is correct. ⚠️ The property code field (also known as Property ID, Hotel ID, Channel ID, or Account Number) is read-only and greyed out, as it cannot be changed here. To update the property code for a connected channel, contact our support team.
Any required credentials are current (not applicable to all channels).
Next, check your connection in the channel extranet:
Make sure Little Hotelier (“SiteMinder” or “SiteMinder RDX”) is selected as the connectivity provider in the channel extranet.
Make sure your property is active and that the relevant room rates exist and are active in the channel extranet.
Check for disabled channels, disabled rates, and unmapped rates
⚠️ These are the most common causes of inventory (ARI) not syncing or channels showing incorrect inventory.
Check for unmapped rates
⚠️ Unmapped rates are a common cause of inventory (ARI) not syncing. If a channel rate is unmapped, Little Hotelier does not send updates to it, so the rate can stay live and bookable on the channel with incorrect rates or outdated availability.
Make sure all rates across every connected channel are mapped and enabled, not only the one currently affected. Leaving rates unmapped, or updating them manually in a channel extranet, can cause discrepancies such as:
Reservations not syncing to Little Hotelier, which prevents inventory updates in Little Hotelier and subsequent updates to channels or OTAs
Overbookings or missing availability
Go to My apps > Channel Manager > Channels and confirm all rates are mapped correctly to your channels and Front Desk. Tick "Show rooms/rates not mapped to [property name]" to display any unmapped rates.
💡 If you cannot locate a specific rate to map to on the channel, check with the channel to confirm the room rate is active. New rates can take up to 60 minutes to appear after creation in the channel's extranet.
Everything looks mapped
Check there is no partial mapping. Check the Rates mapped: X of Y counter. Both numbers must match.
Rates mapped: 8 of 9: a channel rate is missing or unmapped.
Rates mapped: 9 of 8: the rate configuration in the channel’s extranet was modified. Remap all rates for this channel to reset the connection.
Crossed mapping: ensure Room Type A is not mistakenly linked to Channel Room Rate B.
Mapping additional rate types (common with Expedia): everything may look mapped, as the additional rate types do not show in the Unmapped filter on the main room rates mapping page. To find them, click the channel room rate in the left column, select Map to channel, then choose a different rate type from the drop-down.
Also verify that the total number of room rates in the channel’s extranet matches the number mapped in Little Hotelier. Some rates are managed directly in the channel extranet and are not synced through Little Hotelier:
Booking.com: room rates tagged “NOT XML” are managed directly in the channel extranet, rather than synced through Little Hotelier.
Agoda: reservations made through Agoda Private Sales may not automatically adjust your availability, as these rates cannot be mapped to your channel manager.
Check for disabled rates
⚠️ If a rate is disabled, Little Hotelier does not send inventory (ARI) updates to the channel for that rate. The rate can stay live on the channel with outdated data and keep accepting bookings.
A rate can be automatically disabled when a setting conflicts with the channel, for example a rate below the minimum rate or above the channel’s price limit, a minimum stay higher than the maximum stay, an occupancy or pricing model mismatch, or a currency mismatch.
Room rates must show Updates Enabled to send updates to a channel. A disabled rate shows Updates Disabled. Click the disabled rate to see the reason and steps to resolve it. Once resolved, select Yes to "Continue updating Channel" and click Save.
Common causes of disabled rates
Occupancy errors — included occupancy exceeds maximum occupancy, or required occupancy settings are missing
Rate errors — invalid rate multiplier, negative or zero rates, or rate exceeds channel limits
Minimum rate conflict — check the rate isn't below the minimum rate set in any of these locations: My apps > Front Desk > Setup > Property details > Minimum room rate, My apps > Channel Manager > [Property name] > Property settings > General > Minimum rate, or My apps > Direct Booking > Setup > Property > General > Rate settings
Unsupported features or restrictions — features or restriction settings the channel doesn't support
Connection or mapping errors — mismatched rate type configuration or channel connectivity problems
Check if your channel rate supports the inventory update
If your channel is enabled and rates are mapped but inventory is still not syncing correctly, the channel rate may not support certain update types from Channel Manager. Not all channels support all types of inventory updates.
Look for dashes in your inventory
Dashes (-) in your Front Desk inventory indicate the channel doesn't support receiving that update type:
Dashes for all rates means the channel doesn't support that update type
Dashes for specific rates means updates are blocked for certain rate types, such as package or derived rates
Check data is supported by this channel rate
💡 Inventory types not supported by the channel must be managed directly in the channel's extranet.
Go to My Apps > Channel Manager > Channels
Find and click on the channel
Click on the channel rate > select Configure
Review the supported inventory updates for the channel (supported data will show in green). Inventory updates that cannot be sent for the channel rate will show in red.
