Pricing issues

In this case, the price from Previo was correctly sent to the calendar in the Booking.com extranet via the channel manager, but the reservation price does not match the rates set in Previo.

Price discrepancies, especially lower-than-expected rates, are among the most common issues our technical department encounters.

Reservation created for Derived Rate (Child Rate/NOT XML)

One of the most common problems occurs when a reservation is made using a rate that is only set within the Booking.com environment—most often Non-Refundable, Weekly, or similar special rates.

These rates can be found under Rates & Availability – Rate plans section, where they are displayed with information on how much percent or how much cheaper or more expensive they are than another, usually mapped (linked) rate.

This rate can also be seen in the calendar, where you can view its current pricing and set restrictions.

Booking.com does not accept any data on these rates via the channel manager.

Typically, rates have their own restriction settings and takes over information about rooms for sale and prices from the parent rate.

You can identify which rate the reservation was made under by searching for the reservation directly in the Booking.com extranet. See:

Nevratná = Non-refundable in Czech

Promotion is applied to the Reservation

As the title suggests, the discount in this case is set in the extranet in the “Promotions” section.

Under the Your active promotions option, you will find a list of discounts currently applied to your reservations.

A new discount can be created under the Choose new promotion option.

The most common types of discounts that can be applied to a booking include:

If the discount is set up in this way, the guest will see the original price crossed out on Booking.com, along with the offer applied.

Unfortunately, Booking.com does not usually provide us with information about the promotion applied, so this information is usually not included in the reservation note in Previo.

If one of the promotion offers is applied to the reservation, you can see it directly by searching for the reservation in the extranet as in the previous case, see:

Important note: If a discount offer is set up, it will not be reflected directly in the room rate within the Booking.com extranet calendar.

The discount is applied separately and is not normally visible in the calendar.

Genius partner programme

Booking.com’s Genius partner programme is a loyalty programme that provides travellers with exclusive benefits and discounts when they become members.

If you are part of the Genius Program, or wish to join the program, please go to Boost performance – Genius partner Programme.

This programme is designed to encourage guests to book with participating partner properties.

Properties participating in the Genius programme offer discounts and other benefits in exchange for increased visibility on Booking.com, which can lead to more reservations. Genius currently has 3 levels, which depend on the number of reservations a guest has completed.

The most common level is Genius 1 = 10% discount on a reservation.

Benefits for hosts participating in the Genius program:

  • Higher visibility in search results
  • Special “Genius” designation on the property page, signaling exclusive benefits for guests
  • Opportunity to attract more guests who frequently book through Booking.com

Participation in the Genius program is voluntary, but the property must meet certain conditions, such as having a high rating and an average price attractive to travelers.

More information about the program can be found here.

If you are part of the Genius programme, the guest will see the original price crossed out on Booking.com, along with information about what discount is given.

If the reservation contains a Genius discount, you can see this information directly by searching for the reservation in the extranet as in the previous case:

If you are unsure about creating or cancelling a discount, we recommend contacting Booking.com directly for information and assistance.

Deductions for lower occupancy/single use (formulas)

One of the reasons for price discrepancies may be the so-called formulas set in the Booking.com calendar.

These formulas are used to automatically recalculate prices for different numbers of guests, which is useful if the channel manager (e.g. Previo) only sends one price for a specific occupancy. The formula option in Booking.com is only available for the Standard Pricing Model (PDP = one price per room).

However, formulas are currently less frequently used on Booking.com because the channel manager allows you to send prices for all occupancies from Previo pricelist directly.

Using formulas, prices can be both increased and decreased:

Lower occupancy: If the price for the highest occupancy (e.g. 4 people) is sent, the formulas allow the price for fewer people to be automatically reduced (% or fixed amount).
Higher occupancy: If the price is sent for a lower occupancy (e.g. 1 person), the formulas allow the price to be increased for more people (% or fixed amount).

The formulas are set directly in the calendar in the Booking.com extranet, by clicking on the “Set up/Edit” option next to the name of the rate plan, see:

The settings table will then open:

The “Edit base occupancy” option allows you to select the basic occupancy of the room – also determines for which occupancy from Previo pricelist we send the price.
In the example, the normal occupancy is set for 4 persons and a deduction of 10% is applied for an occupancy of 3 persons.
However, if the basic occupancy is 1 person, it is then possible to set a surcharge for an occupancy of 2,3 and 4 persons.