Rate Plans
Understand rate plan types, pricing logic during reservation creation, and how to manage seasonal and promotional pricing in Veridien.
A rate plan defines how much a guest pays for their stay and what is included in that price. It is one of the most important configuration elements in any property management system because it directly affects revenue, guest expectations, and competitive positioning. In Veridien, rate plans are flexible enough to handle everything from a simple rack rate to complex seasonal packages with multiple inclusions.
This guide explains the different types of rate plans, how they interact with the reservation process, and how administrators can create and manage them.
Types of rate plans
Veridien supports several rate plan types. Each serves a different commercial purpose, and most properties use a combination of them to balance occupancy and revenue.
Best Available Rate (BAR)
The BAR is your property's standard public rate for a given room type on a given date. It fluctuates based on demand, season, and day of the week. The BAR is typically the rate displayed on your website's booking engine and is the baseline against which other rate plans are compared. Most properties configure the BAR with a flexible cancellation policy to appeal to the widest range of travellers.
Corporate Rate
Corporate rates are negotiated with companies that send regular business to your property. They offer a fixed discount off the BAR in exchange for a guaranteed volume of room nights over a period (usually one year). Corporate rates are linked to a company profile in Veridien, and front desk agents must select the correct company when applying the rate to ensure the negotiated terms are honoured.
Package Rate
Package rates bundle the room with additional services such as breakfast, spa credits, airport transfers, or dining vouchers. The package total is typically lower than what the guest would pay if they purchased the room and the add-ons separately. Packages are popular for leisure travellers and during promotional periods. In Veridien, each package rate plan specifies its inclusions, and these appear automatically on the reservation and the guest folio.
Promotional Rate
Promotional rates are time-limited offers designed to drive bookings during slow periods or to celebrate special occasions (anniversary sale, early bird summer offer, last-minute deal). They usually come with restrictions such as minimum stay, advance purchase requirement, or blackout dates. Promotional rates can be configured to appear on specific booking channels only, for example, website-only or OTA-only.
Non-Refundable Rate
Non-refundable rates offer the lowest price in exchange for the guest giving up the right to cancel without penalty. Payment is collected at the time of booking, and the full amount is forfeited if the guest cancels. These rates are attractive to price-sensitive travellers who are certain of their plans and to the hotel because they guarantee revenue regardless of whether the guest arrives.
Viewing rate plans
All rate plans are managed centrally at Finance > Rate Plans. This screen lists every rate plan configured for your property, grouped by room type. For each plan, you can see:
- Name: The display name used in the reservation form and on the booking engine.
- Room Type: Which room type(s) the plan applies to.
- Base Rate: The default nightly price (may be overridden by seasonal pricing).
- Inclusions: Any services bundled with the room.
- Restrictions: Minimum stay, advance purchase, blackout dates, or channel restrictions.
- Cancellation Policy: The policy linked to this rate plan.
- Status: Active or Inactive. Inactive rate plans do not appear in the reservation form.
You can filter the list by room type, status, or plan type using the controls at the top of the screen.
How rate plans work during reservation creation
When a front desk agent creates a reservation and selects a room type, the Rate Plan dropdown is populated dynamically. The system evaluates each rate plan against the following criteria:
- Room type match: The plan must be configured for the selected room type.
- Date validity: The plan must be active for the entire date range of the reservation. If a promotional plan expires mid-stay, it will not appear.
- Channel eligibility: Some plans are restricted to certain booking channels (website only, OTA only, direct only). The system filters based on the booking source selected on the reservation.
- Restrictions check: If the plan has a minimum stay requirement and the reservation is shorter, the plan is excluded. Similarly, advance purchase plans are excluded if the check-in date is too soon.
The plans that pass all four checks are displayed in the dropdown, sorted by price from lowest to highest. This makes it easy for the agent to see the full range of options and help the guest choose.
Rate comparison tip
When a guest is deciding between rate plans, use the Compare link next to the dropdown. This opens a side panel showing all eligible plans with their nightly rates, inclusions, and cancellation terms side by side. It is much faster than clicking through each plan individually.
