The following article reviews the ways that rate plans can be created and configured for use with Lock-Offs in the PMS and eRes Mobile Booking Engine.
Please note, Lock-off rooms and rates cannot be distributed via GDS or OTA/3rd-party websites.
Rate Plans for Lock-Offs
There are two main options for creating rate plans for Lock-Offs:
- Method 1 - Create a Master Rate Plan for the combined price of all the rooms in the lock-off, and create a second Complimentary Rate Plan for the attached rooms. This means that the entire room rate will post on the Master room, and the attached room's rates will post at $0.00. This method is simple for billing purposes, however may negatively impact ADR on the attached rooms.
- Method 2 - Create unique pricing for each room in the Lock-Off (this can be done using a single Rate Plan that includes only the Room Types used in the Lock-Off). If the Lock-off is intended to be sold on the eRes Mobile Booking Engine, this is the option that must be used.
Method 1 - Master + Complimentary Rate Plans
If the Lock-off consists of multiple Room Types (ie: a suite + standard room(s)) then the Master Rate Plan would be attached to the Master room (in this case, the Suite). During the booking process, the Suite would be picked first, and the Master Rate plan would be selected. Then the attached room(s) would be selected, with the Complimentary Rate attached.
The following example reviews how to create a Master Rate, and a Complimentary Rate for the attached rooms in the Lock-Off. The configuration of this Lock-Off suite will be the combination of the Presidential Suite (PDS), and a Premiere Executive Room (PK).
Step 1: Rate Category
The first step to creating a Rate Plan is to ensure an appropriate corresponding Rate Category exists. To create one, proceed to System Configuration > Rate Wizard, and click on Rate Categories
- Click Add to create a new Rate Category
- Enter the Rate Category name
- Click OK to save
Description and Sort Order are optional fields for use on eRes Mobile Booking Engine.
- Description – a short description of the Rate Category which will appear on the eRes Booking Engine
- Sort Order – allows configuration of the order in which Rate Categories are displayed on eRes
Step 2: Creating a Master Rate
In the Rate Wizard, click the + sign to start a new rate plan
Working from the General tab:
- Select the Rate Category that was just created
- Choose a Rate Name
- Check off Direct Hotel only (this method of Lock-Off cannot be sold on eRes or 3rd Party booking engines)
- DO NOT check Lock off (using for online booking)
- Set Min Persons and Minimum Length of Stay (typically both set to 1, unless other restrictions always apply to this rate plan as a whole)
- Set any other applicable restrictions and Market Segment as needed
For more detailed information on creating a Rate Plan and the various settings on this screen, see the article How to create a Rate Plan using the Rate Wizard in the Rates manual.
More Details
Click the More Details button.
In this box, choose which Room Type the Lock-off's Master Room belongs to. In this case, the PDS Room Type stands for the Presidential Suite. It will be the only Room Type that this rate plan is applicable for, so all other Room Types will be unchecked. Because this type of Lock-off cannot be sold on eRes, only the Hotel Direct channel will be checked off.
Click Apply.
Back on the General tab, click Create to save the new Rate Plan.
Step 3: Setting the Rate
From the main screen of the Rate Wizard, ensure the correct rate is selected (will be highlighted in blue) and click Next.
At this point there are two options for setting up this Rate Plan:
- Set the rate manually on the General tab (For more information on publishing rates, see the article How to Publish Rates to a Rate Plan Using the Rate Wizard in the Rates manual)
- Use the Rate Tiering tab to tier the rate off another rate plan (For more information on tiering rates, please see the article How to Setup Tiering in the Rates manual)
For the purpose of this example, the Rate will be set up manually.
NOTE: When setting up the rate plan, the More Details feature was used to select only the PDS Room Type, which is why it is the only Room Type showing on this plan. This plan cannot be used to book any other room types.
- Enter the desired pricing into the Base Rate box
- Select the Date From and Date To
- Check Update Rate Amounts
- Click Save to publish the rate
NOTE: If Triple, Quad and Extra person pricing applies, be sure to account for it here in the appropriate boxes.
Step 4: Creating the Complimentary Rate (for the Attached Rooms)
To create the Complimentary Rate, follow Steps 1-3 above (the same Rate Category can be used). The rate in this example was named Presidential Suite Lock-Off to indicate that it is only to be used in the Lock-Off rate configuration.
When it comes time to publish the rate in Step 3, use a $0.00 value for the attached rooms. Set the date range, check Update Rate Amounts, and click Save.
Step 5: Client Types
Attach each Rate Plan (Master and Complimentary) to the appropriate Client Type in the Client Types tab.
