4 Ways To Use Advanced Pricing Rules To Attract More Bookings

Pricing for rental businesses is rarely as simple as setting a flat daily rate. Customer demand shifts with seasons, weekends, and even the time of day that items are picked up or returned. Without automation, rental managers often find themselves manually updating order amounts or revising invoices.

This takes time away from growing their business. This is where Booqable’s advanced pricing comes in. It lets you set up smart rules that automatically adjust prices for your products. These changes show instantly on both your online store and your back office when you or your team are creating an order, so you do not need to think about it.

That means no more guesswork, fewer invoice corrections, and a much easier way to optimize your revenue. Once configured, advanced pricing rulesets do the work for you so your offers always stay attractive and fair to your customers. Below are four handy ways you can put advanced pricing to work in your business.

Don’t charge for pickup or return days

Rental businesses often face the question: should you charge customers for the day an item is picked up or returned, even if it is only used for part of that day? It is important to make fair decisions here, since clear policies can build trust with customers.

With Booqable’s advanced pricing rulesets, you can easily set conditions where pickup or return days are not charged depending on the time items are collected or brought back. For example, a wedding rental company might forgive charges if decorations are returned before 10:00 AM, since they will not impact other bookings that day.

Bike rental shops often use this setup too. Imagine a customer renting a bike from Saturday evening until the following Sunday evening. If they pick it up Saturday after 4:00 PM, you can configure Booqable to exclude the pickup day if items are picked up after 4:00 PM.

Benefits of this feature:

• Create transparent and fair policies your customers appreciate

• Encourage timely returns by setting time-based rules

• Avoid overcharging for periods when items are not actually in use

• Save time by eliminating manual invoice edits

Giving flexibility with pickup and return days helps customers feel they are only paying for what they truly use, while still keeping your booking calendar accurate.

Don’t charge for certain days of the week

If you’re closed on a day like Monday, so customers can’t return items that day, it seems unfair to charge for this day since customers are required to rent for another day, just because of the opening hours.

Booqable’s advanced pricing lets you configure rules that automatically skip charges on chosen weekdays, to be more fair to customers For example, a ski rental shop might decide to make Mondays free to except customers from having to pay an extra day of rental if they wish to return at the start of the week.

Benefits of this feature:

• Boost rentals during low-demand weekdays

• Encourage customers to extend bookings

• Automate weekday offers without extra admin work

• Stay competitive with creative promotions

This type of setup is especially useful for filling quieter days without discounting your premium weekend slots.

Adjust prices for a range of days

Weekend surcharges or discounts are one of the most common strategies in pricing for rental businesses. Customers often expect different rates depending on when they book, and with advanced pricing you can configure these rules once and let them run automatically.

Using advanced pricing rulesets, you can set conditions where rentals across certain days like Saturdays and Sundays are charged at a modified rate. An event rental company could charge for just one day even if their customer holds the item all weekend, making weekend rentals more appealing.

For instance, a camera rental shop might offer a one-day weekend rate. A lens rented Friday afternoon until Monday morning would only count as one chargeable day. This makes weekend rentals much more attractive for weekend projects.

Benefits of this feature:

• Offer competitive weekend packages without manual price adjustments

• Increase bookings by rewarding longer orders

• Adapt charges to customer habits around weekends and weekdays

• Avoid confusion with consistent, automated pricing rules

This kind of flexibility keeps your business appealing to both casual and professional renters who plan around weekends.

Adjust prices for a range of dates

Almost every rental business has peaks and slow seasons. Without planning, you either miss out on extra revenue during high-demand periods or lose opportunities to attract customers in quieter months. Seasonal pricing is an essential way to keep your prices competitive.

Booqable’s advanced pricing lets you define rules for entire date ranges like holidays, summer season, or Christmas. You can increase rates when demand is high, or lower them during off-peak times to draw in more orders.

Take the bike rental industry as an example: prices can rise in July and August when tourism peaks, then automatically decrease in winter months to attract local customers. A bike rental shop could run a holiday promotion where December bookings receive 20% off, encouraging orders during a typically slower period.

Benefits of this feature:

• Automatically apply seasonal surcharges or discounts

• Optimize revenue during peak demand

• Attract customers in off-peak months with lower rates

• Reduce the need for constant manual invoice updates

Seasonal adjustments not only help optimize profits but also ensure your customers always see fair, timely rates that reflect real-world demand.

Making advanced pricing work for you

Advanced pricing is one of the most powerful tools in Booqable’s rental software. From fair pickup and return day rules to weekday specials, weekend offers, and seasonal adjustments, it gives rental businesses the flexibility to adapt pricing to their market.

By automating these rules, you avoid repetitive invoice changes, keep customers happy, and maximize your bookings throughout the year. Pricing for rental businesses does not have to be complicated. With advanced pricing, you can set it once and let it work in the background.

By Catrin Donnelly · Published September 25, 2025

Catrin is a rental software expert with a digital marketing background. She’s interviewed over 1,000 rental businesses to create insightful, actionable content.