An email in January: "We would like to come for ten days in August, two adults and two children. Is there a discount if we book now?" The first thought is "yes, of course, a booking in hand". The second: in August the room would fill anyway, at the full rate.
That is the whole early booking dilemma. The discount brings bookings in early and money before the season. But give it for weeks that would fill on their own and you are simply selling cheaper.
What an early booking offer is
A lower rate for guests who book well before arrival, usually with stricter terms: a deposit, limited or no free cancellation. The guest gets a better rate. You get certainty and cash before you open.
The offer works best on your own website, through the booking engine, because there you pay no commission. A discount on a direct booking costs you less than the same discount on a channel that takes commission.
When it is worth it
- For periods that do not fill on their own. May, June, September. There the discount brings nights that would otherwise stay empty.
- When you need cash before the season. For works, equipment, staff. A deposit in February has value.
- When the terms are real. Early booking with free cancellation until the last minute means the guest locks in the rate at no risk and cancels if they find something better.
When it is not
- For peak weeks. If the mid-August week fills every year, a discount there is a pure loss.
- When you already fill early. If last year July was full by March, its rate was low. You do not need an extra discount, you need a higher rate.
- When you cannot close it on time. An offer that stays open until July is not early booking, it is a permanent discount.
How much: a simple calculation
There is no right percentage for everyone. There is a way to check whether it pays for you. Say the double room costs €100 a night in June and you give 10% off.
- On every night you would have sold anyway, you lose €10.
- On every night that would have stayed empty and was filled by the offer, you gain €90.
If you sell 40 June nights through the offer, the discount costs you at most 40 × €10 = €400. So it is enough that five of those 40 nights would not have sold otherwise (5 × €90 = €450) for you to come out ahead. At 20% off you need ten such nights just to break even (40 × €20 = €800, 10 × €80 = €800). The bigger the discount, the more nights it must bring that you would not have had.
Start small. A moderate discount with a clear end date is safer than a large one that stays open. If bookings do not come, you can always increase it later. The opposite looks bad to the guests who have already booked.
The terms that make the offer work
- A book-by date: for example bookings until the end of February.
- Stay dates: which period it covers, e.g. May to June and September.
- Exclusions: peak weeks left out.
- Minimum stay: the discount for three nights or more, not for one.
- Deposit and cancellation policy: non-refundable, or with a substantial deposit.
How to set it up in Bookmatrix.com
As a rate plan, on your website and the channels
You create a derived rate plan "Early booking" that comes from the base rate minus your percentage. You give it its own cancellation policy with a deposit, set from when to when it applies to stays, and close the peak weeks. The channel manager sends it to the booking engine and to the channels where you have mapped it. When the offer period ends, you close the plan (stop sell) from the rates page. Put a reminder in your diary.
As a promo code, for your website only
If you want the discount for direct bookings only, you create a code, for example EARLY27, for the booking engine. You set a percentage or a fixed amount, from when to when it can be used, the maximum number of uses, a minimum booking value and which room types it applies to. After the end date the code no longer works. You send it to last year's guests by email or post it on social media.
What about the channels' own promotions?
The big channels have their own promotion tools in the extranet. If you use those as well as your own early booking plan, check that the discounts do not stack on top of each other without you meaning them to.
For why direct bookings are worth the effort, see the article direct bookings, zero commission. For how the booking engine works on your website, see the Bookmatrix.com booking engine.
Frequently asked questions
How much discount should I give for early booking?
As much as you can cover with nights that would otherwise stay empty. Do the sum: how many nights get the discount for no reason and how many are gained. Start small and increase only if needed.
Should it apply to August too?
Usually not for the weeks that fill every year. Exclude the peaks and give the offer for the periods you want to fill.
Does it have to be non-refundable?
It is not mandatory, but an offer with free cancellation until the last minute does not give you the certainty you are giving the discount for.
Want to set up your 2027 early booking offer together? Try Bookmatrix.com free for 14 days with your own rooms at bookmatrix.com/demo, or leave your details at bookmatrix.com/form and we will call you on the next working day. Phone: +30 2351 151525.