This article explains how to set up Rate Types in RMS so that Duetto can price them, and how Duetto's rates behave once they arrive in RMS.

Overview

Duetto is a revenue management system that analyses a property's data and sends pricing decisions back into RMS. Duetto prices the property's Rate Types, and RMS applies those prices as rate overrides. Rate setup decides whether RMS accepts Duetto's prices and how it applies them, so check it before go-live and whenever Rate Types change.

Before you begin, the Duetto connection must be set up for the property, as covered in Duetto Interface and Duetto as the Property's Rate Manager.

Please Note! RMS is highly configurable. Some Terminology, User Access & Permissions, Images, Labels, and Functions used in these articles may differ from your setup. CLICK HERE to find out more.

How Duetto's Rates Reach RMS

Duetto's rates arrive in RMS as rate overrides, matched to a Rate Type by name and a Category by Code.

How Duetto Identifies a Rate Type

Duetto identifies each Rate Type by its name, which Duetto calls the rate plan code, not by its Rate Code. The name Duetto sends must match an RMS Rate Type exactly, or RMS rejects the whole message with error 249 "Invalid Rate Plan". Name matching and error 249 are covered in Duetto - Rate Updates Rejected (Error 249 or 116).

Give Duetto the exact name of each Rate Type it should price, and give each Rate Type a Market Segment, as described in Step 2 of Duetto Interface.

Important! Renaming a Rate Type that Duetto prices breaks the match, and Duetto's updates are rejected until Duetto is given the new name. See Duetto - Changing or Disconnecting the Integration.

The Available Rate Type and Selected Rate Type lists on the Rate Manager tab are hidden when the Type is Duetto and are not used for Duetto. It can price any Rate Type whose name it has been given.

Where Duetto's Rates Appear in RMS

Duetto's rates appear in the Control Panel on the Rate Manager Chart (Charts > Rate Manager), recorded against the user "Rate Manager". Each rate is for one Category, identified by the Category's Code, which Duetto calls the Room Type Code.

A Rate Override replaces the Rate Table's Base Rate. While it is active, RMS ignores the Rate Setup tab, including any Dynamic Pricing, and bypasses Rate Adjustments entered in the Control Panel. Additionals and Packages on the Rate Table still apply.

When several records exist for the same date and restriction type, RMS uses the most recent. A manual override entered after Duetto's update therefore applies until Duetto next sends a rate for that date.

Duetto can also send restrictions, such as Stop Sell, as described in Duetto - What RMS Sends and Receives.

Rate Setup Duetto Needs

Each Rate Type Duetto prices needs a Rate Lookup, Rate Period and Rate Table that suit Duetto's pricing.

Rate Lookup, Rate Period and Rate Table

A Rate Type that Duetto prices must already be sellable in RMS. Without a rate from Duetto for a date, it is available for a reservation only once it is linked within a Rate Lookup, and the Rate Manager Chart shows N/A on any date without one.

Before go-live, check each Rate Type Duetto will price has a Rate Lookup, Rate Period and Rate Table covering every Category and date Duetto prices. For example, if rates are loaded only to 31 December, extend them before Duetto prices the new year.

RMS does not check for a Rate Lookup when Duetto's rates arrive, and reports no problem to Duetto. Set one up for every date Duetto prices anyway: additional guest amounts and Packages come from the Rate Table, so without a Rate Table they are not charged.

Please Note! On a date with no Rate Lookup, Duetto's rate still applies to a Rate Type that is not a Derived Rate. The Rate Manager Chart shows Duetto's rate instead of N/A, the Rate Type can be selected on a new reservation, and the rate is sent to channels, but only Duetto's rate is charged and no additional guest amounts are added. A Rate Type is offered on new reservations only if it has at least one Rate Lookup in the property.

Guest-Count Pricing for Duetto Rates

Duetto can send a separate rate for each number of guests, plus separate amounts for each additional adult and child. How many guest counts Duetto prices depends on the property's Duetto setup, not on RMS.

RMS charges Duetto's rate for the highest guest count Duetto prices that does not exceed the number of adults and children on the reservation, or Duetto's lowest guest count when there are fewer guests. Guests above that count are charged as additional guests, because Additionals still apply under a Rate Override.

Each additional adult or child is charged at the amount Duetto sends for them, if Duetto sends one and the Rate Table's Additionals tab is set to Nightly. Otherwise RMS uses the Rate Table's additional guest amounts. For example, if Duetto prices one and two guests, sends no additional guest amounts and a Category sleeps three, the third guest is charged from the Rate Table. Check that the Rate Table's Person Base and additional guest amounts match the guest counts Duetto prices.

Derived Rates and Duetto

A Derived Rate calculates its price as a percentage or flat adjustment against its Master Rate Type. If Duetto prices a Derived Rate directly, Duetto's override replaces that calculation for those dates, because a Rate Override bypasses Derived Rate Adjustments.

Properties can have Duetto price one Master Rate Type and derive other rates from it. A Derived Rate that Duetto does not price directly starts from Duetto's rate on its Master Rate Type and then applies its own adjustment.

Important! If a Rate Table is selected for a Category in the Derived Rate's setup, that Category is priced from the selected Rate Table plus the Derived Rate's adjustment, and Duetto's rate on the Master Rate Type is not used as the starting price. Leave the Rate Table empty for any Category that should follow Duetto's pricing.

Please Note! When Duetto sends a rate for a number of guests, RMS uses that number as the Person Base for the date, so additional guest amounts are charged only for guests above it. Derived Rates linked to that Master Rate Type use the same Person Base.

Can Duetto Be Used with Multi BAR?

Multi BAR (multiple Best Available Rates) lets a property preset several price points for its Best Available Rate and switch between them by date range. It is turned on with the Use Multiple Best Available Rates (BAR) checkbox in Setup > Accounting > Accounting Options > Rate & Rent Options.

With Multi BAR, BAR (Multi) is a Rate Type of its own and each price point is a separate Rate Type. The price point that applies on each date is the one set for that date on the BAR row of the Rate Manager Chart, for the property or for a Category.

Duetto matches Rate Types by name, so it can price the BAR (Multi) Rate Type, any price point, or both. RMS applies those rates as follows:

• A reservation made on BAR (Multi) is priced each night from the price point set for that date, using Duetto's rate on that price point if Duetto has sent one. Duetto's rate on BAR (Multi) itself is not used for these reservations on any date that has a price point set.
• A Derived Rate whose Master Rate Type is BAR (Multi) starts from Duetto's rate on BAR (Multi). If Duetto has not sent one for the date, it starts from Duetto's rate on the price point set for that date, or from that price point's Rate Table if Duetto has sent neither.

RMS does not tell Duetto which price point is set for each date. A reservation made on BAR (Multi) is reported to Duetto under the BAR (Multi) Rate Type's name, not the name of the price point that priced it.

Important! Duetto's rates apply to reservations made on BAR (Multi) only on dates where Duetto prices the price point set for that date. If different price points are set on different dates, Duetto must price each one in use.

Related Articles

• Set up rate tables
• Rate Manager Chart