Pricing Overrides

Pricing overrides can have unintended outcomes. Before you override pricing, use the following options to understand the factors that lead to the system's pricing decision:

You might find that you need to change the inputs to pricing instead of pricing itself. If you know that you need to override pricing, follow the below steps to add or remove a pricing override for a single day.

To add or remove a pricing override for a range of days, see Multiday Pricing Overrides.

Types of Overrides

G3 RMS offers three types of pricing overrides: Specific Overrides, Floor Overrides and Ceiling Overrides. If you have no alternative to a pricing override, setting a Floor or Ceiling Override is usually a better option than a Specific Override. Floor and Ceiling Overrides are the less restrictive type of override, because they still let the system optimize. You can select Floor and Ceiling Overrides independently or combine them for a minimum and maximum price range.

Specific Overrides

A Specific Override forces G3 RMS to use only that selected price level. On the day with the override, no rooms can be sold at any other BAR price.

Use a Specific rather than a Floor Override when you do not want to permit any other pricing decision than your selected one. For example, your owners might insist on a specific price and do not want the system to be in charge of pricing at all, even if conditions change.

Floor Overrides

A Floor Override lets G3 RMS select the optimal price at or above, but not below, the floor that you set.

For example, use Floor Overrides when you sell a block of rooms at a group rate with the guarantee that the quoted group rate is the lowest available rate. In this case, you do not want rooms to be offered to the general public at BAR prices lower than the quoted group rate over the same time period.

Ceiling Overrides

A Ceiling Override lets G3 RMS select the optimal price at or below, but not above, the ceiling that you set. It can be used together with a Floor Override for the same occupancy date.

For example, you may have a city-wide event in town that contractually restricts all hotels from pricing above a certain level. Rather than changing the Rate Plan setup or adding a Price Strategy for a few days, you can enter a Ceiling Override.

When the pricing decision from G3 RMS is lower than the ceiling, the system's decision remains valid. As soon as the pricing decision from G3 RMS goes above the ceiling, the ceiling value becomes the pricing decision.

Note that the Ceiling Override feature is not available for any Reservation SystemClosed The primary reservation system, like a PMS or CRS, that provides data to G3 RMS. The data from that one system is used by the RMS to forecast, optimize and produce controls. The controls are sent to all selling systems, which for some integrations may exclude the reservation system. that do not support restricting the highest BAR.

Override Steps

Adding Overrides

Calendar View

  1. Click and then Pricing Management.
  2. Click the calendar icon to switch the view.
  3. Adjust the dates so the calendar displays the month and day on which you want to add an override.
  4. Select the desired Room Class. If your reservation system does not support different BAR decisions by Room Class, the Master Class determines the BAR decisions for other Room Classes. In this case, you can only override the Master Class pricing decision.
  5. If your system is set up to price by length of stay (LOS) for each arrival date (known as "BAR by LOS”), select the desired LOS.
  6. In the calendar, click the day on which you want to apply the override. A yellow window displays daily information.
  7. Click the arrows to open the Override window. Green shading in a row shows the system's BAR decision. A light bulb icon with a short explanation indicates that G3 RMS found a data condition that it considers so meaningful for the pricing decision that it points it out to you.
  8. For each pricing level, view the matching Occupancy DemandClosed The remaining price-able unconstrained demand that will stay over an occupancy date in the future. It is limited to market segments that are impacted by pricing changes (all unqualified and all linked qualified market segments) and only applies to the selected Room Class or Room Type. (for properties with BAR by LOS, the matching Arrival DemandClosed The remaining price-able unconstrained demand that will arrive on a date in the future. It is limited to market segments that are impacted by pricing changes (all unqualified and all linked qualified market segments) and only applies to a selected length of stay and room class.). This value reflects the system’s understanding of price sensitivity. In other words, it shows how the price impacts the amount of demand that is willing to pay that price.
  9. Select the appropriate type of override next to the BAR level that you want to use. G3 RMS adds blue shading to your selected row.
    • You cannot combine Specific Overrides with Floor and Ceiling Overrides.
    • You can select Floor and Ceiling Overrides independently or combined for a minimum and maximum price range.
    • An asterisk (*) next to the name of a BAR level indicates that the price conflicts with a Pricing Strategy setting. This flag is for information only and will not prevent your override.
  10. Click Apply. The unsaved changes icon in the calendar indicates the date with the override that you must save or cancel.
  11. Click What If to see the results of your override before saving. For more information, see What If.
  12. Click Save to save your changes. An override icon replaces the unsaved changes icon. If you applied an override that conflicts with a Pricing Strategy, the system also displays a conflict icon .
  13. Enter a note for the date to explain the override. The note helps when you monitor overrides later, to decide if you still need them or if you should remove them.
    1. In the calendar, click the day with the override.
    2. Click the notes icon in the detail window.
    3. After you save a note, the notes icon displays with a check mark .
  14. Click Upload if you need to send your overrides to your selling systems before the next processing. See Manual Upload for more information.

