Variable Pricing vs True Dynamic Pricing
Most attractions confuse these two concepts. Understanding the difference is worth thousands in revenue.
Variable Pricing
What most venues do
Different prices for weekends vs weekdays
Holiday pricing set manually
Peak/off-peak tiers defined in advance
Prices stay fixed once set
Predictable, but leaves money on the table
True Dynamic Pricing
What airlines and hotels do
Algorithms adjust prices automatically
Considers a multitude of factors
Responds to actual demand signals
Optimizes revenue continuously
Complex, but maximizes every session
Is Dynamic Pricing Right for Your Park?
Dynamic pricing is powerful — but it's not for everyone. Here's who benefits most.
Dynamic pricing makes sense if...
You're at 70%+ capacity on peak days
You have sessions that sell out regularly
Some days are overrun, others are empty
You have 12+ months of booking data
Focus on marketing first if...
You struggle to fill sessions
Peak days aren't consistently busy
Your main problem is awareness, not optimization
You're a new venue still building audience
Dynamic pricing optimizes your funnel — it doesn't fill it. If customers aren't coming, raising prices won't help. We offer marketing services for parks that need to grow first.
Some of the Factors Behind True Dynamic Pricing
Our pricing engine considers multiple signals simultaneously to optimize every booking.
Time of Booking
Early birds get lower prices. Last-minute bookers pay premium. Everyone wins.
Historical Data
What happened last year on this date? Last month? We remember so you don't have to.
Booking Curve
Session filling faster than usual? Price adjusts. Slower? We respond accordingly.
Weather Forecasts
Sunny weekend predicted? Aqua park demand rises. We factor that in.
Day & Seasonality
Saturdays vs Tuesdays. Summer vs winter. School holidays vs regular weeks.
Current Capacity
80% full? Different strategy than 20% full. Real-time utilization matters.
Local Events
School break starting? Local festival? We can factor in external demand drivers.
Competitor Pricing
Where available, we monitor what similar venues charge nearby.
Why Our Dynamic Pricing Actually Works
Other systems jack up prices and call it dynamic. We do it right.
A/B Testing Against Baseline
We always run a control group. A portion of your sessions use dynamic pricing while others don't. This proves what's actually working — not just correlation.
Control Groups Always
Most systems raise prices on busy days and claim success. But busy days are busy regardless. Our control groups prove causation, not just correlation.
Conversion Rate Tracking
Revenue went up? Great. But did conversion rate drop? We track both. Higher prices mean nothing if you're scaring away bookings.
Deep Data Analysis First
We don't just flip a switch. Implementation starts with 12+ months of booking data analysis. We understand your patterns before we optimize them.
Best Practices We Follow
Dynamic pricing done wrong hurts customer trust. Here's how we do it right.
Prices Only Go Up
A customer who books early will always have a better rate than someone booking later. We never punish early planners.
Full Transparency
Customers see a calendar with prices for each day. They can make informed choices. No surprises at checkout.
Customer Choice
Today is $25? They can also see that next Saturday is $18. Price-sensitive guests choose cheaper days. Everyone's happy.
No Bait and Switch
Once a customer starts booking, the price is locked. We never change prices mid-checkout. Ever.
Common Questions About Dynamic Pricing
Everything you need to know about implementing dynamic pricing for your attraction.
What's the difference between dynamic pricing and variable pricing?
Variable pricing means setting different prices for specific days (weekends, holidays) in advance. True dynamic pricing uses algorithms to adjust prices continuously based on real-time demand, booking patterns, weather, and other factors. Most attractions do variable pricing but call it dynamic.
How much can dynamic pricing increase revenue?
Parks with high demand on peak days typically see 8-15% revenue increases. However, results depend on your baseline capacity utilization. If you're not already busy, dynamic pricing won't help — you need marketing first.
Won't customers hate dynamic pricing?
Not if done right. We follow best practices: prices only go up (never punish early bookers), full transparency with calendar views, and customer choice in when to visit. Airlines and hotels have conditioned everyone to expect this. Done transparently, customers appreciate being rewarded for booking early.
How do you prove dynamic pricing works?
A/B testing with control groups. We don't just raise prices on busy days and claim success — busy days would be busy anyway. We compare dynamically priced sessions against control groups with standard pricing to prove actual causation.
How long does it take to implement?
Proper implementation takes 4-6 weeks. We need 12+ months of historical booking data to analyze patterns, then we configure the algorithm, set up A/B testing, and monitor results. This isn't a feature you just turn on — it requires careful calibration.
What if I'm not busy enough for dynamic pricing?
Then focus on marketing first. Dynamic pricing optimizes an existing funnel — it doesn't fill it. If your challenge is getting customers in the door, we offer marketing services to help you build demand before optimizing it.