Booking.com | Promotions

Blanca Castillo
Blanca Castillo
  • Updated

Where do I find it?

PRODUCTS > TOURS > AGENTS > PROMOTIONS

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What does it mean?

This article explains how Promotions work in TourCMS for products sold via Booking.com.

Promotions are discount rules that you configure on a tour. When they are correctly set up and the booking meets the conditions (dates, agent, component, etc.), TourCMS will automatically apply the discount to the booking price.

Booking.com has extended their API to accept special rates via the TourCMS Promotions feature. A Promotion named GENIUS1 will be sent to Booking.com as the “GENIUS1” rate; similarly, GENIUS2 will be sent as the “GENIUS2” rate, and so on.

Note: At the moment, only GENIUS1 is supported; GENIUS2 and other Genius rates are currently ignored.

Overall, this article helps you configure promotions safely (avoiding invalid or conflicting setups) and understand why a promotion is or isn’t applied to a particular booking, especially for API-based bookings for Booking.com.

 

What should I do?

To configure Promotions for products sold on Booking.com, follow these steps and configuration rules.

  1. Go to Homepage > Tours. Find the tour you want to configure and click Edit. In the top menu of the tour, click AGENTS.

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  2. Open the PROMOTIONS tab. Here you can:

    1. Create a new bucket and add a promotion to it (), or

    2. Add a promotion to an existing bucket ().

  3. For detailed instructions on how to create and manage promotions in general, see: Managing Promotions in TourCMS

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Respect the Booking.com vs All Agents rules

ℹ️

WARNING: Promotions configured in the Booking.com bucket always take priority over promotions in the All Agents bucket.

 

Use these examples to understand valid vs invalid setups:

  1. All Agents has promotions, Booking.com bucket exists but is empty

    • Result: No promotions are applied to Booking.com bookings.

    • Reason: When a Booking.com bucket exists, the All Agents promotions are ignored for that agent.

    • ❌ This is an invalid configuration.

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  2. All Agents has promotions, Booking.com bucket also has promotions

    • Result: Only the promotions in the Booking.com bucket can be applied.

    • ✅ This is a valid configuration.

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  3. All Agents has promotions, no Booking.com bucket exists

    • Result: Promotions from the All Agents bucket can be applied to Booking.com bookings.

    • ✅ This is a valid configuration.

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Special rules for Booking.com Promotions

When configuring promotions specifically for Booking.com, keep in mind:

  1. Vacancies

    • Maximum Vacancies should be left blank for promotions that are not used for GetYourGuide (GYG), as this field is not used for the Booking.com scenario.

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  2. Promotion types

  • For Booking.com products, only standard type promotions are supported.

  • Any other promotion type will be ignored for Booking.com bookings.

  • For GYG products, all promotion types remain valid.

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  1. No duplicate promotion names with overlapping dates

    • You must not have two promotions:

      • with the same name, and

      • with overlapping date ranges
        in the same Booking.com bucket.

Examples:

  • Two promotions called “GENIUS1” with overlapping date ranges

    • ❌ Invalid: the promotion will not be applied correctly.

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  • Two promotions called “GENIUS1” with date ranges that do not overlap

    • ✅ Valid: TourCMS can decide which promotion applies based on the departure date.

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4. Date range applies to the departure date

  • Promotion validity is checked against the departure date, not the booking date.

Example:

  • Booking made on 29‑03‑2026 for a departure on 01‑04‑2026

  • Promotion date range: 26‑03‑2026 to 31‑03‑2026

  • ➜ The promotion will not apply, because the departure date (01‑04‑2026) is outside the promotion date range.

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FAQs

➕ I tried to apply the same promotion twice to a booking but it didn't work. Why did that happen?

Promotions are meant to be applied only once per booking. You can stack multiple promotions for a booking but it mustn’t be the same one.

➕ Can I apply multiple promotions to the same booking?

Yes, you can apply multiple promotions to the same if they have been configured.

➕ The agent made a booking for the departure of the day 20-03-2026 the 18-03-2026 but the promotion isn’t applying. The promotion date range is between the 15-03-2026 to the 19-03-2026. Why isn’t it applying?

Promotions date range applies to the departure date. As the booking is for the 20-03-2026 it is out of the promotion period.

➕ What could happen if I try to apply multiple promotions to a booking and some aren’t valid?

This could lead to different outcomes:

  • Promotion doesn’t exist: this will make the booking fail as there are no promotions with that name.
  • Duped promotion:
    • Duped promotions date range overlap: this will make the booking fail as there shouldn’t be duped promotions in the bucket.
  • Duped promotions date range doesn’t overlap:
    • Doesn’t overlap but there isn’t a promotion with a valid date range for the booking: this will make the booking fail as it will be taken as the promotion doesn’t exist.
    • Doesn’t overlap but there is a promotion with a valid date range for the booking: the booking will be successfully created and the promotion will be applied.
  • Promotion exists but is out of range: the booking will be successfully created but the promotions out of range won’t be applied.

 

➕ What could happen if I try to apply any promotions to a booking but I haven’t created a bucket or promotions?

This will make the booking fail as there are no promotions or bucket available.

➕ Can I apply promotions to a booking with multiple components?

Yes, you can apply promotions for multiple components in the same booking as long as they are valid (not duped and configured for all of the components). 

Trying to make a booking with multiple components where any of the promotions is invalid for any of the components will lead the booking to fail.

➕ Can I see the price of the booking before the promotion was applied?

Yes, you can see this along the new price and the promotions that have been applied to the booking in the booking audit trail.