Release Details
Product: Bookings - EQ1
Release Date: Monday 14th October 2024
Summary: A new feature in Equiem One supporting the creation of two types of dynamic pricing/discounts
Overview
Dynamic Pricing/Discounts
This feature is only available in Equiem One. It’s expected the feature can be utilised via the Web NG platform late Oct 2024.
Background
Resources can be configured with different rates (e.g. hourly, half-day, full-day, and weekend rates), allowing for more attractive pricing for longer bookings. However, these rates are static, and there was no way to offer dynamic pricing based on the day of the week or time of day. Pricing often fluctuates based on seasonal demand, but adjusting resource rates manually to reflect these changes has been time-consuming. Additionally, offering discounts for early bookings was previously not possible, even though it could benefit the bookings team by providing more time to plan ahead.
It's also evident that certain times of the week or day experience fewer bookings as per the heat map below:
Making the price more attractive during these off-peak periods could help maximise resource utilisation.
With the new feature, you can now create an unlimited number of discounts in two formats: Early Booking and Periodic. Read on to learn how these options work and the benefits they offer.
Discount Formats
Periodic
As it illustrates below, the Periodic discount is A discount for making a booking on certain days of the week between a specific date or time period.
A Periodic discount consists of the following configuration fields:
Title
This is the name of the discount both shown in the discounts table and to the user when making a booking
Start date
The date at which point the discount becomes active
End date
The date at which point the discount expires
Start time
An optional start time at which point the discount applies
End time
An optional end time at which point the discount no longer applies
Availability days
Days of the week in which the discount applies
Percentage amount
The % discount applied
Resources
The resources in which the discount applies to. You can only assign resources which belong to your company
Early Booking
As it illustrates below, the Early Booking discount is A discount for making a booking a certain number of days in advance.
An Early Booking discount consists of the following configuration fields:
Title
This is the name of the discount both shown in the discounts table and to the user when making a booking
Start date
The date at which point the discount becomes active
End date
The date at which point the discount expires
Number of days before the booking to apply
A value in days, before the booking date, in which the discount applies
Percentage amount
The % discount applied
Resources
The resources in which the discount applies to. You can only assign resources which belong to your company
Accessing Discounts
You must have an authorised booking role, which has access to the Settings section, in order to access Discounts. The following roles are authorised for access:
Property Manager
Workplace Manager
Booking Manager
Navigate to the Settings page:
Then select the Discounts tab:
You’ll then be presented with a table of existing discounts and can create a new discount from here via the ADD NEW DISCOUNT button in the top right corner:
Creating Discounts
Simply select the ADD NEW DISCOUNT button and then select the particular type of discount you want to create. Configure all of the settings and select SAVE.
Your discount will then appear in the discounts table.
Managing Discounts
The state of the discount (i.e. Active , Expired etc) determines what you can manage. Refer to this section for the different statuses.
Select the operations icon at the far right of the row for the particular discount you need to manage and you’ll be presented with a variety of options:
The following options are:
Details
This provides an overview of the discount setup without having to go into the edit form:
History
This shows the configuration history of the discount and who modified it:
Edit
This will take you into the form to modify parts of the discount. All parts of the discount can be modified apart from the type of discount.
Delete
If you choose to delete a discount you will be prompted with this confirmation modal:
Editing Discounts
The Booking Manager role grants access to manage discounts for resources within the building you're assigned to. While you can view discounts associated with your company in other buildings, you won’t have permission to edit them. If this applies, you won’t see the option to Edit or Delete the discount in the operations menu.
A discount can be edited in the following states:
Active
Upcoming
Expired
Discounts History
The discount history will show you any modifications made to the discount by the bookings team.
Deleting Discounts
A discount can be deleted if it hasn’t been used but also if it has been used for bookings. In the instance that the discount hasn’t been used, the discount will be deleted entirely and removed from the discounts table. If the discount has had usage, it will show as Deleted but remain in the discounts table for reference. Once a discount has been deleted, it can’t be reinstated.
Discount Status
A discount can be in one of four states:
Upcoming
This is an active discount which has a start date in the future
Active
The discount is active i.e. the current date is between the discounts start and end date
Expired
The discount has passed the end date and it’s no longer active
It can be reactivated simply by editing the end date to a date in the future
Deleted
The discount is no longer needed and has been deleted
If the discount had no usage, it will no longer show up in the table of discounts
If the discount had usage, it will remain in the table of discounts as a reference
Business Rules
It’s important to note the following business rules which apply to discounts.