Tabular View

  1. Click and then Pricing Management.
  2. Click the tabular icon to switch the view.
  3. Adjust the dates so that the table displays the month and day on which you want to add an override.
  4. Select the desired Room Class. If your reservation system does not support different BAR decisions by Room Class, the Master Class determines the BAR decisions for all other Room Classes. In this case, you can only override the Master Class pricing decision.
  5. In the BAR section, click the right arrows next to the LOS that you want to override. The Override window opens. Green shading in a row indicates the system's BAR decision. A light bulb icon with a short explanation indicates that G3 RMS found a data condition that it considers so meaningful for the pricing decision that it points it out to you.
  6. View the matching Occupancy DemandClosed The remaining price-able unconstrained demand that will stay over an occupancy date in the future. It is limited to market segments that are impacted by pricing changes (all unqualified and all linked qualified market segments) and only applies to the selected Room Class or Room Type. (for properties with BAR by LOS, the matching Arrival DemandClosed The remaining price-able unconstrained demand that will arrive on a date in the future. It is limited to market segments that are impacted by pricing changes (all unqualified and all linked qualified market segments) and only applies to a selected length of stay and room class.). This value reflects the system’s understanding of price sensitivity. In other words, it shows how the price impacts the amount of demand that is willing to pay that price.
  7. Select the appropriate type of override next to the BAR level that you want to use. G3 RMS adds blue shading to your selected row.
    • You cannot combine Specific Overrides with Floor and Ceiling Overrides.
    • You can select Floor and Ceiling Overrides independently or combined for a minimum and maximum price range.
    • An asterisk (*) next to the name of a BAR price point indicates that a price conflicts with a Price Strategy. This flag is for information only and will not prevent overriding.
  8. Click Apply. The unsaved changes icon in the calendar indicates the date with the override that you must save or cancel.
  9. Click What If to see the results of your override before saving. For more information, see What If.
  10. Click Apply. An override icon replaces the unsaved changes icon. If you applied an override that conflicts with a Pricing Strategy, the system also displays a conflict icon .
  11. Click the notes icon for the date to enter an explanation for the override. The note helps when you monitor overrides later, to decide if you still need them or if you should remove them. After you save a note, the notes icon displays with a check mark .
  12. Click Upload if you need to send your overrides to your selling system before the next processing. See Manual Upload for more information.

BAR levels that are missing from the Pricing Override window are unavailable to use as an override. BAR levels are missing either because the BAR Rate Plan is not set up for the occupancy date or the Close Rate Plan setting is enabled for the Rate Plan in Pricing Strategy.

Removing Overrides

After you remove overrides, any new decisions become effective after the next processing. The Manual Upload option does not send new BAR decisions that result from a removed override.

  1. Click and then Pricing Management.
  2. If necessary, change the selections to display the month and Room Class for removing overrides.
  3. If you are using the calendar view and if your property uses BAR by LOS pricing, select the LOS for removing overrides.
  4. Click Multiday Override.
  5. Click the calendar icons to select the Start date and End date for the date range for removing overrides.
  6. Select the Filtered by days checkboxes for the days of the week for removing overrides.
  7. If you are using the tabular view, select the Filtered by LOS checkboxes for the lengths of stay for removing overrides.
  8. Below Remove Override, select the checkbox for the type of override that you want to remove.
  9. Click Apply. A red X displays on dates where the override will be removed.
  10. Click What If to evaluate the results of removing the override before saving it. For more information, see What If.
  11. Click Save.

Best Practices for Overriding Pricing

Review these guidelines before applying a pricing override in G3 RMS. You can also review How G3 RMS Determines Pricing to understand the system's methods for calculating pricing.

Know When to Use Pricing Overrides

Pricing Overrides should be the least-used type of override. These overrides can have unintended consequences.

For most clients, the pricing decision is the most "sensitive" control that G3 RMS produces. Pricing is at the core of the Revenue Management function. You and others at your property might have strong feelings about the optimal pricing decision. But before overriding, consider how you can take maximum advantage of G3 RMS, namely by letting the system take care of the time-consuming and tactical work of pricing each day and each Room Class, so you can focus on more strategic work. At the same time, help the system to optimize pricing by sharing what you know about Special Events, wash, and demand.

To summarize, pricing overrides often do more harm than good. Thus, investigate before overriding. If you aren't certain that you know something that G3 RMS doesn't know, continue to monitor instead of overriding.

If you have to override pricing, it’s better to apply the more flexible Floor Override as opposed to a Specific Override.

Review this video about when to use pricing overrides.

Share Your Pricing Strategy Instead

Before you enter a pricing override, ask yourself if you correctly shared your pricing strategy. A pricing strategy ensures that G3 RMS understands the rates that are appropriate for sale for a given arrival date, day of week, and in a given season. The system chooses the optimal pricing decision from all available price levels imported from the transactions system or from the Rate Plans that you defined in Rate Plan setup. If you want to restrict the availability of certain price levels for a longer period, use a Price Strategy instead of pricing overrides. For example, if you frequently think that the system’s pricing is too low, check your Rate Plan setup to ensure that your BAR levels are appropriate. If you want to restrict the availability of certain price levels for a longer period, use a Price Strategy instead of pricing overrides.

