This article explains why RMS will not save your channel mapping when two rows send updates for the same Room Type and Rate Type, and how to fix it.

When you save the mapping on a Channel Connection, RMS can stop the save with a message telling you that a combination must be unique. The message uses your property's own labels, so you might see "Room Types and Rate Must Be Unique", "Apartment Type and Rate Must Be Unique", or similar. Select Ok to return to the grid, where the rows that clash are highlighted.

Nothing has been sent to the channel. RMS stops the save before any update leaves.

To follow this article, you need access to Setup > Online Bookings > Channel Management, and Rate Manager if you create a second Rate Type.

Please Note! RMS is highly configurable. Some Terminology, User Access & Permissions, Images, Labels, and Functions used in these articles may differ from your setup. CLICK HERE to find out more.

Why the mapping must be unique

Each row in the mapping grid links one of the channel's room and rate combinations to a Category and Rate Type in RMS. Only one row per Category, Rate Type, and Area may send updates. The rule applies to every channel.

Expedia Collect and Hotel Collect

Expedia is the most common example, because it sells the same room under two payment models, each a separate rate plan, so each arrives as its own row:

• Hotel Collect: the guest pays you at the property.
• Expedia Collect: the guest pays Expedia, which then pays you.

Map both rows to the same Rate Type, and they clash. They also need to be separated for commission: RMS holds a Collect Type against each Rate Type on the Agent Commission Setup grid, set to Property for Hotel Collect or Agent for Expedia Collect. A Rate Type carries only one Collect Type, so running both payment models on one room needs two Rate Types.

Quick Checks

1. Compare the highlighted rows. They share the same Category and Rate Type.
2. Read the Retail Web Site Category column to tell the channel's rate plans apart.
3. Check for rows showing (No Link) with No Update unticked.
4. If the property has a second account for this channel, check its mapping too.

How to fix it

If only one rate plan should receive updates: tick No Update on the other row and leave it mapped.

If the two rate plans need different rates or different commission: create a second Rate Type, map the second row to it, then set the Collect Type for each on the Agent Commission Setup grid. A Derived Rate Type is the quickest way to create one, because it takes its price from an existing Rate Type.

Important! A Derived Rate takes its rate structure from the Rate Type it comes from. Derive it from a Rate Type that already uses the OTA rate structure, or you will not be able to map it to the channel.

Please Note! To use a Derived Rate at the same price as its source, you must still choose an Adjustment Type, enter 0, and apply it to the required room types. A Derived Rate not applied to any room type cannot be mapped.

Important! Do not remove a row to clear the clash unless you no longer want reservations for that rate plan. No Update stops RMS from sending rates and availability, but reservations (bookings) still arrive on the mapped Category and Rate Type. With no mapping row, a reservation for that rate plan is placed on the channel's default room type if one is set, or fails, and RMS emails the property.

Other causes of the same message

Unmapped rows. A row that has not been mapped shows (No Link) in the Category column, and unmapped rows are checked in the same way as mapped ones. Two or more left with No Update unticked produce the same message. Map each row, or tick No Update on the ones you do not need.

A second account for the same channel. RMS applies the rule across all accounts for a channel, so a row sending on one account clashes with the same Category and Rate Type sending on another. Open the other account and tick No Update on whichever should not send.

Still Not Working?

If the screen saves but rates and availability do not reach the channel, follow Troubleshooting: Rates or Availability Not Updating on a Channel. If reservations are not arriving, follow Troubleshooting: Reservations Not Arriving from a Channel.

Otherwise, contact the RMS Support team and include the property name, the channel name, and the Category and Rate Type on the highlighted rows.

Related Articles

• Channel Connection
• Channel Agent Commission Setup on a Channel Management Connection
• Derived Rate Types
• Channel Manager Troubleshooting Guide