The problem
Peak rates often cover only Christmas and August, while half-terms and bank holidays fill up just as fast at the normal rate. A 20-pen cattery that charges $3£2€2A$4C$4 a night less than it could for 10 pens over 30 nights a year leaves $798£600€714A$1,152C$1,128 a year, about $67£50€60A$96C$94 a month, on the table.
What the AI does
Export last year's bookings from your booking system with pen, check-in and check-out dates, and delete owners' names and contact details. Upload the file to ChatGPT and ask for pen occupancy by week, with a chart, and a list of weeks that were over 90% full but charged at the normal rate. Its data analysis runs the sums in Python, so you can ask to see the method. You then set this year's peak dates and rates. Full data analysis is on Go (about $9£7€8A$13C$13 a month) and above.
A worked example
A 20-pen cattery in Shropshire exports last year's bookings. ChatGPT's chart shows both half-terms and the late May bank holiday were full at the normal rate, so the owners add those 30 nights to peak pricing.
Before
Peak rate charged only at Christmas and in August, about 6 weeks a year
After
About 30 more nights a year at the peak rate, +$3£2€2A$4C$4 a night on about 10 pens
What it's worth
About $67£50€60A$96C$94 a month in extra profit, against about $9£7€8A$13C$13 for ChatGPT Go. An extra $3£2€2A$4C$4 a night on about 10 pens over 30 nights is $798£600€714A$1,152C$1,128 a year, and because the care and costs don't change, almost all of it is profit, as long as the weeks still fill.
How to set it up
- Export last year's bookings with pen, check-in and check-out dates and price. Delete owners' names and contact details.
- In ChatGPT Go (€8, about $9£7€8A$13C$13 a month) or above, upload the file and ask: 'Show pen occupancy by week as a chart, and list weeks over 90% full that were charged the normal rate.'
- Check two weeks by hand against your diary.
- Set this year's peak dates and rates in your booking system and say them clearly in your booking terms.
- Run the same check after next summer.
What goes wrong
- Occupancy shows what was booked, not who was turned away. If you kept a waiting list, count that too.
- Raising rates on weeks that only just filled can empty pens. Start with the weeks that sold out earliest.
- Existing bookings stay at the rate agreed when they were made. Apply new rates to new bookings only.
- Free data analysis is limited. Go and Plus are personal plans: turn off 'Improve the model for everyone' in Data Controls if you don't want your data used for training.