What are promotion codes?
Promotion codes — also known as promo codes — are exclusive discounts that can help attract more direct bookings.
Promo codes make guests feel rewarded, and satisfied customers are more likely to return, as well as leave good reviews. Your guests will appreciate the exclusive discount on their reservation and your property will benefit from attracting more direct bookings — a win-win situation!
As long as you have created at least one promotion code, a promo code field will appear on your direct booking engine, where your potential guests can enter the promo code to receive the discount.
When guests enter the promo code in your booking engine, they will be able to see and book the certain room types and room rates assigned to the promotion code.
Notes:
You can restrict promotion codes so that they are only available during certain sell dates and stay dates
You can create an exclusive rate that will only show on your booking engine when a guest enters the assigned promo code. To do this, enable the direct booking rate’s Restrict rate toggle and assign the promotion code to the direct booking rate.
Promotion codes do not have a limit of how many times they can be used. They can be used multiple times by the same guest, as long as the promotion code is active.
Benefits of using promo codes
Promo codes are a great way to promote your property and its offerings, and can help increase your direct bookings by attracting both new customers and loyal customers.
They are exclusive
Create a discounted rate and assign it to a promo code, then distribute the promo code to select customers. This allows you to control and limit availability of certain discounts, and gives guests an exclusive rate as the rate will only be available if the promo code is entered.
To configure a rate to only show when a promo code is entered, enable the direct booking rate’s Restrict rate toggle and assign the promotion code to the direct booking rate.
They make guests feel special
Promotion codes can make potential guests feel like they are being gifted with an exclusive offer.
They create a sense of urgency to book
Potential guests will be encouraged to take immediate action so that they don't miss out on a discount if they know it is on offer for a limited time only. For example, you could have promo codes for limited time discounts for events such as Valentine's Day, Black Friday, Christmas, Summer, and so on.
They can help with last-minute sales
To help sell your remaining available room at the last minute, advertising a promo code can help encourage last-minute bookings. To do this, you can restrict the promo code to certain stay dates.
They can help retain customers
Promotion codes can help give customers a reason to come back. Loyalty promotion codes can encourage guests who have stayed with you before to come back and stay again.
Ways to advertise your promo codes
Once you have created a promo code, you then need to distribute it!
Here are some ways that you could distribute and advertise your promo codes:
Include a promo code in your post-stay emails. Give your guests a promo code they can use to stay again in future, or that they can give to a friend.
Send the promo code by email to your list of subscribers or past guests
Advertise your promo code on your direct website, as well as on your social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram to attract new customers and widen your reach
Share the promo code through online advertisements, in your newsletter, newspapers, television, radio, etc.
Create promo codes as part of a campaign for a specific day such as Black Friday or Valentine’s day, or for a festive or end of season sale
Promotion codes set up in Direct booking > Promotion codes can only be used with your Little Hotelier booking engine. Your other channels (OTAs) may have their process to set up promo codes/discounts — please contact the channel directly.
Create a promotion code
To create a promotion code for your Little Hotelier booking engine, follow these steps:
Navigate to Direct booking > Promotion codes
Click Add promotion code
Follow the steps to create your promo code
Click Save
When creating your promo code, fill in the following details:
Promotion code: The code that your guests will use - the code that must be entered on your booking engine to get the deal. For example, ‘winterspecial’.
Promotion code description: Add a description that will show when the promo code is entered on your booking engine
Default discount: Set a percentage or amount discount. When assigning this promotion code to your direct booking rates, if needed you can also override this default discount and set a custom discount for a specific rate.
Show discount amount to guests: Tick this option if you want the discounted price to be shown on your booking engine under the booking summary’s Room charges > Promotional discount
Stay dates: The stay dates the promo code will apply to
Sell dates: When the promo code will be valid/can be booked
Assign to room rates: Assign the promo code to all or specific room rates. If you want to override the discount for a specific room rate, click the lock icon, then enter the new discount for the room rate. Note that you need to add the room rate to Direct booking before you can link it to the promo code.
Restrict a rate to a promo code
If you only want a rate to show when a customer enters an assigned promotion code, enable the Restrict rate toggle when editing a direct booking rate. Navigate to Direct booking > Direct booking rates > click on a rate plan to edit it > turn on the Restrict rate toggle.
Manage, edit or delete a promo code
Navigate to Direct booking > Promotion codes
Find the promotion code and click on the ellipsis button (three dots button) next to the code
Select either: Edit, Delete, Assign (to assign or remove assigned room rates), or Duplicate (to duplicate the existing settings to create a new promo code)