Pricing Guide
Argonautas uses a layered rate system that gives you precise control over pricing across properties and time periods. This guide explains how rates are structured, how discounts work, and how the system calculates the final price for a booking.
Overview
Pricing in Argonautas is built on layers that stack on top of each other. Every villa starts with a base nightly rate on its own Pricing tab (see Pricing a Villa). On top of that:
- Season Templates -- Define named date ranges (e.g., "High Season," "Green Season").
- Property Seasons -- Assign a nightly rate, minimum stay, and discounts to each property for each season.
- Rate Overlays -- Apply special adjustments for holidays, events, or promotions that override the underlying season rate for specific date ranges.
This layered approach means you define your calendar once (season templates), then set pricing per property (property seasons), and finally handle exceptions (overlays) -- without duplicating date ranges across dozens of properties.
The Rate Hierarchy
Layer 1: Season Templates
Season templates define when your seasons occur. Each template belongs to one partner, or to Direct for villas with no partner, and is shared by every villa it is assigned to (see Partner-Scoped Season Templates).
- Each template has a name (e.g., "High Season 2026"), a start date, and an end date.
- Templates do not contain pricing -- they are purely date ranges.
- You manage season templates from Rates & Pricing › Seasons.
Example:
| Template Name | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| High Season 2026 | Dec 15, 2025 | Apr 15, 2026 |
| Green Season 2026 | Apr 16, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 |
| Holiday Peak 2026 | Dec 20, 2026 | Jan 5, 2027 |
Layer 2: Property Seasons
Property seasons attach pricing to a season template for a specific property. This is where you set:
- Nightly rate -- The base price per night.
- Weekend premium -- An optional surcharge applied to weekend nights (Friday/Saturday).
- Minimum stay -- The minimum number of nights required to book.
- Maximum stay -- An optional upper limit on booking length.
- Currency -- The currency for this rate (e.g., USD, CRC).
- LOS discounts -- Length-of-stay discounts (see below).
- Last-minute discounts -- Discounts for bookings made close to the arrival date.
You manage property seasons from Rates & Pricing › Seasons, in the By villa view.
Layer 3: Rate Overlays
Rate overlays let you override the property season rate for specific date ranges -- useful for holidays, local festivals, or flash sales.
- An overlay targets a specific property and date range. Copy it to more villas from its event card.
- It either adds a fixed amount to the season rate or replaces the rate with a flat amount. It can also change the minimum stay.
- Overlays take precedence over the underlying property season for the dates they cover.
You manage overlays from Rates & Pricing › Events.
Length-of-Stay (LOS) Discounts
LOS discounts reward guests who book longer stays. They are configured per property season as a list of tiers, each a minimum number of nights and a discount percentage:
| Minimum Nights | Discount |
|---|---|
| 7 | 5% |
| 14 | 10% |
| 28 | 15% |
How LOS discounts are calculated:
- The system determines the total number of nights in the booking.
- It finds the qualifying tier with the largest discount, using the season that covers the arrival date.
- The discount percentage is applied to the base accommodation cost (nightly rate times nights).
For example, a 10-night stay at $200/night with the tiers above:
- Base cost: 10 x $200 = $2,000
- Qualifying tier: 7-night tier (5% discount) -- the 14-night tier does not apply because the stay is only 10 nights.
- Discount: $2,000 x 5% = $100
- Discounted accommodation: $1,900
LOS discounts appear as a line item in the booking's price breakdown.
How Booking Prices Are Calculated
When you create a manual booking or when a quote is generated, the pricing engine follows this sequence:
- Determine the applicable rate. For each night of the stay, the system finds the property season that covers it (the shortest one, if seasons are nested), or the villa's base rate. If an overlay covers that night, it adds to or replaces that rate.
- Calculate the base accommodation cost. The nightly rates for each night of the stay, added up. Weekend premiums are added on Friday and Saturday nights, except where a replacement overlay sets the price.
