Rate Plan
A rate plan defines the pricing rules and booking conditions under which accommodation is offered.
A single room type can be sold through several rate plans.
What a Rate Plan Can Define
A rate plan may include:
- Price
- Cancellation policy
- Refundability
- Deposit requirements
- Included meals
- Packages
- Minimum stay
- Maximum stay
- Booking window
- Eligible guests
- Sales channel
- Promotion rules
For example:
Flexible Rate $250 Free cancellation until 24 hours before arrival
Advance Purchase $220 Non-refundable
The room is the same.
The commercial offer is different.
How Rate Plans Are Distributed
A property's internal rate plan may need to be mapped to corresponding plans on:
- Booking Engine
- OTA
- GDS
- Other channels
Oracle's distribution documentation includes explicit mapping between property rate plans and channel rate plans. Oracle OPERA Cloud rate-plan distribution documentation
Rate Plan vs. Room Type
A room type defines what accommodation is being sold.
A rate plan defines the commercial terms under which it is being sold.
One room type may therefore offer:
Flexible Non-refundable Breakfast included Stay three nights and save
as separate plans.
Why It Matters
Rate plans let properties sell the same inventory differently according to:
- Flexibility
- Audience
- Channel
- Demand
- Package
- Booking behaviour
They are also central to Rate Parity and Revenue Management.
Common Problems
Common problems include:
- Too many nearly identical rate plans
- Internal names that staff cannot interpret
- Incorrect channel mapping
- Different cancellation terms on different platforms
- Rates modified manually in several places
- Promotions accidentally stacking
- Old plans remaining active
How to Improve
Keep rate structures understandable.
For each plan document:
- Purpose
- Price relationship
- Restrictions
- Cancellation terms
- Channels
- Eligibility
- Owner
Avoid adding another rate plan when an existing structure can represent the requirement cleanly.