Applying Specials

When creating a new itinerary, if it qualifies for specials you will see the default Special applied above the ‘Make Booking’ button. If more than one special has been applied, you will see ‘Multiple specials applied’. You may override the default Special(s) and select new Specials if you have the relevant User access. Special overrides are stored in the system along with the user’s ID plus the date and time of the override.

Whenever an itinerary item is added or changed, the composition of the full itinerary is evaluated against all active Specials (subject to the user’s access rights).

The evaluation process follows these steps:

1. If an invoice exists on the reservation, no Special will be automatically applied or removed.
2. If an override Special is already in place, it will be retained, whether it qualifies or not.
3. If there is no current Special, or the current Special(s) no longer qualify, the default Special(s) are applied.
4. If the current Special(s) still qualify but the reservation qualifies for a higher ranked Special, the system will apply the new default Special(s).
5. If the reservation does not qualify for any Special and the current Special (without an override) no longer qualifies, the Special is removed.

Knowing when a Special has been applied to a reservation

The Reservation Details screen shows which Special has been applied to the reservation. If more than one special has been applied, it states ‘Multiple specials applied’. There is a ‘Special discount’ option on the drop-down at the end of the itinerary row, if a special benefit has been applied to the row.

The effect of Specials on Rates

Once a Special has been selected, the system recalculates the rates on itinerary items that qualify for a benefit. Only 1 Special can be applied to a reservation.

• The system first deducts any applicable special discount, then deducts agent commission.
• Note: The effect of the discount will depend on the applicable rate components having appropriate commission settings on the rate set up (calculate / calculate and deduct / calculate and deduct all). These are the same settings that govern the application of normal discount / commission and the onus is on the user to ensure that any rates subject to specials do have commission indicators set correctly.
• The benefit will be deducted from the last property(s) or specified donor property.

When a Special is applied, the Special is linked to the beneficiary itinerary items and the Special discount amount per rate group, per component is recorded.

FAQ: What happens if an itinerary item falls across a rate period boundary?

Only bed nights falling within the Special rate period qualify for the Special. In such a case, the system splits the itinerary item according to the rate periods and the Special is only applied to the item for the qualifying portion.

The calculation of the discount amount is affected by:

1. Whether the discount has been specified as a fixed amount or a percentage.
2. In the case of a percentage, it is affected by which components and rate groups qualify for commission calculation (i.e. only components with the commission indicator of ‘Calculate’, ‘Calc & deduct’ or ‘Calc & deduct all’ on the rate will qualify)
3. The distribution of discount between components is governed by the proportional split between components that qualify for commission deduction (i.e. only components with the commission indicator of ‘Calc & deduct’ or ‘Calc & deduct all’ on the rate will qualify).

How do Specials criteria change the way in which the discount is applied?

• When a Special benefit is applicable to Units, that amount is calculated on, and deducted from, only components that are charged per unit.
• When a discount % is applicable to a designated number of ‘Pax’ (of any rate group) and an itinerary item contains multiple rate groups (e.g. adults & children) and the total number of pax exceeds the number eligible for the discount, then the discount is spread proportionately across the rate groups.

The percentage discount is calculated as follows:

Discount %             x no. of beneficiary pax (pax receiving Special discount)

Total no. of itinerary pax

The resultant discount percentage is then applied to all rate groups.

• When a benefit is specified as a fixed amount, the benefit value is calculated as the lesser of the fixed amount or the original charge amount.
• Benefits can only be defined for rate groups that are included in the qualification criteria.
• The rate group commission indicator is not assessed in the application of special discount.
• Beneficiary itineraries: A negative value itinerary (credit note) will never be affected by a special discount, nor will that line item contribute to the reservation qualifying for a special. Thus, if the implications of a special do need to be applied on the item it will have to be applied as a manual rate override.

Variances and Rate Overrides

When special benefits are applied to a reservation, the system will apply the benefit to applicable itinerary lines, provided they do not contain a rate or variance override. Items with override or variance will be skipped by the benefit process. The user’s Special access rights will not affect this process.

The calculation of the discount amount is affected by:

1. Whether the discount has been specified as a fixed amount or a percentage.
2. In the case of a percentage, it is affected by which components and rate groups qualify for commission calculation (i.e. only components with the commission indicator of ‘Calculate’, ‘Calc & deduct’ or ‘Calc & deduct all’ on the rate will qualify)
3. The distribution of discount between components is governed by the proportional split between components that qualify for commission deduction (i.e. only components with the commission indicator of ‘Calc & deduct’ or ‘Calc & deduct all’ on the rate will qualify).

How do Specials criteria change the way in which the discount is applied?

• When a Special benefit is applicable to Units, that amount is calculated on, and deducted from, only components that are charged per unit.
• When a discount % is applicable to a designated number of ‘Pax’ (of any rate group) and an itinerary item contains multiple rate groups (e.g. adults & children) and the total number of pax exceeds the number eligible for the discount, then the discount is spread proportionately across the rate groups.

The percentage discount is calculated as follows:

Discount %             x no. of beneficiary pax (pax receiving Special discount)

Total no. of itinerary pax

The resultant discount percentage is then applied to all rate groups.

• When a benefit is specified as a fixed amount, the benefit value is calculated as the lesser of the fixed amount or the original charge amount.
• Benefits can only be defined for rate groups that are included in the qualification criteria.
• The rate group commission indicator is not assessed in the application of special discount.
• Beneficiary itineraries: A negative value itinerary (credit note) will never be affected by a special discount, nor will that line item contribute to the reservation qualifying for a special. Thus, if the implications of a special do need to be applied on the item it will have to be applied as a manual rate override.

Variances and Rate Overrides

When special benefits are applied to a reservation, the system will apply the benefit to applicable itinerary lines, provided they do not contain a rate or variance override. Items with override or variance will be skipped by the benefit process. The user’s Special access rights will not affect this process.

1. When a rate override or rate component override (Variance) is used on a reservation the application of the special will not be restricted. A special can be applied to a reservation that contains these overrides in one or more of the itineraries, but only the itineraries without an override will receive the special benefit.
2. Overriding a rate or rate component (Varience) on a reservation that has a special applied will not drop the entire special, only the itinerary with an override will lose the special.
3. Manual Selections are allowed when there is a rate override in place.

Once you have Specials set up and are applying them to reservations, you may want to check to see how much these discounts total to! Take a look at our page, Report on Specials, and see how easy it is to report on your reservations with specials.