Creating and managing rate plans
Administrator access required
Creating, editing, and deactivating rate plans requires the Property Owner or Manager role. Front Desk Staff can view rate plans and select them during reservation creation, but they cannot modify the plans themselves. The following procedure is for administrators only.
Navigate to rate plan management
Go to Finance > Rate Plans and click Add Rate Plan in the upper right corner.
Set the basic information
Enter the Name (this is what agents and guests see), set the Base Price, and select the Currency. Then choose which Room Types the plan applies to. You can select multiple room types if the same pricing logic applies across them.
Configure base pricing
The base price you entered in the previous step serves as the default nightly rate. You can override this with seasonal pricing in the next step.
Add seasonal pricing overrides
Click Add Season to define date ranges with different pricing. For example, you might set a summer season from June 1 to August 31 with a higher rate, and a low season from November 1 to February 28 with a lower rate. Dates not covered by any season use the base rate. Seasons can overlap with the most recently created season taking priority, but it is best practice to avoid overlaps entirely.
Define inclusions
If this is a package rate, click Add Inclusion and select from the list of configured services (breakfast, airport transfer, spa credit, etc.). Specify the quantity and frequency (per night, per stay, per person). Inclusions appear on the guest's folio and on the reservation confirmation email.
Set restrictions and policies
Configure any applicable restrictions: Minimum Stay, Maximum Stay, Advance Purchase (minimum days before arrival), Blackout Dates (specific dates when the plan is not available), and Channel Restrictions (which booking channels can use this plan). Link a Cancellation Policy from the dropdown.
Activate and save
Set the plan's status to Active and click Save. The rate plan is immediately available for use in new reservations. If you want to prepare a rate plan in advance without making it available yet, save it as Inactive and activate it later.
Managing seasonal pricing
Seasonal pricing allows you to adjust rates without creating separate rate plans for each period. A single BAR rate plan can have different prices in summer, winter, and shoulder seasons. When a reservation spans two seasons (for example, check-in on August 30 and check-out on September 3, where summer ends on August 31), the system applies the correct seasonal rate to each night individually. The reservation total reflects the blended pricing.
Managing promotional pricing
Promotional rate plans should always have a clear start and end date configured in the Validity Period field. When the promotion ends, the plan automatically stops appearing in the reservation form. There is no need to manually deactivate it. However, reservations already made under the promotional rate are not affected when the plan expires. The guest keeps the rate they booked.
Scenario: holiday season rate management
Your property typically runs at 40% occupancy in the first two weeks of January but sees strong demand during the Christmas and New Year period. You want to maximise revenue during the holidays and drive bookings in the quiet period that follows.
You open Finance > Rate Plans and edit the BAR plan. You add a seasonal override for December 20 to January 2 with rates 35% above the base rate. Next, you create a new Promotional rate plan called "New Year Recovery" valid from January 3 to January 17 with rates 20% below the base rate, a three-night minimum stay, and a non-refundable condition. You restrict this promotional plan to the Website and Direct Phone channels so that it does not undercut your OTA rates.
On the booking engine, guests looking at the December 24-28 period see only the higher holiday rate. Guests searching for January 5-10 see both the BAR (at its normal level) and the "New Year Recovery" promotional rate, which is 20% cheaper but requires three nights and no cancellation. This strategy captures premium revenue during the holiday peak and stimulates demand during the traditionally slow period that follows.
Common mistakes with rate plans
Creating too many rate plans. Every active rate plan adds complexity to the reservation process. If agents see a dropdown with 15 options, they spend more time on each booking and are more likely to select the wrong plan. Keep the list focused on plans that serve a clear commercial purpose.
Forgetting to set an end date on promotional plans. A promotion without an end date runs indefinitely. If nobody remembers to deactivate it, guests will continue booking at the discounted rate long after the promotion should have ended.
Not linking a cancellation policy. Every rate plan must have an associated cancellation policy. If you forget this step, the system defaults to the property-wide policy, which may not match the intent of the rate plan. A non-refundable rate plan with a flexible cancellation policy is a revenue leak.