Connection guide

The HRS Channel Connector provides a direct connection to HRS.de, including realtime updates of availabilities and rates and automatic handling of incoming reservations.

This guide with help you to connect your property to apaleo.

Preparation

You will need your HRS hotel number, which you can find in the top right corner in your HRS service portal account.
All rateplans you plan to sell via HRS-Connect, should include "Hrs" as a channel-source in apaleo.
Please note that HRS has a special rate plan structure, have this in mind when you create your HRS rate plans in apaleo.

Connect

Please be aware that HRS rates are special and differ significantly from rate plans on other channels. Restrictions on HRS rates are predefined by HRS and may not be set or changed per day.

We strongly recommend to create special rate plans for HRS in apaleo, because restrictions set for other channel (e.g. Expedia or Booking.com) may not work for HRS.

Nevertheless you can map HRS rates to any rate plan in apaleo, but be aware that not all restrictions set in apaleo can be transferred to HRS.

For more information about HRS rates and a list of all restrictions, click the link below.

	HRS Rate	Special Rate	TradeShow Rate	Weekend Rate	HotDeal Rate
Breakfast	incl./excl.	incl./excl.	incl./excl.	incl./excl.	incl./excl.
minimum length of stay	`X`
closed on arrival	`X`
minimum guarantee	`X`	`X`			`Credit card`
cancellable / deadline	`X`	`X`
release days	`X`	`X`	`X`	`X`
prepayment / cancellation fee	`X`	`X`	`X`	`X`
can be set per day `X` is predefined an can not be changed.

The first steps are to connect this app with your apaleo-account and your HRS hotel.

Go to the apaleo store, select the HRS Channel Connect-app and choose Connect to PMS
You will be presented with a consent-screen to authorize the connector to access your apaleo-account, click "authorize" there.
On the next page, please click "create integrations", this will create new menu-entries for our connector in the apaleo-backend.
Login to the HRS extranet at https://hotelservice.hrs.com/ and select our connector in the list at

"Hotel Self-Administration HSA" -> "Channel Manager".

You should find an entry "detco Direct-Connector" there, click on the pencil and authorize the "detco Direct-Connector" as your Channel Manager.

HRS - Hotel Self-Administration - Channel Manager

Account settings

Navigate to Apps >>> HRS Connect to verify your contact details. You can synchronize your contact data stored in apaleo.

Property settings

Select the property you want to connect in apaleo.

Navigate to Apps >>> HRS Connect to start configuring the your HRS property mapping.

Enter your HRS hotel number and define your breakfast type and price. Click on 'Save property mapping' to connect your HRS hotel to your apaleo property.

You might notice the apaleo Property notification 'property is inactive'. This is OK for now, you can activate it, once your rooms and rates are mapped and configured.

Unit Groups

Once your HRS hotel is connected to your apaleo property, you will see Rooms, Rates and Categories in the HRS-Connect TOP Menu.

HRS by default supports standard single and standard double rooms, but you can add more Categories if needed.

HRS Categories

If you have configured categories in HRS, their configuration will be visible under Categories.

To create a new HRS category configuration (e.g. Comfort), navigate to HRS-Connect >>> Categories. Select the category you want to create and click on 'create'.

Select 'separate availability' to be able to control the availability from within apaleo.
The surcharge fields allow you to define a default surcharge, based on your HRS standard rooms.
If you need more control, you can select an apaleo rate plan to be able to set day prices. Click 'Save' to confirm your settings and create / update the HRS category.

Room mapping

Navigate to HRS-Connect >>> Rooms. Select the your apaleo unit group for each HRS category you want to connect.

If you can not find a unit group, click 'reload apaleo rooms' to download the latest version of your apaleo unit groups configuration.

You do not need to map all available HRS categories, in case you just want to sell the comfort room as double, leave the single room empty.

Please not that all HRS rooms not mapped to apaleo will not be managed, make sure to control them via HRS Services Portal.

Rate mapping

Navigate to HRS-Connect >>> Rates. You will see the available HRS rate types. Select the apaleo Rate Plan you want to connect to a HRS rate.

If you can not find a rate plan, make sure the rate plan includes Hrs as a booking channel. Click 'reload apaleo rate', to download the latest updates of your rate plans.

Click 'save rate mapping' to connect you selection to HRS.

You do not need to connect all HRS rate types, those you do not map will not be managed, make sure to control them via HRS Service Portal.

Once mapped, you can configure the HRS rate restrictions, the restrictions you can configure depend on the HRS rate type you have chosen. Click 'save' to confirm your changes.

HRS-Connect - example rate HRS configuration

HRS-Connect - example rate Hot-Deal configuration

Activate

Once you are satisfied with your configuration, navigate to HRS Connect >>> Property.

If your apaleo property is 'inactive' - now it's time to click on 'enable HRS-Connect ARI uploads'.

This will trigger a full sync and HRS should receive Availability, Rate and Inventory updates.
incoming bookings are also processed.
When you want to pause synchronization, to make multiple changes in your mapping / rate configuration, or take the hotel offline at HRS.
You can deactivate synchronization again by using the "disable HRS-Connect ARI uploads" button.
Please note that this will not close the property at HRS, but you can do so manually from the HRS backend without apaleo reopening it again.