Learn how discount coupons work in Hostaway reservations and how they affect direct bookings, pricing, and guest offers.
Discount Coupons Overview
The coupon feature enables you to configure and create coupons that can be applied to direct reservations and reservations from the Booking Engine.
How to Create a Discount Coupon
To create a new coupon, follow these steps:
Go to your Hostaway Dashboard > Reservations > Coupons
Click on Coupons > Add Coupon
You will be asked to fill out some information in a pop-up window
- Name. To identify the coupon
- All coupons on the same Hostaway account must have a different name
- No spaces are allowed
- The name can contain numbers and letters, but no special characters or spaces
- Amount. It will be the discount that will apply
- Type can be a percentage (i.e., 5%) or a flat value (i.e., 20 EUR if listing in EUR)
- This discount will apply to the base rate of the reservation
- Length of stay. The length of stay that a reservation needs to meet to allow this coupon to apply
- These options are available: Minimum, Equal, Maximum, and Between
- The "Minimum" accepted value is 1
- For the "Between" option, the "Minimum" value needs to be smaller than the "Maximum" value
- The number entered will be included in the range of nights
- For instance, if you set the Minimum value to 3, the coupon or discount will only be applied to bookings of 3 nights or longer
- Max uses. You can limit the number of times that a coupon can be used
- If empty, there will be no limit
- Check-in dates. Limit the coupon usage to check-in dates within a specific time frame
- It has a “from” and a “to” to select a range of dates
- You can leave it empty if you don’t want to limit the coupon/discount to a specific check-in period
- Validity. Defines the time during which the coupon can be used
It has a “from” and a “to” to select a range of dates
- You can leave it empty if you don’t want to limit the coupon/discount to a specific period
- Listings. You can select which listings the coupon will apply to
- If no listings are selected, the coupon will be valid for all current and future listings
- By default, coupons will apply to all listings. You need to manually change this setting if you want the coupon to be limited to specific listings
- This feature is available exclusively to customers with admin rights
- This feature is available only for new coupons for now
- A new column in the coupons window will display the number of listings to which each coupon is applied
Notes
- Coupons can only be created, deleted, or their status changed by
- Account owners
- Admin-level right users
- Users with rights to "create" or "modify" reservations
Coupon Rules
- All conditions must be met simultaneously for the coupon to be applied
- Upon saving the coupon, it will be displayed as active by default
- Used coupons cannot be edited or deleted, but they can be activated or deactivated
- A coupon can only be deleted if it has not been used
- Only active coupons can be applied to reservations
- Coupons will expire if the validity date has already passed
- Coupons can't be created with past validity or check-in dates
- Expired or inactive coupons will be greyed out
- Expired or unused coupons can be edited:
- For unused coupons, you can edit all fields
- For expired coupons, the following fields can be edited:
- Max uses
- Validity
- Listings
How to Apply a Coupon?
Discount coupons are not applied automatically and must be entered manually into the system:
By the Guest (Direct Bookings)
During the checkout process on the Hostaway Booking Engine, guests will see a field to enter the coupon code and apply it to their reservation.
By the Administrator (Hostaway Dashboard)
You can manually apply a coupon when creating a new reservation or by editing an existing one:
- Open the specific reservation.
- Click Edit and navigate to the Financials section.
- Click on Add Coupon.
- Enter the coupon code and confirm.
Note: Only one coupon can be applied per reservation.
Additional Notes
- All custom discounts must be applied manually; none of them apply automatically. Custom Discounts can only be added manually when editing the reservation or when creating the reservation in the dashboard. We do not support last-minute discounts for the Booking Engine
- In direct Booking Engine reservations, you will see a new option to "Add a coupon". Only 1 coupon can apply per reservation
- To be able to introduce it, it is necessary to first select a listing and a check-in and check-out date so the system can calculate the correct discount. The coupons apply to the base rate, but the system also takes into account the price for extra persons and discounts as part of the base rate
When you introduce a coupon that meets all the criteria, you will see a confirmation message, and the total price will be automatically adjusted. If not valid, the system will show you why
- It is not possible to cancel an already-applied coupon for a direct reservation. If needed, you can cancel the reservation and create a new one
- In the Booking Engine, the option will also be available if check-in and check-out dates are selected
- Coupons also apply independently of having any other discount (weekly discount, for instance).
Impact on Financials and Scheduled Charges
It is critical to understand how coupons interact with the Hostaway financial system:
- Automatic Financial Update: When a coupon is added, the system will automatically update the reservation financials (the base total price is recalculated with the discount applied).
- Scheduled Charges Exception: If you add a coupon to a reservation after it has already been created, the discount will update the overall financials, but will NOT automatically modify any existing Scheduled Charges.
- Solution: In this scenario, you must manually adjust the scheduled charges within the reservation to match the new recalculated financial total.
How to Delete a Coupon
Only coupons that are not used can be deleted by pressing the X icon on the right side next to the status column.
If a coupon has been used even once, it cannot be deleted. Therefore, it is advisable to double-check the name and settings of the coupon before sharing it with guests.