Once a discount has been created, and the type set (e.g. Periodic or Early Booking) you cannot switch the type. If required, delete the discount or create a replacement.
If the percentage of an existing discount is modified, it will only apply to new bookings. You are informed of this when modifying an existing discount as per the below illustration:
You can combine multiple discounts to a resource for example you could have an Early Booking discount apply a 10% discount and a Periodic discount apply 20% discount and if the host meets the criteria for obtaining the discount, they’d get a combined 30% discount on their booking.
The maximum combined discount is 100%.
Any adjustments/refunds will take into consideration the original discount amount.
A discount applies to the base resource cost and not any added Extras.
When a resource is tax exclusive, tax will be added to the discounted rate.
When a resource is tax inclusive, no further tax will be added as it’s part of the discounted rate.
If an existing booking is updated by the Host/Admin (the time/date changes) the system will check if the Host is still elligible for the discount.
In the instance of an applied
Early Bookingdiscount, do they still satisfy the X number of days before the booking to be eligible for the discountIn the instance of an applied
Periodicdiscount, are they still within the start/end dates/times to be eligible for the discount
You can’t retroactively apply a discount to a booking which has already been made i.e. it was made before the discount was created, however, if the booking is updated, and it falls within the window of an existing discount, this discount will be applied to the booking.
There’s no limit to the number of discounts you can set up which means you’re able to create multiple different variations.
Accessing Discounts as an End User
When Viewing Resources
If a discount has been applied to a resource you will see a discount tag/icon overlayed on the resource image as per the below examples:
When Booking a Resource
If you select a resource which has a discount, the available discounts will be shown in the side panel as per the below examples.
Single Discount
If only one discount applies to the resource it will be shown as follows when making a booking:
Multiple Discounts
If more than one discount applies to the resource it will be shown as follows when making a booking:
Recognising Discounts Applied to Bookings
As the Host
During the Booking
The discounts applied to the booking are shown in the final step before payment is made as per the below example:
The discount applies to the base resource cost and any taxes or added extras are charged on top.
On Emails
Email confirmations also include the discounts as per the below example:
Viewing a Booking
When viewing an upcoming, or past booking, the Host can also see the discounts applied as per the below example:
As an Admin
On Emails
Members of the booking team also see discounts applied to bookings the same as they appear to the Host.
Viewing a Booking
Members of the booking team will see discounts applied to the booking when viewing it via the Bookings management tab:
Via the Reconciliation Report
When exporting the reconciliation report via the Reconciliation report tab:
There are 3 new columns on the csv extract:
Discount name
Discount percentage (Total)
Discount amount (Total)
Reporting
Discounts will be available for viewing in the reporting dashboard within the next 4-6 weeks. All bookings with discounts made between now and then will be included in the reporting dashboard once it is available.
For now, refer to this section which outlines how you can determine discounts being used against bookings.
FAQs
Question | Answer |
|---|---|
How many discounts can I create? | There’s no limit. |
Which roles can access the | The following roles:
Note that you will only see discounts which apply to resources that belong to your company. Certain roles may only have view access to some discounts because they belong to a building which they are not authorised to manage (e.g. |
If a resource is segmented to be available at multiple sites, if I create a discount at one site, and apply it to that resource, will it apply at the other sites? | Yes. The discount applies to the resource and that resource can be available at multiple sites. |
Can I combine discount types and how many can I apply to a resource? | Yes you can combine both types and there’s no limit to how many apply to a resource. |
What’s the maximum discount a host can get? | 100% i.e. the resource cost will be free. Even if the sum of discounts is greater than 100%, the system will only apply a discount of 100%. |
Can discounts be segmented? | No, they will apply to anyone who has access to book the resource. A resource can be segmented but not the discount. If you need to make a discount available for a particular person, or company, you could create a temporary discount and once it had been redeemed, deactivate it. Note that you can apply dedicated rates to audiences and also make one-off refunds to bookings if you need to apply an ad hoc discount. |
Are discounts included in the reconcilation report? | Yes, refer to the reporting section of this article for further information. |
When will discounts be visible in the reporting dashboard? | We expect this to be available in the next 4-6 weeks. We are recording the usage of discounts so anything used before this time will show up in the reporting dashboard once completed. |
How do I know that a discount applies to a resource? | Refer to this section as to how discounts appear to the end user. |
What payment types are accepted for discounts? | Payment by:
|
Do discounts work on mobile? | Yes the discounts section can be accessed on a mobile device and discounts can also be utilised by the end user on their mobile device. |