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Create a Room Package

ThinkReservations gives you the tools to offer your guests choices beyond just lodging and items. When you create a rate type package or "Room Package," you are forcing your customers to make one buying decision:

Do they want just the lodging, or do they want the experience?



After the guest chooses the rate type, they will then be asked what upsell items or enhancements they would like if you offer them.

How to set up  a "Rate Type" with items to create a room package:

First, we will create a new rate type. ThinkReservations → Settings → Rate Types → New Rate Type

Answer the below questions in the new rate type to create your room package.

Details Tab of the Edit Rate Type:

Rate name and short description

1.) NAME: What is the name of this rate type with items?

2.) DESCRIPTION DISPLAYED ON THE BOOKING ENGINE: What's the description of this rate type? What's included? This is shown to the guest in the booking engine.

Rate qualifiers

3.) RATE QUALIFIERS: Do guests need to stay a certain number of nights to qualify for this package?

Is there a minimum? A maximum?

Does this package require a promotion code?

 What rooms are eligible for this package?

Pricing

4.) PRICING: There are two ways to set pricing for this rate type: manually or derived rates.

The simplest way to configure pricing is the second option, "Derive rates and restrictions from another rate type." In the drop-down box which appears, choose the base rate to derive rates and restrictions from. If applicable, choose an adjustment to the room rate, otherwise, select 'No Adjustment.' Since the rates and restrictions are derived from an existing rate type, the package rate type will have the same prices, minimum restrictions, maximum restrictions, closed restrictions, and stop sells as the rate it is derived from.

If you want to control rates, restrictions, or availability uniquely for this rate type, then select the first option, "Set rates and restrictions manually" under Pricing. 

Related: Copy Your Rates and Restrictions from One Rate Type to Another

Deposits

5.) DEPOSIT: What is the deposit policy for this rate type? Should the package items be included in the deposit calculation?

Packages and items

6.) PACKAGES AND ITEMS: Is this rate a package?  If you select YES, when you have more than two packages that could display to your guests at the same time, they will collapse to save space. See the bottom of this article for a demonstration.

INCLUDED ITEMS

Items must be created first in Settings → Items

7.) What items are included in the "package"? (Including service fees, etc.)

8.) What is the cost of each item in the package? You can override the price.

9.) Do any of your items need to be "per night"?

10.) Do any of your items need to be "per guest"?

11.) How should the room and item charges be displayed to the guest? You have the option to bundle the charges or itemize each charge.

  • Bundle the charges into one price - Added items will be bundled, but the guest's bill will only indicate a package. Ensure that the rate type DESCRIPTION DISPLAYED IN THE BOOKING ENGINE field appropriately identifies what is included.
  • Itemize each charge - The itemized breakdown of the package items will appear on the guest's bill.

Related: How to Create Items



Important Notes:

  • The price of the package can only be displayed as an Average Daily Rate --per night. E.g., $350/NIGHT
  • Taxes for the room and items are automatically calculated as programmed in Settings > Items.

Availability, Room Pricing, and Restrictions

If you have set your pricing to be set manually, then the next important step is to set pricing and restrictions in the Rates & Restrictions tab. Publish pricing only for the days and rooms that guests can stay overnight booking this package. See also the "Pricing" section above.

Pricing = Availability, so if you are not going to derive the rates and restrictions from another rate type, then make sure to set the pricing for the lodging portion of the package. For example, if your special is only available for guests who are staying during the month of October, only put pricing for the month of October. Don't forget to set restrictions if appropriate.

The fastest way to do this is using the "Copy from..." button found in the top right of the Rates & Restrictions tab.

Learn about that here: How to Copy Rates and Restrictions

Think of the room as one of the items in the room package. The lodging pricing is set in the Rates & Restrictions tab. Keep in mind that this pricing will impact your ADR and your taxes. For this reason, we don't recommend your package item cover the cost of the lodging, and we don't recommend setting the rate to $0 - although this is possible.


 

Frequently asked questions:

➽  How do I put a reservation into this package when I make their reservation over the phone?

After you make the reservation, click the Edit button to the right of the booking.

In the popup, you will be able to switch the guest into the proper RATE. Click Update when you are done, and the package items and room rate will be updated.

Do I set the inclusive total package price in the "Rates & Restrictions" tab of the rate type?

No, you set only the lodging portion of the package in the Rates & Restrictions tab if you have chosen to set the pricing manually. If the package is derived from another rate type, then the room rate is updated in the rate type the package is derived from. The rest of the package price comes from the included items on the General Information tab.

Where do I set or indicate which taxes are applicable?

The taxes are handles automatically as they are set up for each item and room.

Taxes for the items inside the rate type are set up for each individual item. Settings → Items → Item you wish to edit → Taxes section.

Taxes for the rooms/lodging are programmed on the room's settings page. Settings → Rooms → Room you wish to edit → Taxes section.

How is the price of the package calculated?

The grand total package price is automatically calculated based on the above mentioned tax settings, and the prices set.

Room charges (as set in Rates & Restrictions OR as derived from another rate type)

+ Room taxes (as set in the Room Settings page)

+ Price of items you've added (in the General Information tab of the rate type)

+ Item's taxes (as set in the item's settings page.)

-------------

Grand total of "Package."

Taxes are calculated on each line item one at a time for the most accuracy.

My package is an inclusive price for 2-nights, but I'd like a booking guest to see it even if they select three nights so that they can take the package with the additional price of the extra night. Is this possible?

This shouldn't be a problem. This is because of the way that the package is calculated -- Lodging plus items. If you have items in your package that are set up correctly, they should be able to stay as long as they wish. Just make sure to fix the pricing of the rooms in the Rates & Restrictions tab to only be lodging fees, or derive pricing from another rate type. You get the higher price of the package by adding the package items under INCLUDED ITEMS.

Can it show the total package price instead of the price per night?

The price of the package can only be displayed as an Average Daily Rate --per night. E.g., $350/NIGHT

This way, the guest can more easily compare the price per night that they already see for your standard rate.

How does it look for the guests booking online?

If you have a promotion code required for guests to qualify for this rate type, they will need to enter the promotion code before they can see the rate type.

Customers choose the rate type at the same time as choosing the room. The other applicable rate types are shown alongside your other rates, such as your Best Available Rate. The least expensive rate types are listed first.

If you have three or more rate types that you have indicated are a package, and they show up at the same time, they will collapse with a message saying "+ 5 packages available    Starting at $XXX / NIGHT". You click the plus sign to expand. See the video below for a demonstration.

What does the folio in ThinkReservations look like?

The name of the rate type is displayed at the top (denoted by the red box in the image below). The line items included in the package start "Rate Type Package."


What does the BILL look like when printed, and the itemized bill in the emails?

Printed Bill - Only the one line item for the package is printed for the guest:


Similarly, the Itemized Bill in the email only shows the single line item for the package:




If you any questions about rate types with items, please reach out to support!


 

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