Managing rate plans is like fine-tuning an instrument—each adjustment comes in harmony with guest preferences and market trends to create a successful and attractive property management strategy for your vacation rental portfolio.
In this blog, we’ll explore how Booking.com’s rate plans and how managing them with Rentals United’s integration can help you maximize your vacation rental income and improve your return on investment (ROI).
What are rate plans?
A rate plan is a strategic structure that combines various pricing strategies, booking conditions (e.g., length of stay, room or unit type, meals), and policies (e.g., cancellation policy) into a single offering that property managers can use to meet the needs of different guest audiences. They come as a label or category to organize and explain your prices.
Core components of rate plans
Property managers can customize the following rate plan components to align with their business goals and guest expectations:
- Pricing Structure – Adjust rates based on seasonality, weekend surcharges, or occupancy-based pricing to stay competitive.
- Cancellation Policies – Offer flexible cancellations during off-peak seasons to attract last-minute travelers and stricter policies during peak seasons to protect revenue.
- Meal and Service Inclusions – Provide add-ons like breakfast or all-inclusive packages to enhance the guest experience.
- Promotional Discounts and Add-ons – Attract guests with early bird discounts, last-minute deals, or exclusive local experience packages.
How to maximize vacation rental income?
A well-structured rate plan is the key to boosting revenue. It integrates various factors like booking conditions, cancellation policies, and optional services, making the property more appealing to different guest segments. By optimizing these elements, property managers can increase booking rates, secure revenue, and improve overall rental income.
You can download all of our insights on how to be successful on Booking.com here.
Why are rate plans essential to boost bookings?
When property managers offer a variety of customized rate plans, they stand out from the competition, meet the needs of a diverse guest audience, and ultimately increase their bookings and revenue.
How can you benefit form rate plans to attract more bookings
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- Reduced cancellations: Non-refundable bookings deter cancellations by ensuring guests don’t get a refund, helping you secure revenue and keep your rooms filled.
- Guaranteed income: Once a guest makes a reservation with a non-refundable rate, you receive the full payment upfront, regardless of whether the guest shows up or not.
- Some flexibility features: Booking.com has recently included an option for date changes for most non-refundable rates. Guests can now change their booking dates once, under specific conditions (e.g., reschedule for the same or higher price, work within real-time availability and rate restrictions, among other criteria).
- Freedom to set your desired discount: You can decide on the discount percentage you want to offer for non-refundable rates compared to your standard rates. You can start testing the waters with a 10% discount and adjust as time goes by.
- Impact on reputation and revenue: Nevertheless, there is still some downsides when upset guests who have to cancel leave negative reviews.
How to price your vacation rental with Booking.com multirates?
When it comes to using Booking.com rate plans there are two main types you can use:
1. Booking.com’s fully flexible rate plan
Booking.com’s Fully Flexible Rate Plan provides potential guests with more freedom. It’s designed to attract guests who value flexibility and are willing to pay extra for the option to cancel or modify their booking in case their travel plans or other circumstances change.
The advantages of using this plan are many:
- Free cancellation: Guests can cancel their reservation free of charge, usually at least 7 days before their check-in date.
- More likely to be the most booked option: Fully flexible rates are often the most popular choice, especially for those booking well in advance, according to the platform’s insights.
- Higher price point: There is higher flexibility for guests, making it easier for you to set a higher price for fully flexible rates.
Fully flexible rates can be attractive to both guests and property managers with an extensive portfolio. However, if you are a property manager with a smaller portfolio, you should consider whether this rate plan is right for you. Last-minute cancellations on fully flexible bookings could lead to an empty property, leaving you with no opportunity to find new guests in due time to make up for the lost revenue.
2. Booking.com’s non-refundable rate plan
Made for budget-conscious travelers looking for the best value Booking.com’s non-refundable rate plan is designed to secure and guarantee bookings by offering a lower price to guests in exchange for their commitment to the booking.
Some considerations you want to have in mind when using this plan:
- Reduced cancellations: Guests are financially discouraged from canceling since they will not receive any money back if they do. This helps to fill rooms and secure your income.
- Guaranteed income: Once a guest makes a reservation with a non-refundable rate, you receive the full payment upfront, regardless of whether the guest shows up or not.
- Some flexibility features: Booking.com has recently included an option for date changes for most non-refundable rates. Guests can now change their booking dates once, under specific conditions (e.g., reschedule for the same or higher price, work within real-time availability and rate restrictions, etc.).
- Freedom to set your desired discount: You can decide on the discount percentage you want to offer for non-refundable rates compared to your standard rates. You can start with a 10% discount to test the waters and adjust as time goes by.
- Impact on reputation and revenue: There is the risk of upset guests who have to cancel to leave negative reviews.
Overall, non-refundable rates can be a valuable tool to secure bookings and income, especially when offering them alongside other rate plans for guest flexibility.
The best way to manage Booking.com’s rate plans
Managing rate plans across multiple properties can be time-consuming.
Fortunately, Rentals United integrates seamlessly with Booking.com, offering automation, customization, and optimization data insights and recommendations that save property managers valuable time.
Rentals United’s multi-unit strategy allows property managers to group similar properties under a single listing, increasing exposure and boosting occupancy rates by up to 20% .
How to use Booking.com rate plans with Rentals United?
- Save time with automation: Quickly update rate plans across all properties and apply seasonal pricing adjustments or discounts automatically.
- Scale strategies across properties: Duplicate and tailor successful rate plans for different properties, maintaining consistency while meeting the unique needs of each listing.
- Maximize revenue opportunities: Adjust pricing dynamically based on factors such as the number of guests, minimum stay requirements, and local events.
- Customize based on guest preferences: Offer different cancellation policies and flexible rate options to appeal to a wide range of travelers.
Why manage rate plans through Rentals United?
Apart form saving time and increasing revenue, we have looked into the data. From our customers performance the results show that:
- Properties using multi-rate strategies earn three times more than those with static pricing.
- Those making use of multiple rates on the platform made 20% more revenue compared to those who didn’t €60 million versus €49 million for those without.
- Additionally, mobile rates play a key role in conversion, 31% of properties using mobile rates generated the same revenue as the remaining 69%.
Download the full report here, and explore how to boost your performance on Booking.com
Conclusion
By integrating Booking.com’s rate plans with Rentals United’s robust platform, property managers can streamline their pricing strategies, optimize revenue, and improve overall ROI. The ability to automate pricing adjustments and cater to specific guest preferences ensures that properties stay competitive and continuously attract bookings.
Ready to elevate your Booking.com strategy?
Connect with us and explore how Rentals United can help you take full advantage of rate plans and unlock your properties’ potential.