Strategic discounts can significantly boost your vacation rental's performance. When implemented thoughtfully, discounts attract more potential guests, encourage longer stays, and help fill gaps in your booking calendar.
If you haven't read our Discounts Overview support article, we recommend reading it first. While not comprehensive, this article provides a list of questions not found elsewhere.
- How do I create a Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO) discount?
- How do I configure a Buy Two, Get One Free discount?
- Can I create a gift certificate?
How do I create a Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO) discount?
There isn’t a built-in option for a traditional "Buy One, Get One Free" (BOGO) discount, but Advanced Custom Discounts (Settings > Pricing > Discounts > + Create Discount > Advanced Discounts > Custom Discount) can be set up with a 50% off discount if a guest books 2 nights.
From there, concentrate on how you present this BOGO discount in your marketing—you can still refer to it as a BOGO-style deal in your property listing title or description.
How do I configure a Buy Two, Get One Free discount?
Similar to the BOGO discount, there is no built-in option to add a Buy Two Nights, Get One Free discount. However, offering a 33% discount (Settings > Pricing > Discounts > + Create Discount > Advanced Discounts > Custom Discount) for a three-night stay is mathematically the same as “Buy 2, Get 1 Free.”
From there, concentrate on how you present this B2G1 discount in your marketing—you can still refer to it as a B2G1-style deal in your property listing title or description.
Can I create a gift certificate?
At this time, OwnerRez does not support Gift Certificates. However, some of our imaginative users have devised a method for using the Discount Code system to approximate a gift certificate.
When a person wishes to purchase a "gift certificate," you can assign them a specific, unguessable "discount code" for the appropriate amount. They can then give this code to their desired gift recipient. When that person uses the discount code in an OwnerRez booking form, the "discount" will be applied, using the amount of the "gift certificate."
Caveats
- OwnerRez does not currently provide a method to collect credit card payments outside of a booking. You would need to collect the funds some other way, such as via a separate PayPal payment, a check, a credit card transaction using the online terminal of your payment processor if there is one, or tacking on an extra untaxed charge to an active booking by the person wishing to purchase the "gift certificate."
- OwnerRez also does not currently provide a method to track the usage of "gift certificates." You will need to track them yourself, such as with an Excel spreadsheet, and remember to disable the codes as they are used manually.
- Guests cannot complete zero balance bookings. OwnerRez still recommends that users create $0 quotes for "free" stays.
- Discount codes are not "one-time use," so if they share that code or make multiple bookings, it will apply. You must remove the code from your discounts once it's been used.