- Apply discounts. If the stay meets a LOS tier, or the booking is made close enough to arrival for a last-minute discount, the percentage is subtracted from the base cost.
- Add fees and add-ons. Mandatory fees such as cleaning and service fees, property-specific fees, and any add-ons the guest chose. See Fees and Taxes.
- Add taxes. Each tax is charged on the accommodation, taxable fees, or both.
- Calculate the total. Accommodation minus discounts, plus fees, add-ons, and taxes.
The Booking Summary panel on the Create New Booking page shows this breakdown as you select a property, dates, and guest count.
Viewing and Managing Rates
The Rates & Pricing page is one page with four tabs:
- Portfolio -- Every villa's base rate and coverage at a glance, grouped by partner, with a List | By month switch.
- Seasons -- Season templates and the villa rates that use them, with By season and By villa views.
- Events -- Holiday and event-specific pricing adjustments (what this guide calls rate overlays).
- Import -- Bulk import rates from a spreadsheet or external source.
For one villa, its own Pricing tab shows the same rates on a calendar, where you can drag across dates to add a season or override.
Best Practices for Competitive Pricing
- Cover the full year. Make sure every property has property seasons that span the entire calendar year. Gaps in season coverage can prevent bookings for those dates.
- Use LOS discounts to fill gaps. Offering 5-10% off for weekly stays and 10-15% for monthly stays increases occupancy during shoulder seasons.
- Set minimum stays strategically. Higher minimums during peak season maximize revenue; lower minimums during green/low season improve occupancy.
- Use overlays sparingly. Overlays are powerful but can become hard to track if overused. Reserve them for true exceptions (holidays, events, last-minute promotions).
- Review rates quarterly. Market conditions change. Use the By villa view on the Seasons tab to compare each villa's season rates side by side.
- Consider weekend premiums. If your properties see higher weekend demand, a modest weekend premium (10-20%) captures that value without requiring separate seasons.
Key Concepts
- Season Template -- A named date range shared across all properties. Defines when, not how much.
- Property Season -- The pricing record that ties a property to a season template. Defines how much and how long.
- Rate Overlay -- A date-specific override that takes precedence over the property season rate.
- LOS Discount -- A percentage discount applied when the booking meets a minimum-nights threshold.
- Last-Minute Discount -- A percentage discount applied when the booking is made within a certain number of days before arrival.
- Weekend Premium -- An additional nightly charge applied to Friday and Saturday nights.
- Base Rate -- The nightly rate before any discounts, premiums, or charges.
Common Questions
What happens if a date is not covered by any season? The villa's base nightly rate prices it. A villa with no base rate and no season for a date cannot be quoted for that date, and shows as Needs base rate or with a gap on the Portfolio tab.
Can I have overlapping seasons for the same property? Only if one sits fully inside the other, such as a Holiday Peak inside High Season. The shorter season wins on the dates they share. Seasons that only partly overlap are rejected.
Do LOS discounts stack? No. Only the highest qualifying tier applies. If a guest books 30 nights and you have 7-night (5%), 14-night (10%), and 28-night (15%) tiers, only the 15% discount is applied.
How do I set different rates for different guest counts? Set Base Guests and Extra Guest Fee per Night on the property season, or under Advanced defaults on the villa's base rate. Guests above the base count pay the extra fee for each night.
Are rates synced to OTA channels? Yes. The nightly rate for each date, including seasons and overlays, is pushed to connected channels. Fees, taxes, and LOS discounts are not sent; set those in each OTA.
Related
- Booking Lifecycle -- How bookings are created and how pricing appears in the booking detail view.
- Season Templates -- Managing your season date ranges.
- Reusing Rate Templates -- Assigning season templates to many villas.
- Rate Overlays -- Creating holiday and event pricing overrides.
- Fees and Taxes -- Configuring cleaning fees, service fees, and tax rates.