1. Offer - Redesigned flow  

This will enable the new offer flow which includes a redesign of the offer creation wizard and supports offer import. It is developed under a feature flag and users can reach out to the customer success team to enable the redesigned flow.

• Note: For offer import a separate feature flag and permission must be enabled in addition to the redesign offer feature flag.

• Webinar recordings about the new offer flow are available on the bottom of this page.

2. What is an offer? 

Offers are used to provide discounts compared to the standard price (rates) to guests who are making a booking. These discounts are mostly used to incentivize the guests to make a booking or prolong their stay. They can be used in different scenarios and for different reasons. For example, a client could provide a 10% discount for guests who make a booking of over 7 days during July & August to make sure that they are fully booked during that period. Another example would be to incentivize guests to make a booking when occupancy is low compared to another season. The client could decide to create an early booking offer with a 15% discount for all bookings made from February to April. 

The prerequisites of setting up offers are to have your location(s), Distribution Channels (DCs), accommodation types, rates, and eventually, add-ons properly set up. Once all of this is done we can start setting up offers.   

3. Offer overview page

Within the Rate Manager, we have the module Offers. When you click on the Offer tab, you should arrive at the following page :

Open

Now multiple options are visible on the screen. 

• Location - This Drop-down allows the user to select different locations and create the offer as per the Selection.

• Offer type - This Drop-down allows the user to select different offer types. Example - General offer or Package offer. 

• General offer - General Offers are used to provide discounts compared to the standard price (rates) to guests who are making a booking.

• Package offer - When a number[many/group] of package items is offered together with accommodation as a complete package then we call them ''Package Offer'. Using a package offer users can combine two or more add-ons and offer them as one package where guests/customers will be able to book one package item to avail of all add-ons which are a part of the package.

     *** Note - After offer creation users cannot change the location and price type. ***

• Search box - Users can utilize this field to search for offers by name, code, or name path. Additionally, the option to show advanced search provides more filters, enhancing the search capabilities for users. 

• Active - This Filter chip allows the user to show the active offers. (Current dates and future dates)

• Expired - This Filter chip allows the user to show the expired offers.

• Upcoming - This Filter chip allows the user to show the upcoming offers. (Future Dates Only)

• All - This Filter chip allows the user to show all offers. 

• Archived - This Checkbox allows the user to show the archived offers.

• Show List - This Show list-icon allows the user to show the list of offers. 

• Show Structure - This Show Structure icon allows the user to show the structure for the offers. 

4. How to create offers in MXTS

At the bottom right of this page, you should see a button " create offer and create package offer.

Open

1. Scenario and details

First of all, you need to decide which type of offer you would like to set up. You have the choice between:

• General offer (the standard setup)

• Package offer: It is used when including sets of package items into the booking and has more settings around the management of these different items.

For now, we will focus on the general offer. Once you have chosen the type of offer you want, you need to select the type of price calculation that you would like for your offer. There are currently 4 types of price calculations for general offers:

• Percentage discount: You define a percentage of discount that is calculated over the base rate of the selected accommodation type.

• Fixed amount discount: You define a fixed number which will be the amount used for the discount of selected accommodation type.

• New price: You set a custom price (i.e. normally the cost is 300€ for 3 nights, offer is 250€ for 3 nights.

• Stay longer, pay less: The "stay longer, pay less" feature only functions when the user has the price index mode set to "price cash," as it is not applied or visible in other modes.

• Flexible offer: When a user toggles on this setting, the only available option for the offer method will be "Hidden search code".

We can now start configuring the offer. 

When clicking on the create offer button, User should see the following page :

1. Price type:

Click on "Next step you should then be redirected to the following page : 

Now you can see multiple options on-screen some are mandatory [*Must fill those options] and some are not mandatory options.

2. About:

• Location- The user can select a location.

• Choose the parent under which you would like to create an offer- If you wish to create an offer under parent then the user needs to select this Option.

• Name- Give the offer name (Mandatory fields) 

• Code- Give the Code (Mandatory fields) a maximum of 25 characters.

• Description- The user wants to describe what kind of offer it is (Optional)

• Do you want to create a parent offer- Users have the option to select this toggle if they wish to create a parent offer for grouping offers.

3. Offer method:

This page lets you decide the policy you wish to use for your offer.

• Open- The offer will be applied automatically when the reservation aligns with the offer configuration.

• Open Search Code- If the user selects the offer policy as an open search code, the offer for promotion page or tour operator toggle will be enabled in the offer advanced settings. This offer will only show up in the price compare when the search code is used and thus only bookable when the offer search code is used.

• Hidden search code- If the user selects the offer policy as a hidden search code the offer for promotion page or tour operator toggle will be disabled in the offer advanced settings. This offer will only show up in the price compare when the search code is used and thus only bookable when the offer search code is used.

• Generate Search Code - Users can create an offer search code by using this option.
  (Click on generate search code) the search code will be created and the user can modify the search code.

