We are increasingly receiving questions from our customers in the hotel industry: Does it even make sense to offer overnight vouchers if the room prices or rates are flexible depending on demand, days of the week and season with dynamic pricing? And if so, at what price should accommodation vouchers be offered so that they cover the rates well on days with high occupancy and therefore higher room rates, but are also still attractive as a gift?
In this article, we address these questions and give you tips on why you can successfully calculate and sell overnight vouchers even with flexible prices.
Content at a glance
Offer an overnight voucher despite flexible room rates?
The first answer is quite simple: you should definitely still opt for accommodation vouchers! Although value vouchers are very popular in most hotels and restaurants, the majority of guests prefer to give a voucher for a nice experience, such as an attractive package for a hotel stay or an unforgettable overnight stay, rather than a voucher with a listed amount of money that is obvious to the recipient.
Based on many years of experience, we therefore recommend that you offer an attractive range of gift vouchers and various experience or service vouchers (e.g. various overnight vouchers and packages) in your shop so that you can meet the different needs and wishes of your customers.
The calculation of a voucher price is admittedly not easy with flexible room rates. We understand the concern of making a loss with a voucher calculation that is too low on days with high occupancy or, conversely, causing incomprehension among guests with prices that are set too high and correspond to the days with the highest occupancy – after all, they could compare the daily prices online. That’s how many of our customers feel.
But there are various solutions – from mixed costing and excluding the busiest days to offering a differential fee – to ensure that you can still successfully overstay your welcome with a clear conscience.
Possible solutions
- If the price difference is small, offer a voucher at the rack rate
How big is the difference between the lowest and highest rates? If the difference between your dynamic prices is not too great, the voucher can be sold at the price of the highest rate or the rack rate. If you want to surprise your loved ones with an overnight stay in a nice hotel, you are usually willing to pay a fair – perhaps slightly higher – price if the recipient can enjoy a great experience without any restrictions. Neither the purchaser nor the guest with the voucher will be interested in comparing prices in the online booking system before booking. - Set the price at approx. 80 % of your rate in the event of large price differences
If your dynamic prices fluctuate greatly depending on the day and season, it can be a good solution to set the voucher price at approx. 80 % of your maximum rate. With this mixed calculation, many of the redeemed vouchers will already cover the room rates on the booked days or even a little more and thus compensate to a large extent for the shortfall of the vouchers redeemed on more expensive days.
What should also be taken into account in the calculation is the fact that vouchers are a powerful marketing tool. You have the opportunity to convince guests who have come to you as a result of a gift, to receive valuable recommendations or, in the best case, to gain new regular guests. What’s more, guests who are already staying for free usually spend more money on drinks, food or wellness treatments on site, which makes up for the difference between the voucher price and the maximum rate. Any fees for OTAs (online travel agencies and platforms) are also eliminated when booking directly with a voucher. - Public holidays or event days with high occupancy can be excluded
If your room rates are particularly high on public holidays (e.g. Christmas, New Year’s Eve etc.) or during events such as city festivals, marathons etc. due to high demand and you know in advance that your hotel will easily be fully booked on these days, you can explicitly exclude the redemption of a voucher on these dates. It is noted on your vouchers that the guest must make the reservation using the voucher code. This allows you to react to the situation on the relevant dates and exclude redemption.
Or you can point out that a surcharge is to be expected during this time. This way, your hotel guest can redeem their voucher without you missing out on revenue. - Our favourite: Credit the difference as a consumption or value voucher
This solution is a good compromise: If you put the voucher on sale at your highest rate and directly point out that the difference will be credited to the guest’s bill if they book in a cheaper period and they can then use it to offset drinks, meals or wellness treatments, both your hotel guest and the gift giver will be delighted and you will get your money’s worth. Plus, your customer will certainly be delighted by your hospitality! This is exactly what Sara Frei-Elmer, hostess and co-owner of Berghotel Mettmen AG, confirms in an interview:
Ms Frei-Elmer, what room rate do you offer your accommodation vouchers at so that they are attractive both on days with high occupancy and therefore higher room rates and as a gift? “We always sell our vouchers at the highest rate. We point out that we offset the difference as a credit for consumption in the restaurant or leave the amount as a balance on the voucher for the next visit if the recipient books at a lower rate.”
Can your guests redeem the accommodation vouchers at any time or are special seasons or public holidays excluded? “The vouchers can be redeemed at any time. We accept them like cash.”
What is your experience of offering accommodation vouchers? “Our accommodation vouchers are very popular with guests. In particular, the voucher for an overnight stay with pampering board in a double room for two people is a real hit.”
“Please note that we have flexible prices. The voucher is calculated with the highest weekend price. If the recipient books a room in a cheaper period, the difference will be credited to them and can be offset against drinks, catering, wellness treatments, etc.”
Conclusion
Please don’t do without accommodation vouchers just because you have reservations about the possible loss of revenue with flexible rates! An important point that should not be forgotten in the calculation is that bookings with vouchers are direct bookings, which means that any fees for OTAs (online travel agencies and platforms) are already cancelled. In addition, a good third of accommodation vouchers are not redeemed, so that any price differences are always offset by the non-redemption rate.
With the right price calculation for you and a possible restriction or differential compensation, both you and your guests will enjoy your multi-faceted voucher offer.
Do you have any questions?
Send us a message or give us a call. We are always happy to help.
Get in touch with us- by Denise Meyer, Content Marketing Manager