Setting up dynamic pricing for rate tables in your PMS

About 45 minutes of configuration, then daily 2-minute reviews · you need an activated rate-optimiser licence

The rate optimiser reads your PMS pace, competitor bands and the UK events calendar every evening, then proposes nightly rates with an auditable rationale. Nothing is written to your PMS until you approve it.

Step 1 — Connect and pick room types

After activation, open the optimiser settings in your client area and select which your PMS room types it may price. Start with your two highest-volume room types for the first fortnight — a narrow scope makes the review habit easy to build before you widen it.

Step 2 — Set your floor and ceiling

Define the absolute minimum and maximum rate per room type. These are hard limits: the optimiser will never propose outside them, whatever the demand signal says. Most UK independents set the floor around their break-even ADR plus a margin, and the ceiling at roughly 2.5× the BAR.

Step 3 — Configure competitor bands

Add three to five true competitors per room type — properties a guest would genuinely cross-shop, not the whole comp set. The optimiser compares their public rates nightly. We recommend including at least one property above you and one below you in quality terms, so the band captures the real trade-offs guests make.

Step 4 — Choose the approval mode

Two modes exist. Approval-first (recommended): each morning you get a short list of proposed changes with rationale, and one click pushes accepted rates into rate tables in your PMS. Auto-apply: changes within your floor/ceiling and a daily change cap are written automatically; anything outside still requires approval. Start approval-first; most properties switch to auto-apply with a ±10% daily cap after a month.

Step 5 — Review the morning digest

The digest email shows proposed rate per date, the driver (pace, competitor move, local event) and the expected revenue effect. Skim it with your coffee; approve the block or edit individual dates. Every accepted change leaves a reversible trail in the client area history.

Step 6 — Review performance monthly

The optimiser’s analytics tab shows acceptance rate, realised ADR movement andRevPAR index against your pre-optimiser baseline. If acceptance is below ~60%, loosen the floor/ceiling or widen competitor bands — low acceptance usually means the guardrails, not the maths, are the constraint.