Data is not supported but you need it supported: If the data (rates, availability, restrictions) is not supported by the channel rate and you are not sure why or need the data to be supported, contact the channel's (OTA) support team directly.
Validate your channel rate mapping configuration
Each channel maps differently, so check every field in the mapping configuration. Where it applies, make sure:
Each room type and room rate is mapped to the correct channel room type and rate, with no crossed mapping (for example, a room type linked to an unrelated channel rate).
The included and maximum occupancy match the channel extranet.
Extras and discounts (extra adult, extra child, and single guest discount) are enabled in the channel extranet before you activate them in Little Hotelier. If they do not appear in the mapping configuration, manage them in the extranet.
Note:
Map each room type to one channel room type, not several (and not several room types to one). This is different from mapping one room rate to multiple rate types, which some channels require.
Create an independent rate plan to map room rates. Linked or derived rate plans in the channel extranet cannot be retrieved for mapping.
Channel rate multipliers do not apply to extra adult, extra child, or single guest discount rates.
Check the channel connection
You can see when the connection with a Channel is functional. To view this go to, Go to My apps > Channel Manager > Channels, click the channel, and check for "Rates mapped: x/y" in the top-right corner. This shows connected rates against the total mappable rates in the channel extranet.
If the connection is not functional, you'll see: "Channel information retrieval failed for [channel name]."
Common reasons:
Incorrect credentials in Channel Settings (hotel code, username, password). Contact the channel to confirm the correct details.
The channel's web service hasn't been activated on the channel side. Contact the channel to confirm.
Check the channel is enabled
Go to My apps > Channel Manager > Channels > Channel Settings and confirm the channel is enabled. A channel must be enabled to receive updates from Channel Manager.
Ensure rates are mapped to the correct room rates
Ensure all rates for the same room in Channel Manager are mapped to the same room in the channel. If they are mapped to different rooms, your availability can be doubled and cause overbookings.
➕ Correct: BAR rate and DUI rate both mapped to Double Room (availability: 2). Total availability: 2. Incorrect: BAR rate mapped to Double Room and DUI rate mapped to Double Single Use Room (availability: 2 each). Total availability on channel: 4.
⚠️ Do not create rates as separate rooms unless you are intentionally splitting availability. Your channel configuration must match Channel Manager exactly.
Check Channel Update Period
Inventory updates are only sent to channels within the update period. Each channel can support a different minimum and maximum update period.
Check each channel's update period in My Apps > Channel Manager > Channels and your Channel Manager's default setting in My Apps > Channel Manager > Property Settings > General > Update period.
Check the Channel Manager Dashboard
The Dashboard in Channel Manager gives you an overview of your Channel Manager and booking channel connection status. Check here for:
Hotel Status — a summary of problems with your Channel Manager or channels
Channel Status — real-time connection status for all connected channels
System Alerts — performance issues affecting a channel
Note: Availability can take up to five minutes to update across your channels.
Check your notifications
When a room rate is disabled, you'll receive an e-mail notification. Log in to Channel Manager and check the affected rate to resolve it.
Also check:
If rates are lower than expected, check minimum rate settings
If you have availability loaded for future dates but it is not showing on channels, check that your update period is set high enough and that the channel's maximum update period supports those dates
If there are no room closures or stop sells applied in Little Hotelier, check the channel extranet directly. Check for any stop sells or restrictions that may be applied in the channel extranet that can prevent rooms or rates from being bookable
💡 Note: If you see a mismatch between the channel extranet and the public booking site, check the channel extranet first to confirm whether prices match Little Hotelier. If they match in the channel extranet but differ on the public site, the channel may be applying its own promotions or discounts directly in the extranet.
Inventory still not syncing after troubleshooting?
There is no built-in feature to manually push or repush inventory to channels. Inventory updates (rates, availability, and restrictions) are sent to channels automatically. A manual push or re-sync will not resolve the issue unless the underlying root cause is identified and fixed.
You can also try disconnecting and re-mapping a newly mapped rate however note that disconnecting a mapped rate permanently deletes its update and connection history log.
⚠️ After disconnecting, this history cannot be recovered, so only do this for newly mapped rates. Do not disconnect disabled rates that have been previously mapped and established.If a channel or OTA such as Booking.com, Expedia, or Hotelbeds asks you to refresh or re-sync availability, rates, or restrictions, work through the checks in this article first. A push or re-sync from your PMS, RMS, or CRS will not resend inventory to the channel. The channel rate must also support that inventory type for Little Hotelier to send it. If it is not supported, manage it directly in the channel's extranet.
If you have worked through all the troubleshooting steps above and a rate still fails to sync, contact our support team to request a manual push to the channel. Provide:
The room type affected (if all, just give an example of one)
The room rate affected (if all, just give an example of one)
Stay date (example of one)
The value that is displayed
The correct value