Double booking

A double booking (or overbooking) happens when the same room and dates are sold twice — usually because two channels weren't in sync when both guests booked. It forces an awkward cancellation, a scramble to relocate a guest, and often a bad review.

Double bookings are the classic risk of listing on several OTAs at once. A channel manager prevents them by updating availability across every channel the instant a reservation confirms, so a sold night disappears everywhere before anyone else can book it.