BetterSTR connects directly to the Channex channel manager, so your properties and every booking from every connected channel (Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Vrbo and more) sync automatically, and every guest gets their own digital guidebook link. The connection uses a Channex API key that you create yourself. This guide walks you through creating the key, connecting it, what syncs, the optional guidebook message delivery into the guest’s OTA chat, and what to check if something doesn’t look right.
Before you start
Two things to know about Channex API keys
In Channex, API keys can only be created by the billing account owner. If you don’t see the option, ask whoever set up your Channex account.
If your property management system includes Channex under its own brand, you usually won’t have a Channex login at all — in that case connect your PMS to BetterSTR directly instead. Check the integrations list; we probably already support it.
Step 1 — Create your Channex API key
- Log in to Channex at app.channex.io.
- Open your user profile (top-right menu) and find the API Keys section.
- Create a new API key and give it a name (e.g. “BetterSTR”).
- You can leave Access to all properties ticked, or untick it and select just the properties you want in BetterSTR. Either works.
- Copy the key.
Step 2 — Connect it to BetterSTR
- In BetterSTR, go to Integrations and choose Channex, or head straight to the Channex connection page.
- Paste your key into the Channex API Key field and click Connect Channex.
- BetterSTR validates the key with Channex before saving it. If the key is accepted, your properties and bookings begin syncing automatically straight away.
What syncs, and how fast
- Property details — name, address, photos, description, currency, and the check-in and check-out times from your Channex hotel policy. Property details refresh daily.
- Bookings, from every channel — guest name, email, phone, party size, expected arrival time and the booking source (Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and any other channel Channex syncs) all come across.
- Booking changes — new bookings, modifications and cancellations arrive in near real-time via Channex webhooks, with an hourly sync as a safety net. In practice a new booking appears in BetterSTR within a couple of minutes.
- Guidebook links — every booking automatically gets its own unique guest guidebook link, ready to share however you like.
BetterSTR never touches your rates or availability
The Channex integration is strictly read-only on the distribution side. BetterSTR never writes rates, availability, restrictions or channel settings, and it never consumes the booking feed your other systems may rely on. Your Channex setup stays exactly as you left it.
Optional: send the guidebook straight into the guest’s OTA chat
Most OTA bookings come with a masked relay email and often no phone number. Channex has a messaging relay into Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia conversations, and BetterSTR can use it to deliver the guidebook link for you:
- In BetterSTR, open Properties → Property Defaults and find the Channex Settings section.
- Under Guidebook Delivery, choose Message the guest directly. It’s off by default, so nothing is sent until you turn it on.
- Optionally edit the guest message template. The variables
{{guidebook_url}}and{{guest_first_name}}are filled in per booking. - Individual properties can override this on their own settings page (Edit Property → Channex Settings).
Once on, each new booking gets its guide link sent into the booking’s conversation on the channel the guest actually booked through. You can also send the guide into the OTA chat on a schedule (for example two days before check-in) using Notifications → Rules with the “PMS guest message” method.
Messages need the Channex Messages app
Message delivery needs the Messages application enabled on the property inside Channex (Applications page). It works for Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia bookings; direct bookings and other channels don’t have a message thread, so those guests are better served by SMS or email delivery. One more heads-up: Airbnb sometimes filters external links in chat, so keep your message wording natural.
Channex shortcodes in the guide builder
Once connected, the guide builder’s shortcode menu gains two Channex categories — Channex Fields (property-level values such as check-in time, property phone, website and currency) and Channex Res (per-booking values such as the confirmation code, booking channel, party size, expected arrival time and room type). Insert them like any other shortcode, e.g. {{channex_source}}, and they resolve per booking when the guide is viewed.
Troubleshooting
- “Channex rejected the API key” — double-check you copied the full key from the API Keys section of your Channex user profile. Remember only the billing account owner can create keys.
- Connected but a property is missing — keys can be scoped to specific properties at creation. If a property was left out, create a new key that includes it, use Update API Key in BetterSTR, then click Sync Properties.
- A booking change isn’t showing yet — webhook updates normally land within a couple of minutes, but if one is missed the hourly sync will pick the change up. If something is still missing after an hour, use Sync Reservations to pull it immediately.
- Guidebook messages aren’t reaching guests — check the Messages application is enabled on the property in Channex, and that the booking came from Airbnb, Booking.com or Expedia. Direct bookings have no OTA chat thread; use SMS or email delivery for those.
- Check-in/check-out times look wrong — BetterSTR reads them from your Channex hotel policy (check-in opens / check-out closes). Set or link a hotel policy on the property in Channex, then click Sync Properties. You can always override times per property in BetterSTR.
- Rotating your key — use Update API Key on the Channex page in BetterSTR. The new key is validated before it replaces the old one, so a typo can’t break your existing connection.