Hotels and travel agencies should understand the importance of maintaining consistent prices for each offered service across all the booking platforms. It is what rate parity is about. From a customer’s point of view, putting a room up for sale on your own website, as well as depositing it with OTAs such as Booking.com and travel agents for exactly the same rate, projects an image of trust and away from confusion. Tools provided by Rate Gain and the like can make this job easier and prevent potential buyers from being lost due to price discrepancy.
Why Rate Parity Is Important
Let’s assume someone walks onto your website and then another webpage offers a cheap rate for that same room. Doubtful about your brand, the guest instantly books elsewhere. Rate parity hinders such feelings thus, keeping the reputation intact and satisfying customers. It also reduces disputes with your online travel partners who want to be sure they are not undercut.
Monitor Your Prices in Real-Time
Step one of rate parity is knowing what is happening in each of the channels where your rooms are listed. Use a rate shopping tool to track your prices across all of the platforms. A good number of tools will alert you whenever your rate varies on one site from others.
Set Clear Rules for Promotions
The commitment to rate parity can occasionally crumble due to promotions or special offers. One must ensure that any promotion given on one channel must also be given on another, or at least it does not contradict the overall rate mechanism. You might even negotiate with your partners to create some kind of private offer that does not show up in public search, hence maintaining rate parity whilst ensuring the loyalty of your customers.
Keep Sight of Taxes and Fees
Prices can be displayed differently on different platforms. One site may show the full price inclusive of taxes, while another may show it only as the base price. This starts confusing and gives the wrong impression of your prices even though they are indeed correct. Cross-check your rates as displayed on every site and switch settings where necessary.
Regularize the Audit and Reporting System
It is good to stick to the practice of an occasional manual rate review even if you work with software. Alternatively, you may choose to have audits weekly or even monthly looking for any abnormal trends in rate discrepancies. Some solutions from Rate Gain companies can even provide you with detailed reports that highlight areas in which rate parity is strong and, of course, where it may need adjustments.
Conclusion
Being consistent with the price on every booking channel requires some effort; however, it yields huge rewards. Rate parity nurtures guest trust, keeps good relations with partners, and builds one’s business over time. With intelligent planning and tools such as Rate Gain to regularly monitor your pricing, you can remain one step ahead to ensure that guests always see transparent and fair prices wherever they go to book.