Before proceeding, please make sure to have all of your property seasonality, rate and rule data ready and in good order.
Most property managers have seasonality that does not vary by property. By seasonality, we mean seasons with different rates and rules - typically resulting from changes in demand.
Additionally most well run property management companies have different rate plans which are assigned to specific properties.
SUCCESSFUL USE OF THE SEASONALITY TEMPLATE REQUIRES INTRICATE KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR SEASONALITY AND REQUIRES A PRICING STRATEGY.
If your seasonality varies randomly across properties and / or if your pricing does not follow a uniform, linear methodology across seasons, then your business model is not efficient and utilizing this feature of Lodgix may not be in your best interest.
Let's explore how to setup your default seasonality template.
Where to Find the Seasonality Templates
Interface Specifics
Templates tab. This is where seasonality templates are created and defined.
Properties tab. This is where seasonality templates are assigned to properties and deltas (if any) are defined.
Settings tab. Miscellaneous settings for seasonality templates.
Current seasonality template and interface to add / edit / copy or switch seasonality templates. There is a limit of 15 seasonality templates per account.
Periods within a seasonality template (spring, summer, fall, holiday, high season, low season, etc.)
Current selected year.
Additional Interface Notes
The tooltips in the interface will show initially when the screen is first loaded to showcase what the "+" buttons do in the interface.
Setting up the Master Seasonality Template - Create Rate Periods
Since this only has to be done once, it is recommended to setup the master seasonality template for the remainder of the current year, plus the next two years.
First - Edit the default rate period. It's a good idea to setup default rates to guard against mistakes in setup.
Now setup additional seasons for the current year.
Click the "+" icon to add a new rate period / season.
Name the period.
Enter minimum night stay requirements.
Enter nightly, weekend, weekly, monthly rates (whatever applies).
Enter any arrival and / or departure day requirements.
Click Save.
Note: rate periods cannot extend between years. Thus if your winter season extends from December 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023, you would enter December 1 to December 31 in 2022 and then click on 2023 and create a 2nd winter season from January 1 to January 31, 2023.
Setting up Seasons Using the Visual Calendar
The visual calendar makes it very easy to setup seasons. Simply click on the year (current selected year is highlighted in red) and the click on the date the period begins and drag to the last day of the period. In the example above, that is January 1, 2017 to February 28, 2017.
The add season window will open with the from and to dates already filled in. Simply add your rates and rules, save and continue to the next season.
The screenshot above shows the different color coding and corresponding seasons. Move your cursor over any date to display the season name and any rates / rules in effect for that season.
Please setup your master seasonality template for the current year and the next TWO years.
Assigning a Seasonality Template to a Property
Once the master seasonality template has been defined, navigate to the Properties tab within the seasonality interface (see above).
Locate the Seasonality Template column and assure that the correct template is assigned to your property.
Properties can be sorted by number of bedrooms to aid in setting up like properties incrementally.
Rate Deltas
A "delta" is a difference. Of course, not all properties will have the same rates. There are two ways in Lodgix to quickly setup a property with rates that differ from the master seasonality template:
A new seasonality template could be created (clone the master and then make modifications). Then assign the new template to property. Or...
A simpler method would be to have a linear relationship between your rates and the master template.
For example, let's say the master seasonality template represents all one bedroom properties. All two bedroom properties that have the same seasonality could be assigned deltas that extend across all the seasons setup in the master template. So if all two bedroom properties are $50.00 more per night, $300 more per week and $1000 more per month, regardless of season, then those numbers would be entered as deltas to the chosen seasonality template.
THE BENEFIT TO USING DELTAS IS WHEN A TIME COMES WHERE IT'S NECESSARY TO UPDATE OR ENTER RATES FOR YOUR PROPERTIES, ONLY THE SEASONALITY TEMPLATE NEEDS TO BE UPDATED. All properties assigned to that template will be updated immediately.
Visual Rates Tape
Within the Properties Tab, there is a button that links to the Visual Rates Tape. On it, all rates and rules for all properties for all dates are displayed and scrollable.
Sync Properties Button
When setting up seasonality templates, the rate periods / seasons which comprise a template are not applied to the properties assigned to the template until the "Sync Properties" button is pushed. When there are pending changes, a message is displayed "There are template changes pending application." Once the changes are sync'd to the properties, that message will disappear.
Settings Tab
Turning off rules and rate structures that are not utilized in your business model will streamline your interfaces.
Assigning a default template to be used with all new properties will assure that all new properties have rates and rules assigned to them automatically.