Manage occupancy-based rules and alerts in PIE

Creating an occupancy-based rule is a four-step process. Complete each step in order so PIE has the price boundaries, rule conditions, schedule, and activation behavior needed to evaluate the rule correctly.

To start, open the Main Menu , click PIE, and select Rules and Alerts.

Step 1 - Set your price limits

Price limits define the lowest and highest rates PIE is allowed to recommend or apply. These limits protect the rule from changing rates outside the pricing boundaries you set.

You must configure price limits before creating an automatically applied occupancy-based rule.

1. On the Rules and Alerts page, click Edit in the Price Limits section.

2. Enter the Minimum Price and Maximum Price under Master Price Limits. You can also configure minimum and maximum limits for individual accommodation types if needed.
3. Click Save.

Step 2 - Create the new rule

1. On the Rules and Alerts page, scroll to the Rules and Alerts section and click + Create New Rule/Alert.

Step 3 - Add the rule or alert details

1. In Type, select Occupancy-Based Rule/Alert.
2. Enter a Name that helps you identify the rule later.
3. Under Rule applies to, choose how PIE should measure occupancy:
   • Overall Occupancy: PIE evaluates the property's overall occupancy. When the condition is met, the rate change applies to all accommodations covered by the rule.
   • Individual Room Type Occupancy Rule: PIE evaluates each selected accommodation type separately. A rate change applies only to an accommodation whose individual occupancy meets the rule condition.
   • Combined Room Type Occupancy: PIE evaluates the combined occupancy of the selected accommodation types. When the combined occupancy meets the condition, the rate change applies to those selected accommodations.
4. Configure the Parameters. Choose the occupancy condition, such as greater than or lower than a percentage, and configure how PIE should increase or decrease the rate when that condition is met.
5. Continue to the remaining rule settings. You will complete the rounding, schedule, and activation options in Step 4 before saving the finished rule.

Step 4 - Configure rounding, schedule, and activation

1. Rounding, optional: Use Round to nearest when you want resulting rates to follow a consistent pricing pattern.

   For example, entering 9 can result in rates such as 89, 99, or 109. Entering 00 can create a pricing pattern such as 1100, 1200, or 1300. After you enter a value, PIE displays an example of the resulting pricing pattern.

   PIE rounds to the nearest lower matching value. For example, if the rounding value is .49 and the calculated rate is 28.25, PIE rounds the rate to 27.49, not 28.49.

2. Schedule: Choose whether the rule should be Always active or apply only during a Specific Date Range. If you choose a specific date range, select the start date, end date, and applicable days of the week. Add additional date ranges if needed.
3. Activation: Choose how the resulting rate changes should be handled:
   • Require manual confirmation: PIE creates a rate recommendation that a user must review in Rate Manager before the change is applied.
   • Automatically apply rule: PIE can change the rate immediately when the rule conditions are met, without waiting for manual approval.
4. Review your settings and click Save.

Editing an active occupancy-based rule can cause PIE to evaluate the rule again. If the edited rule's conditions are met, it may apply again to rooms it previously affected.

1. Open the Main Menu , click PIE, and select Rules and Alerts.
2. Find the rule you want to change and click the Edit option.

3. In the Edit Rule/Alert panel, update the rule settings you need to change.
4. Review the updated settings and click Save.

Confirm active-rule re-evaluation

When you save a qualifying change to an active rule, PIE displays a confirmation before completing the edit. The message explains that the change will cause the rule to be evaluated again and that it may apply again to rooms it previously affected.

• Click Save in the confirmation dialog to continue. PIE saves the edit and evaluates the active rule again.
• Click Cancel to close the confirmation and return to the rule editor without completing the save.

Consider alternatives before changing an active rule

Because editing an active rule can cause it to be evaluated again, consider whether one of these options better matches what you want to accomplish:

• Create a new rule when the new configuration should start from a specific date or cover a different date range without changing the existing active rule.
• Use manual confirmation when you want PIE to recommend resulting rate changes instead of applying them automatically.

1. Open the Main Menu , click PIE, and select Rules and Alerts.
2. Find the rule you want to remove and click the Delete icon.

3. In the warning dialog, click Delete to confirm the removal.

1. Open the Main Menu , click PIE, and select Rules and Alerts.
2. Find the rule and click Edit .

3. Scroll to the Activation section and select Automatically apply rule.
4. Click Save.

If changing the activation mode is the only edit you make, PIE does not display the active-rule re-evaluation confirmation described in the Edit an occupancy-based rule workflow.

When an automatically applied rule is triggered

PIE updates the rate using the parameters configured in the rule, including the selected rate change, rounding settings, and minimum and maximum price limits.

Multiple occupancy rules can apply to the same dates. For example, you could configure:

• A rule that increases the rate by 15.00 when occupancy is greater than 30%, with no near-term date restriction.
• Another rule that decreases the rate by 15.00 when occupancy is lower than 40%, but only within five days of arrival.

PIE evaluates rules according to the direction of occupancy. If more than one rule needs to be triggered at the same time, decreasing rules are applied first.

When a manual rule is triggered

PIE creates a suggested rate change instead of changing the rate automatically.

• Rate Manager shows a notification with the suggested price change.
• You can approve or deny the recommendation based on your pricing strategy.
• You can open the accommodation details from the alert to review the recommendation and make other rate or stay-restriction changes if needed.
• Use the Rate Manager list view to review occupancy-based rules that were triggered or applied during a specific date range.

What happens when occupancy no longer meets the condition

A rate change can be reversed if occupancy later moves back outside the condition that triggered the rule.

• If the rule is set to apply automatically, PIE reverses it automatically.
• If the rule requires manual approval, PIE creates a recommendation to reverse the change so a user can review it.
• If several rules need to be reversed, PIE reverses them according to the order in which they were triggered and the current occupancy state.

If occupancy still satisfies the rule and you want to manually restore another rate, there is no one-click rule reversal. Update the rate in Rate Manager or the Availability Matrix. You can use the PIE Activity Log to review the previous rate change.

Occupancy-based rules work on a cumulative basis. Each rate increase or decrease is calculated from the room's current rate at the moment that rule is applied.

Example

Assume the current rate for today is 100.00 and two occupancy rules are configured:

• Increase the rate by 5.00 when occupancy is greater than 60%.
• Increase the rate by 10.00 when occupancy is greater than 80%.

Case 1: Both rules are applied automatically

1. Occupancy reaches 61%. The first rule is triggered and increases the current rate from 100.00 to 105.00.
2. Occupancy later reaches 81%. The second rule is calculated from the current 105.00 rate, so PIE increases it to 115.00.

Case 2: The rules require manual approval

1. Occupancy reaches 61%. PIE recommends increasing the 100.00 rate to 105.00.
2. The user denies or ignores that recommendation, so the room rate remains 100.00.
3. Occupancy later reaches 81%.
4. PIE triggers the second rule. Because the current rate is still 100.00, PIE recommends increasing it by 10.00 to 110.00.