Dynamic price rules and price hints from utilisation
Raise or lower the rent by a share for event dates, weekdays, last-minute or early bookings, longer rentals or when a class is already busy. Price Hints read how busy each class was on weekdays and weekends and make a rule for you to check and switch on.
PLANSScale only
The problem it solves
- The Formula 1 weekend sells out at the normal price a month ahead.
- Cars stand idle on weekdays while the price stays the same.
- Last-minute walk-ins pay the same as customers who booked weeks ahead.
- Nobody knows which classes are busy enough to charge more for.
How it works
- Open Rental > Configuration > Prices > Price Rules > New with a name and the Classes and Cars it covers (empty: all). Set Change (%): +20 raises the rent by a fifth, -10 lowers it by a tenth.
- Say when it applies: start dates, weekdays, last minute or early booking, a shortest rental, or how busy the class is at the start.
- Rules apply in the order of the list; Stop Here ends the list for that rental.
- For hints, open Rental > Reporting > Price Hints, set Look Back (days) and press Work It Out. Each class shows its weekday and weekend time out and a hint.
- Press Create Rule on a hint. A rule is made switched off, for you to read and switch on.
Everything it does
Price rules
- Name, Classes, Cars, Change (%)
- Starts From and Starts Until: by the day the rental starts
- Mon to Sun ticks: all on to start with
- Booked Within (hours): last minute; Booked At Least (days) Ahead: early booking; 0 is any time
- Rental of At Least (days)
- Class Busy At Least (%): that share of the class's cars already taken at the start
- Stop Here; filters Raises, Discounts and Stops Others
- Applied on rental order lines, the online booking page, the booking API, the SmartMy Rental app and imported channel bookings
- A customer's tier discount comes off as well, where VIP tiers are used
Price hints
- Look Back (days): 90 to start with, at least 7
- Per class, weekdays and weekends (Saturday and Sunday) apart: number of cars and Time Out (%)
- Busy: raise the price at 85 % or more out, suggested +10 %
- Idle: discount to fill below 40 % out, suggested -10 % for bookings made at least 14 days ahead
- Keep in between
- Suggested Change (%) can be changed before Create Rule; the rule is made switched off
Who uses it
Rent ManagerMakes price rules, works out the hints and switches rules on.
Rent UserSees the rent already adjusted on each order line; can read the rules.
CustomerSees the adjusted price on the booking page and in the app.
Where you use it
- Web: Rental > Configuration > Prices > Price Rules; Rental > Reporting > Price Hints
- Online booking page, booking API and the SmartMy Rental app: prices with the rules applied
- Not in Price Check: it shows the rate plan price before rules
What you control
Settings
- Weekdays: all ticked on a new rule
- Booked Within, Booked At Least Ahead, Rental of At Least, Class Busy At Least: 0 (not used)
- Look Back: 90 days; busy at 85 %, idle below 40 %, step 10 % (fixed in the code)
Notifications
- No message of its own
Questions
Does a hint change our prices by itself?
No. Create Rule makes the rule switched off. You read it, change it if you like, and switch it on.Can two rules apply to one rental?
Yes. Rules apply one after the other in the order of the list, each on the rent left by the one before. Tick Stop Here on a rule to end the list there.Can we charge more when a class is almost full?
Yes. Set Class Busy At Least (%), for example 80. The rule applies when that share of the class's cars is already taken at the start of the rental.How are weekends counted in the hints?
Saturday and Sunday. Each class shows its weekday time out and weekend time out apart, over the days you look back.Related features
RATESRate plans by hour, day, week and month with the cheapest mixPrice each class or car by the hour, day, week, month or year in one rate plan. For every rental the system works out the cheapest mix of those periods. The same plan holds a shortest rental, a grace time on return and the deposit.RATESSeason and weekday pricesCharge more in the busy season and less in the quiet one with season plans that win over your all-year prices in their dates. For short rentals, price each weekday as a share of the day price, so a Friday and Saturday cost more than a Tuesday.CUSTOMERSOnline booking page and website widgetEach Entity gets its own booking page, which also sits inside your website as a widget. Customers find a free car or class, choose cover and extras, give their licence details, book and pay. A booking not paid in time is cancelled and the car freed.CUSTOMERSVIP tiers, preferences and referral commissionsRegular renters move up tiers by what they spent in the last 12 months. Each tier takes a discount off the rent wherever they book. Their preferences and favourite cars sit on their contact, and hotels, concierges and agents who send you customers earn a commission on each rental.FLEET VALUEProfit per car with a keep, sell or buy-more hintFor any period, see each car's rent invoiced, its costs, its profit and how much of the time it was out on hire. A hint says which cars to buy more of and which to think of selling.CUSTOMERSFleet dashboardTwo ready-made dashboards open first in SmartMy Rental. Dashboard shows what is out, what goes out next, what is called off and what is not ready. Fleet shows the yard: ready, on hire, in turnaround, out of service, and papers by type.
See your fleet on it.
Tell us how many cars or machines you hire out, from how many depots, and how bookings reach you today. We will set up your fleet with you on SmartMy Rental.