OTA Distribution Manager

Role Overview

The OTA Distribution Manager oversees the complete distribution ecosystem for a portfolio of short-term rental properties. This role is responsible for ensuring maximum online visibility, listing accuracy, and operational efficiency across OTAs, metasearch engines, and direct booking channels. The position requires an expert understanding of platform behaviour, listing optimization, and distribution infrastructure to drive strong booking performance without direct involvement in pricing or revenue strategy. The role also acts as a bridge between internal teams and external partners to ensure smooth operations and consistent property performance.

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Key Responsibilities

1. Channel Management & Optimization

• Oversee the full lifecycle of property listings across major OTAs including Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Vrbo, Agoda, and regional niche platforms.
• Optimize listing titles, descriptions, amenities, policies, and imagery to enhance search ranking and guest appeal.
• Conduct frequent audits of listing content to ensure accuracy, compliance, and brand alignment.
• Monitor OTA dashboards for listing errors, sync failures, or visibility issues and resolve them promptly.
• Manage PMS/Channel Manager connections, including Guesty, Hostaway, Rentals United, SiteMinder, Beds24, and similar platforms.
• Troubleshoot mapping errors, sync issues, and coordinate with technical support where required.
• Maintain standardized operational procedures for listing creation, updates, deactivation, and reactivation.

2. OTA Relationship Management

• Build strong partnerships with OTA account managers to unlock new features, visibility programs, and promotional opportunities.
• Participate in periodic business reviews with OTAs to assess performance, listing health, and improvement initiatives.
• Ensure timely resolution of escalations including policy violations, content flags, or safety-related concerns.
• Collaborate with partners to adopt platform best practices, beta tools, and new workflows.

3.⁠ ⁠Content, Quality & Compliance

• Develop and maintain content guidelines for all property listings to ensure brand consistency.
• Work closely with photography vendors, operations teams, and designers to ensure high-quality visual assets.
• Ensure adherence to local short-term rental regulations and platform-specific compliance requirements.
• Review guest feedback regularly to identify recurring issues tied to listing accuracy or presentation.

4.⁠ ⁠Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Coordinate with onboarding teams to prepare new properties for a smooth listing go-live process.
• Work with operations, housekeeping, and guest experience teams to update listings based on property improvements or guest feedback.
• Partner with marketing teams to align brand messaging across channels.
• Share market trends, guest search behaviour insights, and platform updates with internal teams to drive continuous improvement.

5.⁠ ⁠Reporting & Analytics

• Build dashboards to monitor listing performance metrics including visibility, booking pace, inquiry volume, CTR, save rate, and cancellations.
• Present insights to leadership with clear action items related to operational gaps and platform opportunities.
• Conduct competitive benchmarking to identify improvement opportunities.
• Track operational KPIs such as listing downtime, sync accuracy, partner response time, and compliance breaches.

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Key Requirements

1. Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Hospitality, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.
• 1–2 years of experience in OTA distribution, hospitality operations, vacation rental management, marketplace operations, or channel management.
• Experience with PMS and Channel Manager systems such as Guesty, Hostaway, Rentals United, SiteMinder, Beds24, or similar tools.

2. Skills

• Strong understanding of OTA algorithms, listing ranking factors, quality scores, and conversion drivers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong analytical ability to interpret platform dashboards and operational metrics.
• High proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets; familiarity with data visualization tools.
• Ability to troubleshoot operational bottlenecks related to content, sync, or compliance.

3. Soft Skills

• Detail-oriented with a focus on maintaining high listing standards.
• Proactive and solution-oriented; strong ownership mindset.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with internal and external partners.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.

4. Good to Have

• Experience working with short-term rental distribution or hospitality operations in the Middle East market.
• Familiarity with regional OTA platforms or regulatory environments.
• Exposure to cross-country distribution workflows.

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KPIs for Success

• Improved listing visibility and search ranking on key OTAs.
• Higher guest engagement metrics (views, saves, inquiries, conversions).
• Reduced listing downtime, sync errors, and compliance issues.
• Strong engagement with OTA partners and adoption of platform best practices.
• Fast turnaround time for listing updates and issue resolution.
• Positive guest feedback related to listing accuracy and presentation.