• Linked accommodation types can not be booked without this offer - The linked accommodation types and add-ons for this offer can only be booked in conjunction with the offer itself. This will affect all distribution channels during the selected stay period.

Once you have made your choice and filled in all of the relevant fields, click on "Next Step".

4. Period:

• Offer stay date period from- to and including (*mandatory for both fields to be filled in).

• Choose the last departure date-  You can select the final date on which you can check out or depart from the accommodation while still being eligible for a particular offer. The last possible arrival remains the Offer stay date to.

• Only applicable to the complete duration of the stay- The setting toggle is automatically enabled when the user selects "Override Price" and chooses the index modes "Unit level night prices" or "Type level night prices". Now, users can edit the toggle both during offer creation and in the advanced setting menu after creation.

5. Optional Setting:

• Reporting group-  Users can select the reporting group.

• Reservation categories- Configure applicable reservation categories for this offer, if this offer is to be used only in reservations made by selected reservation categories.

• Contract types- Configure applicable contracts for this offer, if this offer is to be applied only for units following a certain contract.

• Employee roles- Only employees with the specific role are allowed to book this offer

• Customer status- Configure applicable customer statuses to this offer if this offer is to apply only to customers with selected statuses.

The offer is created now the next step will show how to configure the offer. 

There are 4 remaining tasks on this page which they need to complete to activate the offer.

After completing each step, each card will become visible on the screen. For example, once the user completes the first task, the representations card with the selected distribution channels will become visible.

1. Add distribution channels -

Distribution channels are used to make this offer available on specific sales channels or to specific markets

On this page, you can select all of the relevant distribution channels (DCs) that need to be applicable for this offer. Once you have made your choice, click on "Next step" at the bottom right.

Users can choose either individual distribution channels or distribution channel groups.

When the user clicks on the distribution channel button then the following page will appear and the default parent view will be shown. Users have the option to select according to the structural view by clicking on it.

After adding the distribution channels the representation card becomes visible. The representation is set to not bookable and visible. On completion of the offer configuration, it will be set to bookable automatically.

The offer rentability card will be shown after the Distribution Channels are selected. On default a rentability rule is added which is always valid. As the offer will only be bookable based on the accommodation rentability there is no need to again configure rentability. Specific offer rentability rules are only required when you want to differentiate from the configured arrival and departure days of the accommodation.

2. Add accommodation type -

• Users can choose the accommodation types they wish to link to the offer here.

• Users have the option to make a selection based on accommodation types or units.

• We recommend using accommodation types for linking, rather than unit level.

3. Specify the discount rate for this offer -

Users must input mandatory fields such as the stay date period from - to and "Book date from" before proceeding to the next step. 

The stay date period, inclusive of both the start and end dates, will be automatically filled in based on the offer stay period.

Additionally, users have the option to make changes in this section in case other dates are required.

3. Create a discount rate. 

The stay date period, inclusive of both the start and end dates, will be automatically filled in based on the offer stay period.

Additionally, users have the option to make changes in this section in case other dates are required.

On this page, users will only see valid rate types based on their DC and linked accommodation selection.

• Apply a different discount for each rate type- Users have the option to choose a unique discount for each linked rate type.

• Apply a different discount based on the duration of the guest stay-
  If you wish, you can add a minimum and/or a maximum length of stay for your offer. (i.e. This offer is applied to bookings made for a minimum of 7 nights). If set, then any bookings that do not meet these settings will not be able to book the offer. 

• Apply a different discount based on the number of days between the booking date and arrival date-
  The deviation represents the number of days between the book date & arrival date whether you may book the offer. This field allows you to add relative booking restrictions to your offer for more flexibility. (i.e. suppose you fill in the minimum deviation of 30; then if you book the offer on the 1st of June and you would like to arrive on the 16th of June, the offer will not be applicable as the difference is less than 30 days). Please note that this option is not frequently used by clients.

Translations- 

You should see the following page : 

On this page, you can add translations if necessary. This is an optional field. This can be useful if you wish to have different titles for your offers depending on the language (Dutch, German, English, French, Italian, etc). Once configured, click on "Next Step" at the bottom right of the pop-up. 

Settings -

All accommodation types- Opt for selecting all linked accommodation types to enhance flexibility when adding or removing accommodation types.

Specific accommodation types- Opt for selecting specific linked accommodation types. 

Add-ons- Users have the option to select specific add-ons or choose all add-ons.

If the offer price needs to be calculated over specific add-ons only along with accommodation then please select the Specific add-ons Or all add-ons. And If it is not applicable then no need to select this option.

Offers- Users have the option to select Specific offers or choose all offers.

After selecting all the fields, users can click on the Create discount rate. 

This page will display only one remaining task, which is to activate the offer.

Note- Before activating the offer, users can review the configuration. If necessary, they have the option to add extra rules or additional distribution channels based on their preferences.

