How pricing and availability basics can bring you more business

Updated 3 months ago
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We’ve put together some tips on pricing and availability to help you improve your performance and increase your revenue on Booking.com.

Check your current availability

Booking.com’s global audience ranges from spontaneous bookers to long-term planners. So loading enough availability with attractive prices is key to being seen – and booked – by every kind of traveller.

Offering availability on Booking.com across high season makes you attractive to a global audience. Compared to domestic bookers, international guests spend 18% more, stay 40% longer and book twice as early.

Tweak your availability in line with travellers’ plans

Guests can book up to 16 months in advance on Booking.com – and yes, there is a demand that far ahead! In fact, a recent UK study showed that 44% of travellers planned their holiday 3 to 6 months in advance, with 17% planning 7 to 12 months ahead.

So even if you haven't decided your rates that far ahead, it’s better to add availability using any rate you consider to be reasonable right now. That way, you’ll show up in guests’ search results. You can always adjust the rates again later.

Open up as many rooms as possible

The more availability you offer, the more likely you’ll be seen by customers searching for specific dates. And the stronger your presence in these results, the greater your chances of converting these online shoppers into paying guests. So it’s important to keep key dates in mind and open as many rooms as you can in order to fully benefit from being on our platform.

Remember though, when you close out dates on Booking.com (for whatever reason), you might not appear as frequently in the search results because your rooms won’t be available. When you do need us again, you may get fewer visitors than a competitor who has remained available and improved their conversion. Avoiding heavy restrictions and offering consistent availability helps drive business on all your channels throughout the year.

You can keep track of high-demand dates in your extranet ‘Opportunity Centre’, and get details on guests’ booking behaviour in the ‘Booker Insights’ report or ‘Cancellation characteristics’ report under the ‘Analytics’ tab.

Add different rates to attract all kinds of guests

Offering different kinds of rates helps you attract a wider audience because you’ll be meeting their specific expectations. For example, a family may want breakfast included, while a single business traveller may only be interested in the room.

It’s quick and easy to add a new rate plan such as ‘breakfast included’ or ‘non-refundable’ in your Booking.com extranet. You simply take the standard rate loaded for each room type and discount or add to it as you wish. You don’t even need to change the number of available rooms.

Pricing: Our top tip
In your extranet ‘Analytics’ tab, you’ll find tools that help you benchmark yourself against the market. You can analyse your current performance, compare year-on-year sales and see how far in advance guests booked – and at what price.

Explore your ‘Analytics’ tab

Use deals when you need them

When you need a little boost in business over short periods, deals are a good way to increase your visibility and boost your occupancy. However, try to avoid relying on them, and only set up deals when you need to. That way, you won’t end up dropping your rates too low during periods of high demand.

But while deals can give a nice lift during low season, it might be worth reviewing your overall pricing strategy if you’re not filling rooms in high season.

Certain deals, such as ‘Last-minute’ deals, increase your visibility using special website tags to catch guests’ attention. You can also use deals to encourage guests to stay longer, which brings in added revenue while saving you operational costs, e.g. towel and laundry changes.

In your extranet ‘Promotions’ tab, set up deals that complement your pricing strategy, increase your visibility and boost your occupancy.

Set up a deal

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