A frequent need to add overrides (for example, many Floor overrides) could indicate that G3 RMS can select from rates that are too low to sell. If you set up rates that you would not sell in a manual environment, you should not make those rates available for G3 RMS to select.

Review the Inputs to the Pricing Decision First

When you are unsure about a pricing decision, use the Summary tab to review key inputs to the pricing decision. If still unsure, use the link to the Investigator to view additional data that help you understand why G3 RMS selected this price. To learn more, review How G3 RMS Calculates Pricing.

Review Surrounding Days

When you question a pricing decision, review overrides on surrounding days. G3 RMS optimizes overall revenue, not individual days, so a demand override on the previous day, for example, may impact the pricing decision, due to demand staying over.

Consider Length of Stay Impact

In most cases, high pricing over low demand days is due to competitor pricing or price sensitivity, which are two factors in how the system determines pricing. Another factor is length of stay. G3 RMS considers not just the demand for that one day but also the stay-through demand, so it can maximize potential revenue for each arrival date. By keeping the price high on the quiet night, G3 RMS looks to achieve a higher rate across the length of stay business that stays through that quiet night.

For example, when pricing for a Sunday, G3 RMS considers how many guests arrive on Sunday and stay multiple nights, as well has how many arrive prior to Sunday and stay for multiple nights, including Sunday. Even if the demand for Sunday overall is low, but it is surrounded by high demand dates and has longer length of stay demand staying through Sunday, you might see higher pricing decisions for Sunday night.

If you are using BAR by Day pricing but have higher average lengths of stay, consider switching to the BAR by LOS pricing model to better reflect your demand. Using this pricing method, a one-night length of stay can be priced separately. You can discuss this change with your IDeaS representative.

If you continue using BAR by Day or are constrained to BAR by Day because your systems do not support BAR by LOS, review your pricing decisions in the context of the impact for lengths of stay, considering that this optimization method seeks to capture optimal revenues.

Check your pricing strategy. Make sure that your pricing setup for the low demand days of the week is appropriate. See Sharing Your Pricing Strategy with G3 RMS.

Review Other Room Classes

If G3 RMS optimizes pricing decisions by Room Class for your property, it chooses the optimal decisions to maximize revenue across all Room Classes, not just for a single Room Class. Therefore, a decision for a single Room Class may appear to be sub-optimal, for example, the pricing decision for one Room Class is below the LRV. See Last Room Value (LRV) for more information

To determine pricing for each Room Class, G3 RMS mainly looks at the difference in remaining "price-able" demand (all unqualified and qualified Linked to BAR business). For example, if the remaining demand for your Suites is low, but the remaining demand for Standard rooms is high, the price difference tends to be smaller. If there is plenty of demand for Suites, the price difference is larger.

How G3 RMS looks at remaining "price-able" demand depends on the Pricing Method:

If you question the pricing between Room Classes, use the Investigator Price Ranking charts to review how Room Class demand impacts your pricing decisions. They also show if pricing is impacted by any Minimum Price Differential that you set up as part of your Rooms Configuration.

Review the Impact on Other Decisions

G3 RMS optimizes all decisions together. Therefore, a pricing override can cause unintended changes to Overbooking and LRV. For example, you use a Floor Override to push the system’s price higher. Based on price sensitivity, G3 RMS might expect less demand and less revenue at the higher price. To offset the loss and maximize revenue, the system might lower the LRV to gain more bookings from lower-priced, yieldable demand. So, you gain lower-priced demand despite raising the BAR value.

Test the impact of your pricing overrides before you save them by using the What If functionality.

Review Your Forecast

G3 RMS optimizes decisions based on its demand forecast. If you question a decision, always investigate the demand forecast for that period first.

Check Your Competitor Setup

When G3 RMS optimizes, it selects the price and demand mix that result in the highest room revenue. It not only looks at your pricing setup and its impact on demand but also considers the impact of competitors’ rates. Thus, when you review your pricing decisions, also verify your competitor setup.

Exclude those competitors that do not directly impact your rate strategy and are only included in your competitive set for informational purposes. If you include properties that price very differently than you and your true competitors, you may give G3 RMS a false impression of competitors’ rates, which could lead to a suboptimal forecast and pricing. See Best Practices for setting up Rate Shopping.

Lastly, make sure you are making a like with like comparison between your rates and those of your competitors by adjusting for tax and packages in Rate Adjustment setup.

When You Must Override the Price, Review the Demand Afterward

If you have reviewed everything from the above best practices and you are certain that you need to change the price, review the remaining demand after you override the price. This is because G3 RMS displays the remaining demand for the current price.

For example, G3 RMS prices at $100 and expects 100 rooms of remaining demand. You have done your research and know that the demand is correct, but that you can price at $150. After you override the price to $150, the system lowers the remaining demand to 50, based on price sensitivity. Therefore you override the demand to 100.

Review Your Overrides Regularly

Pricing overrides are hard overrides that G3 RMS does not adjust. As part of your regular tasks, we recommend that you review your pricing overrides at least weekly to ensure that they remain accurate. To make this review easier, always enter a note that explains why the override is necessary.