The 4 Best Rate Plans for Hotels

How do you design a successful rate plan for your hotel? Why are some rate plans more successful than others?

We wanted to demonstrate how to build and analyze successful rate plans, with 4 examples of the most profitable rate plans hotels typically offer, along with a breakdown of why they’re valuable and how to use them.

1. FOR YOUR HOTEL
THE 4 BEST
RATE PLANS

2. How do you design a successful
rate plan for your hotel?

Why are some rate plans
more successful than others?

3. EVERY RATE PLAN HAS PURPOSE.
HOWEVER, NOT EVERY RATE PLAN HAS
A VALID PURPOSE. 
 Is the rate plan there to, for example, keep
your chef happy that you’re promoting the
restaurant, or is there a real financial value for
the hotel in having it there?

4. When you create rate plans, try and tap
into your inner hotel shopper psyche.
Business or pleasure?
What are their expectations?
What do your site images promise?

5. Here are 4 examples of
hotels typically offer, along with a
breakdown of why they’re valuable and
how to use them.
THE MOST PROFITABLE
RATE PLANS

6. ROOM ONLY
BOOK DIRECT TO FIND THE
BEST AVAILABLE RATE

7. Offer a room only rate with a
Best Rate Guarantee on your own website.
No matter the scenario,
guarantee for guests that the
best rate for your hotel will
always be when they book
direct.

8. A WORD OF
WARNING:
Offering this rate plan to
third party channels
opens up the chance for
them to margin test
your rate, to secure
bookings through their
own site.
Margin testing: when an OTA tests the margins of the rate you give
them, usually by taking 2-4% off the rate online. They take the hit in
commission, and the hotel receives the correct rate. However, it's a
strong incentive for you to keep these rates only for your own site.

9. BED & BREAKFAST
SAVE $5.00 WHEN YOU
BOOK YOUR STAY WITH
BREAKFAST ONLINE

10. BED & BREAKFAST RATES ARE
THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO
UPSELL YOUR GUESTS, SO BE
CREATIVE!
Be descriptive when you tell your guests what
is included.

11. Make sure to incentivize guests to book
Bed & Breakfast instead of Room Only.
This can be achieved by having a lower
breakfast supplement as part of the package.
For example, you might sell your breakfast as
part of the package at only €10.00, instead of
the usual €15.00. Make sure to let the guest
know in the description what the saving is.

12. Depending on your hotel’s location
(city centre? airport?) the rate plan
including breakfast and savings may
be all the more important.

Make sure you’ve got ‘Breakfast’ in
the headline.

13. ONE NIGHT
ESCAPE
DINNER, BED & BREAKFAST
-ENJOY A WELCOME DRINK
ON US!

14. EVERY HOTEL WANTS GUESTS
IN THEIR RESTAURANT.
Guests in your restaurant also come with the
potential of indirect revenue spend in the bar
before or after their meal – but how do you
evaluate this?

15. A busy bar means other
guests & walk-ins will come
in to share in the good
atmosphere and order a
nightcap.

Offering that free welcome
drink gets people in for their
first, and the savings and
atmosphere may convince
them to stay for a second.

16. WHY SHOULD GUESTS BOOK
THE DINNER PACKAGE?
Again, it's down to incentive. If they've stayed
before, they'll likely know if you aren't offering
an overall discount on the dinner supplement.

If you don't wish to offer a dinner discount, a
free welcome drink or spa credit is a good way
to offset that.

17. ADVANCED
PURCHASE
PAY NOW AND SAVE 10% -
EXCLUSIVE HOTEL WEBSITE
OFFER

18. Advanced purchase rate plans are, of course,
an extremely popular rate plan across all
hotels. However, there are certain aspects you
must identify and focus on if you are offering
this package, or planning to.

19. 1. If offering Room Only rate plans on all your
distribution channels, try applying the
Advance Purchase discount to the Room Only
rate plan on your website.
This reinforces the idea that guests can only secure the best
rate guarantee by booking direct.

If Room Only is only available on your own website, consider
applying the Advance Purchase to the Bed and Breakfast Rate
instead.

20. 2. What are your property’s lead times for
bookings? 
If you tend to get long lead bookings – 50+ days –
have a minimum booking window of 60 days for an
Advanced Purchase option. If it’s shorter, e.g. 30 days,
put in something more like a 7 day Advanced
Purchase option.

21. 3. Become a trend setter in your market and
offer two options:
Offer a 15% discount for bookings 60+ days out, and
10% discount at 30 days.

22. REGARDLESS OF THE TYPE OF
RATE PLAN, THE NAME IS
PARAMOUNT.
Be as descriptive as possible - guests on a
mobile device might not even be able to see the
description, just the title.

23. THE RATE PLANS ABOVE ARE
STRONG MESSAGES FOR WHY A
GUEST SHOULD BOOK DIRECT.
 Reinforce this message throughout all your
online advertising, and even on your home page
with a call-out box or a different feature to
draw attention.

24. AT NET AFFINITY, WE'RE EXPERTS IN HOTEL
TECHNOLOGY AND CONVERSION RATE GROWTH FOR
HOTELS. IF YOU'VE GOT QUESTIONS, EMAIL US AT
[email protected]
THANKS FOR
READING!