When to Fix or Override Rates in TakeUp

TakeUp is designed to automatically test and adjust rates based on real-time demand signals. Most of the time, letting the system run is the best way to maximize revenue.

But sometimes you need a specific price in place that you don’t want TakeUp to change. That’s when overriding or fixing rates is the right tool.

What Happens When You Override a Rate in TakeUp

When you turn TakeUp off for a specific date and enter a fixed rate:

TakeUp stops adjusting the price for that day.
The rate you enter becomes the published rate in your PMS.
Other room types adjust based on their deltas unless you override those too.
The system still learns from results, but will not adjust the price.

Overrides are firm instructions: “Use this exact rate—don’t move it.”

When You Should Use an Override

1. You have a very specific price you want to enforce

This is the most common scenario.
If you (or ownership) want a particular number for strategic, operational, or historical reasons—and you don't want the algorithm adjusting it—override the rate.

Examples:

“This date needs to be exactly $325.”
“We’re matching last year’s pricing for this weekend.”
“Leadership wants this holiday held at a flat figure.”

Overrides give certainty when that is the priority.

2. One-off events or unusual circumstances that TakeUp may not pick up immediately

You may have local knowledge that the algorithm can’t detect quickly:

An incoming weather event likely to cause cancellations
A sudden drop in demand from a local closure or disruption
A hyper-local spike you’re confident about before data reflects it

Overrides let you temporarily take control for situations outside normal demand patterns.

When You Should Not Override

Overrides freeze optimization, which is usually not what you want.
For most situations, soft controls are more effective.

Use nudges or monthly bounds instead when:

You want to test a different price without locking the system
You want to influence directionally, not set an absolute
You’re responding to slower pacing but still want TakeUp to adjust
You want flexibility and continued machine learning

Better alternatives:

Monthly bounds: adjust the allowed pricing range for a month
Nudge up/down: test a slightly higher or lower price
Custom nudge: test any number within bounds without freezing TakeUp

These maintain optimization while still reflecting your strategy.

PMS-Based Overrides: Why We Recommend Avoiding Them

If you change the published rate directly in your PMS (ThinkReservations), TakeUp will detect that edit and treat it as a hard override—the same as turning TakeUp off for that day.

This creates two issues:

TakeUp stops optimizing that date entirely
The system assumes you have a specific rate in mind and will not adjust up or down.
TakeUp cannot “see” the context behind the PMS change
It can’t learn from that decision as effectively, making long-term optimization less clear.

When PMS edits are appropriate:

If you are only adjusting the price for a single guest while creating a reservation (e.g., honoring an old quote), it’s completely fine to enter that custom price in the PMS.
This does not impact TakeUp’s pricing logic.

PMS edits become problematic only when you change the published daily rate instead of using TakeUp’s override tools.

Best practice:

If the published price for a date needs to change,
make the adjustment inside TakeUp, not in the PMS.