Member rates: the prices booking sites show only to some guests

• Member or loyalty rates: for guests signed in to the site's programme, often in levels, with bigger discounts for the higher ones.
• Mobile rates: for guests booking on the site's app, or on a phone.
• Country rates: for travellers in the countries or regions the hotel chooses.
• Company and travel agent rates: for a site's business customers, or for the travel agents in its network.

Each is a promotion set on top of your rate plans in the site's back office. It changes the price some guests see without changing the rate your channel manager sends. Google's Hotel Center also lets its partners set up conditional and private rates, as rate rules, so prices meant for only some travellers can appear on Google as well.

Booking.com says Genius gives eligible partners more visibility, through Genius branding, filters and its own marketing, and that the standard Genius discount is funded by the hotel. To join, a hotel needs at least three guest reviews and a review score of at least 7.5 out of 10, and, in the countries where Booking.com's contract asks for it, prices on Booking.com that compete with other websites or with the hotel's own. Genius members see the Genius rate when signed in; for properties in Asia-Pacific, which takes in India, and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, guests can also see the standard Genius discount while signed out.

Booking.com says up to three discounts can stack, with only the highest from each kind of promotion applying. A mobile or country rate stacks with Genius and with basic, last-minute and early booker deals; mobile and country rates never stack with each other, nor with campaign deals such as the Getaway Deal, Black Friday Deals and limited-time deals.

Expedia says a Member Only Deal is also offered automatically through its business-to-business network, to partners that show fenced discounts to a closed group of users, and its Silver and higher deals to chosen travel management companies, financial institutions, airlines and membership organisations.

MakeMyTrip calls these special audience promotions, set under “Promotions & Coupon” in the “Grow Your Business” tab: MMTBLACK and goTribe for its most loyal travellers, myBiz for company customers, mobile, myPartner for travel agents, the Gulf market, and holiday packages.

Agoda's targeted promotions are aimed at groups such as loyal Agoda customers and travellers from certain regions, in five categories: product, loyalty, geography, platform and maximum gain. Agoda also says coupons it gives guests are paid by Agoda and don't change your base rate.

So add up every programme you are in before you decide a site's price is fine. The rate in your channel manager is only where the discounts start.

Your channel manager sends the same rate everywhere, but the guest who sees a member, mobile or country price pays less on the booking site. A guest comparing on Google or in the site's app sees your website as the dearer place to book, though you set no lower price anywhere.

• Know which programmes you are in on each site, and at what discount.
• Price your website knowing that some guests see the sites' member prices.
• Give past guests your own member price or extra on your website, where your contracts allow it.
• Check the booking sites signed in and on a phone, not only signed out on a laptop.

1. 1Booking.com Genius: sign in to the extranet, open the “Boost performance” menu, then “Genius partner programme”. “Suspend your discount” pauses it on dates you choose; “Manage your discount”, then “Quit Genius programme”, leaves it.
2. 2Booking.com mobile and country rates: open the “Promotions” menu, choose the rate, and click “Edit” or “Deactivate”.
3. 3Expedia: in Partner Central, go to “Marketing”, then “Promotions”, to see and change your Member Only Deals and block dates.
4. 4MakeMyTrip and Goibibo: in the InGo-MMT extranet, open “Grow Your Business”, then the “Black / goTribe” tab, where you also set blackout dates.

Booking.com says the standard Genius discount can be paused for up to 30 days, with more days at the higher levels, and that a hotel that leaves Genius may have to wait six months to rejoin.