Booking.com is launching a Flash Deals promotion vehicle, aimed at giving travelers 30% discounts on participating hotels as demand for trips picks up.
The program is scheduled to run over six events starting next week (Friday, August 13) until late-October and will be available for properties on a global basis.
The online travel agency is not commenting officially on the launch of Flash Deals, so it is unclear if the program will continue beyond the initial run or widen in scope to include rental properties and other products.
The idea is to bring more business to partner hotels and attract new customers to Booking.com.
The discounts will take place every two weeks and on fixed days, lasting for just 36 hours. Over that time period, customers will get up to 30% off a selected room and rate.
Guests will have up to until August 2022 to use their discounted stay, according to documents issued to hotels seen by PhocusWire.
Hotels are being urged to promote the Flash Deals through their own channels, using creative assets provided by Booking.com, which send customers to the landing page of Booking.com.
The discounts must be applied to the original price of a room, before taxes and charge, as well as not being used in conjunction with other discounts the property might be engaged in, according to the documents.
The brand launched a similar service in 2011, amid huge interest in the Flash Deals concept driven at the time by the likes of Groupon, Secret Escapes and LivingSocial.
Whether hotels embrace or shun the model is the question that Booking.com will be eagerly waiting for some results on.
Some properties will not be geared up to handle the Flash Deals concept within their existing revenue management strategies, given that the discounted rates last for stays until August next year.
That said, some hotel owners may use the service to shift share from their competitors.
There is also some doubt - based on previous uses of heavy discounting in the sector - that programs such as these do drive demand, althought the 30% level may inevitably be enticing enough to attract customers.