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Boost international bookings by offering a Country Rates from Booking.com 2022
Booking.com is the platform with the most listed properties and a huge number of travelling visitors, which is both an opportunity and challenge for hoteliers selling rooms on this OTA. If you just generate very few bookings with Booking.com, it is time to re-check your rate strategy and take action by targeting guests from specific regions.
Why Country Rates?
In 2022, 61% of searches on Booking.com platform are for international travel, up 18% from 2021. Global travel is on the rise, and more international guests also means more opportunities for your property. You can tap into this increase in demand and secure revenue by offering targeted discounts to international travellers who tend to book earlier and cancel less.
Country Rates on Booking.com are targeted discounts that you can offer to guests from your markets of choice. This feature can help you fill your available rooms and tide you over during low season, as peak travel times differ for each market. Plus, they can also help you tap into completely new markets, too.
How do Country Rates work?
Country Rates helps your properties increase bookings, improve visibility on Booking.com platform and secure more more revenue from international travellers that tend to cancel less. By using Country Rates, the discount is displayed only to people using our platform in the countries or regions properties choose to target.
How to activate your Country Rates on Hotel Link Extranet?
Here’s how to set up Country Rates for your property:
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Log in to the Hotel Link extranet
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Click on Booking Engine > Special Offer
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Choose Booking.com channel > Create New Special Offer
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At the Type field, choose Geo Rate (also Country Rate).
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Select the countries or regions you want your Country Rate to apply to. We display these in the order we recommend you prioritise each country or region based on what we know about your property and your previous bookings. If there’s an arrow next to a region, you can click on it to select individual countries within that region.
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Enter the percentage discount you want to offer at the Rate discount field.
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Choose any check-in dates when you don’t want your Country Rate to apply at Excluded Stay Dates field.
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Click Save.
Some FAQs about Country Rates
How Country Rates benefit my properties?
- Secure revenue by targeting international travellers: Properties are able to target international travellers. Guests traveling internationally tend to book earlier and cancel less.
- Gain more bookings with country-specific rates: Your properties can fill available rooms by offering discounts during holiday periods and for special events in specific markets.
- Boost your visibility on Booking.com: Offering competitive rates in high-demand countries improves your rankings on Booking.com search results.
- Earn programme points: You can earn points towards your Pricing Adoption score, improving performance in the Connectivity Partner Programme and potentially reaping the benefits of a higher programme tier.
Which countries should I target?
On your property’s Booking.com extranet page, you’ll find personalised country rate recommendations. They’re based on data tailored to your property, and can help you select the regions you might want to target to increase your revenue.
Which guests do I target with country rates?
Country rates are only visible to guests using Booking.com from an IP address matching the country you’re targeting. They apply year-round, but you can choose up to 30 days per calendar year when the discount doesn’t apply.
What rates should I offer to guests?
A minimum 5% discount is required, but you can opt to offer larger discount. We recommend a minimum discount of 10%, but you can adjust this based on your preference.
Do country rates apply to all my rooms and rate plans?
Yes, country rates apply to all your rooms and rate plans. The discount adds on to existing discounts from the Genius programme (if you’re a Genius partner), as well as any other promotions you’ve set up. However, country rates do not apply to mobile rates or the Deal of the Day promotion. Please note that the Country Rates are not available in certain countries due to legal or commercial restrictions.
Here is all the vital information about Country Rates feature by Booking.com. Please check your property and do not miss out on this feature. For the FAQ please rather link the PartnerHub pages for Country rate.
If you are seeking a Channel Manager or have not connected with Booking.com, learn more about our tool to connect with Booking.com here.
