Promo codes and return discounts: when they help and when they hurt

A discount is a tool, not a strategy. Used well, it brings back customers and fills quiet periods. Used carelessly, it trains people to wait for a deal.

Good reasons to offer a promo code

• A welcome offer for first-time customers.
• A partnership code for a hotel, restaurant or business that sends you work.
• A time-limited offer to fill quiet days of the week.

Set limits

Give each code an end date so it does not live forever, and switch it off when the campaign is over. Prefer a percentage for long trips and a fixed amount for short ones, so the discount never swallows the fare.

Return trips are a natural discount

Someone booking both directions is a more valuable customer: two jobs for one conversation. A modest discount on the return leg, such as ten percent, rewards that and encourages more people to book both ways.

Keep it consistent

The risk of discounts is inconsistency. In Bookara, promo codes and return discounts are applied by the pricing engine from your settings, so the same rules apply on WhatsApp, on your website and in the back office.