In this tutorial we will show you how to create a Long Stay Discount Rate.
A Long Stay Discount can be used to offer an incentive to get bookings from people who are able to stay for a long period. They will receive a reduced rate if they book to stay for a minimum number of nights.
A Long Stay Discount Rate is different to a Long Stay Special. It discounts the daily rate over a minimum number of nights, whereas the Long Stay Special is a fixed rate for a fixed time period.
Rate discounts are only for online bookings. They do not apply to manual calendar bookings.
Open Rate Discount in setup.
Click on "Add" in order to create your new special.
Make sure that you've selected "Basic" as the type of discount.
To apply a Long Stay you will need to add a Minimum Stay
You'll need to add the minimum length of stay required for the Long Stay discount to "kick-in".
Even though you have a minimum stay in place, the guest will still be able to book for one night on your Rack Rate. To qualify for the Basic Deal, the guest will need to stay the minimum amount of nights required.
Add a percentage (%) change in the rate.
You can adjust your rates according to a percentage (%) decrease.
Please ensure that you know the base rate is so that you end up with the desired rate. Therefore, the rate adjustment will be done according to the rates that you've got in your rate sheet for that period. This means that if your rates are R100 for the period and the adjustment is a 10% decrease in the rates, the new price will be (R100 - R10) = R90.
Add a Discount Name as you want it to appear on your Booking Form.
The rate name will give you and your guests a way to easily identify the discount with a short description.
Use a name that gives the guest an indication what type of discount they're getting. Do not use codes or words that are meaningless to the guest.
Add the discount name and set the dates the discount is valid for.
This section will allow you to add the dates on which this discount will apply. Therefore, if the discount will only apply for a long weekend, the "Valid From" will be the first night and the "Valid Until" will be the last night of the long weekend.
You're also able to add more periods in which the discount will be valid for. This means that you can apply the Rate Discount for multiple periods and not just one.
Would this discount apply to a specific rate sheet or channel?
If you would like to only apply the discount to a specific rate sheet such as the RACK or an STO, you're able to select this here. This would only be relevant if you've setup multiple rate sheets for different channels/agents.
You're able to apply the discount to one or multiple rate sheets at a time.
Alternatively, you could also choose to distribute this discount to a specific channel such as your own website or to an OTA like Booking.com. You're also able to apply the discount to more than one channel at a time.
Only sites that you have connected through NightsBridge will show in this list and so if the channel you're looking for is not in the list, it's not connected to your NightsBridge.
Keep the following in mind that certain channels like Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, etc. require that you provide them with the "best available price" or rate parity. Therefore, if you only give the discount to one of the channels and not the competing site, they will be unhappy.
The maximum minimum stay allowed on Booking.com for promotions is 7 nights. If you load a long stay discount of more than 7 nights, the discount won't be available on Booking.com.
Does the Rate Discount apply to any specific room types/meal plans?
If you only want your discount to apply to a specific room type or meal plan, you're able to set this up using this section.
You would first need to click on the slider to turn off the setting that applies the discount to all room types/meal plans. Once you've done that, then you can tick the boxes to choose which room types and meal plans the discount will apply to.
When you're happy with your selection, save and publish your setup.
Once you're finished with setting your preferences, you will then need to save and then publish the setup.