Click on the Rate Plan in the Rate Wizard (ensure it's highlighted in blue), and click the Edit button.
Proceed to the Client Type tab and select the appropriate Client Type for this rate plan. Remember to do this for both Rate Plans.
When done, click Update.
These rates are now ready to use when selling a Lock-Off.
Method 2 - Rate Plan with Rates for each Room Type
In order for Room Revenue to be allocated appropriately between all rooms in the Lock-off, or to be able to sell the Lock-off on the eRes Mobile Booking Engine, the following method must be used.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When selling Lock-offs on the eRes Mobile Booking Engine, only one Lock-off rate plan per room type can be used.
When selling Lock-off rooms on eRes, it will add the price of all the rooms together, and present it as one unit, at one price.
For example, a Lock-off being sold as a 2 Bedroom Suite on eRes consists of:
- 1 x Premier Executive Room (Master) = $600
- 1 x Superior Room (Attached) = $200
The displayed rate on eRes for the (2 Bedroom Suite) Lock-off will be $800.
Step 1: Rate Category
As in Method 1, if the appropriate Rate Category does not exist, it should be created prior to setting up the rate.
Step 2: Creating the Rate
Unlike Method 1 where two separate Rate Plans were created (a Master Rate, and a Complimentary Rate for the attached room(s)), Method 2 will utilize a single Rate Plan for all rooms in the Lock-Off.
In the following example, the Lock-off will consist of a Courtyard View King (CVK) room, and an Ocean View Double Queen (OVQQ) room. Both room types will have unique pricing, allowing for a rate to post nightly on each room in the Lock-off. (NOTE: Upon checkout, the PMS will automatically transfer the Room & Tax charges from the Attached room to the Master room, keeping the charges and payments all on one folio).
In the Rate Wizard (System Configuration > Rate Wizard) click the + button to start a new Rate Plan.
Working from the General tab:
- Select the appropriate Rate Category
- Choose a Rate Name
- Check off Direct Hotel only
- Check the box next to Lock off (using for online booking) - This will allow this rate to be sold on eRes Mobile Booking Engine. NOTE: This option may only be checked on ONE rate plan in the Rate Wizard, therefore only one Lock-Off configuration can be sold on eRes. It is not possible to sell multiple variations of Lock-off configurations on eRes.
- Set Min Persons and Minimum Length of Stay (typically both set to 1, unless other restrictions always apply to this rate plan as a whole)
- Set any other applicable restrictions and Market Segment as needed
For more detailed information on creating a Rate Plan and the various settings on this screen, see the article How to create a Rate Plan using the Rate Wizard in the Rates manual.
More Details
Click the More Details button.
Because this Lock-off consists of a Courtyard View King (CVK) room and an Ocean View Double Queen (OVQQ) room, only those two rooms will be selected for this particular rate plan. When adding the rates, it will ensure that those are the only two rooms on this Rate Plan.
Click Apply when done.
Back on the General tab, click Create to save the new Rate Plan.
Step 3: Setting the Rate
From the main screen of the Rate Wizard, ensure the correct rate is selected (will be highlighted in blue) and click Next.
At this point there are two options for setting up this Rate Plan:
- Set the rate manually on the General tab (For more information on publishing rates, see the article How to Publish Rates to a Rate Plan Using the Rate Wizard in the Rates manual)
- Use the Rate Tiering tab to tier the rate off another rate plan (For more information on tiering rates, please see the article How to Setup Tiering in the Rates manual)
For the purpose of this example, the Rate will be set up manually.
NOTE: When setting up the rate plan, the More Details feature was used to select only the CVK and OVQQ Room Types, which is why they are the only Room Types showing on this plan. This plan cannot be used to book any other room types.
To enter the rates for these two Room Types, uncheck the box next to Lock the Grid.
The template can be used to create a price variance between the rooms, or the prices can be entered directly into the grid itself. For more information on setting up a Template, please see the article How to Build a Rate Template in the Rates manual.
For this example, the prices have been entered directly into the grid itself.
- Check Lock the Grid
- Enter the Date From and Date To
- Check Update Rate Amounts
- Click Save to publish the rates
Step 5: Client Types
Attach the Rate Plan to the appropriate Client Types in the Client Types tab.
Click on the Rate Plan in the Rate Wizard (ensure it's highlighted in blue), and click the Edit button.
Proceed to the Client Types tab and select the appropriate Client Type(s) for this rate plan. In this example, because the rate is being sold on eRes and directly at the hotel, both Leisure (Direct) and Online Booking (eRes) have been checked off.
When done, click Update.
The rate is now ready to use when selling the Lock-Off on both eRes, and directly at the hotel.
