I’ve had an idea for a ‘Last Minute Deals’ promotional mechanism and I’d appreciate any feedback if anyone has any thoughts.

It’s a mechanism for giving properties extra exposure when there is an available period approaching. The idea is that the system will automatically create and run a ‘Last Minute’ promotional campaign in order to fill those empty weeks, for those of us who would take a little less rather than nothing at all.

How it would work is simple: 1 – choose a time period: (eg.) 3 weeks 2 – choose a discount percentage: (eg.) 10%

the system will now check your availability calendars daily. If it finds availability in ‘3 weeks’ (the time period specified) it will automatically create and run a ‘Last Minute Campaign’ offering 10% off the original price (obviously you could be alerted by email that a campaign was about to start to get your approval).

This campaign will gain extra exposure on the site. There would be a ‘Last Minute Deals’ menu, get emailed to anyone who has a last minute deal rss feed, have a highlighted banner on your advert etc, maybe automatic feed to lastminute.com…

This service would cost something. Maybe a small fee per campaign (like a couple of credits) or you just sign up for a year with a flat rate.

I’d really welcome any thoughts or opinions on this.

This sounds like a pretty good idea to me. Whether others opt in or out of the campaign is up to them, so you really can’t lose with this idea. I don’t know how much I would be prepared to pay for the service though—if I’m already offering a discount against my normal rates, then I feel that I’m already paying to some extent!

Thanks for your comments Simon and I understand your concern about the pricing involved – considering that as you say, you’re already taking a hit on your expected revenue for that period…. just had a thought for a 3rd tariff method – instead of charging a flat rate for a year, or a flat rate for a ‘campaign’, we could say that you pay a slightly higher rate per enquiry for that period – although on reflection this idea sounds allot more complicated to implement, for example you may receive enquiries for different periods within a campaign period etc.

It would be allot cleaner if it worked on a per campaign basis I think – let’s say for arguments sake 2 credits (about $6) per campaign. Presumably it wouldn’t be every week or month that you ran a campaign as you would be getting your normal bookings for most of the year, but at least you have the option.

I think it’s allot cheaper than some existing sites, for example holiday-rentals.co.uk, part of the homeaway group, who charge an impressive £25+vat (that’s $50+) for a 2 week campaign… our main problem could be that, if it’s this price, we may create a culture of ‘Late deals’ where advertisers use it as a matter of course, manipulating their tariffs to absorb the difference (but I’m sure not our discerning advertisers : )...

I like your specials/campaign idea. As you know cost is an issue to everyone. In one respect I feel our last minute discount will generate more inquiries which produces more income for the site, as you’re paid by inquiry. Any way the site can generate more interest the more income it produces. My conversion rate from inquiry to booking is currently running about 17% (this includes only inquiries I can accommodate, so if I’m already booked, those aren’t included). Sometimes it takes a lot of inquiries before I see a booking. I really like your site and I’m hoping it’s continues to grow and become more successful. Your new and ever changing ideas are to be commended.