We tell our property managers all the time that they are selling the most perishable product on earth: time.

Un-rented days are very expensive for most VR managers, so getting something is better than getting nothing. When the dates are gone, they're gone. You'll never make any money on those dates once they've gone vacant.

We are happy to announce a new feature, one that has been talked about for quite some time. We now at last have a beta version of it, ready for your brave testing.

The idea is simple: as your vacant dates get closer and closer to going unsold, you can gradually increase the discounts - put your properties on sale - automatically, based on a schedule that you define.

Look for the new button at the bottom of your rates tab:



You set up a schedule of discounts to be applied depending on how close to the check-in date the booking is being made.

Note that your rates themselves are not altered: the Auto-Discounter simply calculates a discount and applies this to bookings/requests/quotes when they are made, if they qualify. These discounts do not "compound" on each other either: Bookerville looks for the discount that is closest to the check-in date, and applies only that one auto-discount.

If you use the Auto-Discounter, it's probably best not to advertise this in a generic way to prospects, as it will encourage them to wait until the last minute to book, getting a better deal. But you might advertise or announce deals as the vacant dates approach as a kind of "special" - maximizing the effect.

This can be a powerful tool to help you move inventory that would otherwise go unsold. As always, please let us know your thoughts.

 

 
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