What are promotion codes?
Promotion codes (promo codes) are discount codes that guests enter in your booking engine to receive a special rate. Use promotion codes to offer discounted rates during specific date ranges, drive direct bookings, and create targeted offers for different guest segments.
Common uses for promotion codes
Share in advertisements to offer exclusive pricing
Include in pre-arrival or post-stay e-mails to encourage repeat bookings
Promote on social media to grow your following
Use in newsletters to attract subscribers
Create temporary seasonal offers (for example, "WINTER20" for winter bookings)
💡 Promotion codes do not have a limit on how many times they can be used. Change your codes periodically to prevent guests from reusing them indefinitely. Tie codes to specific time periods and communicate the expiration date when sharing.
⚠️ The booking engine cannot identify whether a guest has previously booked with your property. You cannot create promotion codes that only work for first-time guests.
Create a promotion code
To create a promotion code:
Go to My Apps > Direct booking.
Click the Setup tab.
Click the Promotion Codes tile.
Click Create and enter information in the Details tab.
Click Create at the bottom of the page.
Click the Promo Code tab.
Enter the code guests will use in the Code field. Spaces are not allowed (for example, WINTER20 or SUMMERSALE).
Enter a description in the Description field. Guests will see this description in the New Booking Engine.
Select Rate Discount (%) or Rate Discount ($) from the Default rate discount drop-down and enter the discount amount.
Set the Available From/To dates — the date range when discounted rates can be sold.
Set the Applicable From/To dates — the date range when guests can stay at your property using this code.
Tick Hide Promo Code in reservation summary if you want to hide the code from the guest's booking confirmation.
Select the room rates to link to this promotion.
Select a discount type and enter the discount value for each rate.
Click Save.
💡 You can set a specific discount for each room rate to override the default discount amount.
Control which rates display when a guest uses a promo code
By default, when a guest enters a valid promo code, only the promotional room rates appear. All other room rates are hidden.
To show all rates alongside promotional rates:
Go to Setup > Properties.
Click the Customisation tab.
Deselect Hide public rates when a Promo Code is applied.
When this setting is deselected:
Promotional rates display with a "Promo Applied" tag
The original price appears crossed out next to the discounted price (New Booking Engine only)
Promotional rates are not automatically listed first — guests must scroll to find them
All public rates remain visible for booking
Note: The "Add Promo Code" field is always visible on your booking engine.
Add minimum stay restrictions to a promotion code
Promotion codes do not have built-in minimum stay restrictions. To add a minimum stay requirement to a promo code, create a dedicated room rate and link the code to that rate.
➕ For example, to create a promo code valid only for two or more nights:
Go to Setup > Rooms and rates and create a new room rate (for example, "Long Stay Special").
Edit the new room rate and set a minimum stay of two nights for the entire calendar.
Create a promotion code (for example, "LongStaySpecial") and link it to the "Long Stay Special" room rate.
Go to the room rate's Promotions tab and select Show only when a linked promotional code is entered.
This ensures the rate only appears when a guest enters the correct promo code, and the minimum stay restriction applies automatically.
Show only specific room types using a promotion code
You can use promotion codes to create custom booking engine views that display only certain room types or rate categories.
To set this up:
Create a promotion code for each room type with 0% discount.
Link each code to all rates for that specific room type.
Go to Setup > Properties > Customisation and make sure Hide public rates when a Promo Code is applied is selected.
Create a custom URL using the format:
https://direct-book.com/properties/yourhotel?promocode=YourCodeHere
➕ For example, if your booking engine URL is https://direct-book.com/properties/examplehotel and your promotion code is "DoubleRoom", your custom URL would be: https://direct-book.com/properties/examplehotel?promocode=DoubleRoom
When guests click this link, only your double room rates appear in the booking engine.
Other uses for this approach:
Group all refundable rates under one code
Create separate links for suite categories
Organise rates by package type (for example, breakfast included or spa packages)
Hide the promo code from the reservation summary
By default, the promo code appears in the guest's reservation summary after booking. To hide it, tick Hide Promo Code in reservation summary when creating or editing the promotion code.