After the user clicks on the checkbox to activate the offer, an overview will be provided as depicted in the screenshot below.

Additionally, it will indicate the status of the offer as "Bookable" and "Visible."  

5. How to import offers?

Offer importing: This functionality is useful to create/configure multiple Offer/Package offers through one import file. 

Steps to be followed: 

Rate manager->Offer->Batch update

Rate manager->Offer->Batch update->Import->Download Template

Import- This field allows the user to import General offers and Package offers.

Download template- This field allows the user to download a template for a General offer / Package offer.

After clicking the Download template user will see two options as there is a small difference between the 2 templates.

• General offer

• Package offer

After downloading template there are two sheets in the template.

• Data tab

• Information tab

You must populate all relevant data in the import file columns within the datasheet.

Please adhere to the important instructions provided below when adding/filling data in the sheet. 

• When creating the import file for the it's crucial to include certain important information.

• Orange colour column - Mandatory fields and must-needed information.

• Blue colour column - Mandatory under certain conditions only.

• Green colour column - Non-mandatory but helpful to give clear information.

6. How to configure a package offer?

Users are required to follow the same five steps as the general offer setup process, which constitutes the standard procedure.

The package offer supports only two types of pricing.

• Fixed amount discount

• New price 

Package offer - It is used when including package items in the booking and has more settings around the management of these different items.

The 4th task involves selecting package item(s) for configuring this offer.

Users are required to select the add-ons they wish to link as add-on package items on this page.

Once all selections have been made, linked package items will be displayed in the package offer. 

7. How to edit an existing offer.

The behavior is consistent across both types of offers.

Editing of rates with reservations

• To edit the rates displayed on the rates card, users should click on the pencil icon under the actions column.

Upon editing the rates, the following two options will be presented on the screen.

1. The new changes will be applicable for future bookings and could also impact already existing bookings.

2. Make the new changes applicable only for future bookings without impacting the existing bookings.

• If you choose the 1st option then the exiting rate will be updated and could also impact existing bookings ( If recalculated) and future bookings.

• If you choose the 2nd option then the existing rate will get blocked from the current book date to and a new rate will be generated with today's book date from the current timestamp. The new changes are applicable only for future bookings without impacting the existing bookings.

Example after the value is updated and 2nd option was chosen:

• 10% rate is updated with the book date to with timestamp of updation of the rate

• 15% rate is valid from the moment the updation was executed

8. Changing an existing offer through import

Examples-

• Users can add new rates to existing offers using the import file.

• Users can update existing rates in offers using the import file.

9. How to export an offer?

In the settings tab of the offer, you will find the export offer button at the bottom of the menu. Clicking on this button will initiate the download of the offer export file.

Overview of the offer export file after downloading.

To make the export file useful for importing again, you can notice the following things:

• Each row in the file has 1 rate type

  • Example: the existing offer has 2 rate types linked in 1 offer rate, you will get 2 separate rows in the exported file

• Each row has 1 accommodation type

  • Example: the existing offer has “All linked accommodations” in the offer rate. You will get a for each linked accommodation type from the linked accommodation type card a separate row.

  • This is because the “All linked accommodations” option is not supported in offer import.

Please note: Without data in the “applicable on” column in the offer rate it is not possible to export an offer.

10. Offer exclusion

Note 18/11/2024: for now, only visible for Maxxton only. Will be fixed in this week.

Alongside configuring combinations between offers, you can now also set up offer exclusions. Offer exclusions allow you to specify that certain offers cannot be applied together within the same period of a reservation, even if both offers are valid during that reservation.

When to Use Offer Exclusions

Use offer exclusions when you want to restrict overlapping offers. For example, if Offer A is set to exclude Offer B, then Offer B cannot be added to any period in a reservation where Offer A is valid. However, Offer B can still be applied to other periods within the same reservation, outside of the dates where Offer A is active.

Example Scenario

Imagine a two-week reservation:

• Offer A applies only to the first week.

• Offer B is valid for the entire two weeks.

Since Offer A excludes Offer B, Offer B can only be applied to the second week of the reservation.

How to Configure Offer Exclusions

To set up exclusions, open any offer and navigate to the Exclusions section. Here, you can select and add the offers you wish to exclude for that particular offer.

Note: When an exclusion is set for Offer A to exclude Offer B, Offer B cannot have its own exclusion settings. This limitation is similar to the restriction on offer combinations: if an offer is already linked in another combination, it cannot be part of a new combination configuration.

11. Webinar recording

For the go live of the offer flow we held two webinars, one in Dutch and one in English to explain the new offer flow. You can find the recordings below. These webinars can be used to get a better understanding of what has been changed and how the offer flow works.

English: Maxxton webinar - New offer flow (2024-03-27 14:03 GMT+1)

Dutch: Maxxton webinar - New offer flow (2024-03-26 14:03 GMT+1)