Price models
A price model determines how a price for a category or booking is calculated. Exactly one price model can be assigned to each category. A booking can consist of several items from different categories. My Rental offers volume pricing models and tiered prices.
A price model consists of three components:
- The "Time unit duration" — the time unit used for billing (e.g., a day or an hour). Partial time units count as full time units.
- One or more seasons, each with its own period. In the app, they are called "Seasons".
- The "Tiers" per season — per tier, the minimum number of time units from which it applies, and the price per time unit.
The "graduated" switch decides whether the tiers are split or only one of them is used.
Volume pricing model
With the volume pricing model, prices can be set depending on the booking duration.
Example scenario:
The mountain bike category is assigned the price model below, without a tiered calculation. A customer rents two mountain bikes for 10 days. For 10 days, the "from day 8" tier applies; its price applies for all 10 days. The price is calculated as follows:
- 10 (days) * 2 (units) * €12 = €240
- Total price: €240
| Min. time units | Meaning | Price per time unit (day) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Day 1 to 7 | €15 |
| 8 | Day 8 to 14 | €12 |
| 15 | from day 15 | €10 |
Tiered prices
Alternatively, prices can also be calculated on a graduated basis. This means that the rental period is divided into the price tiers. In general, this calculation leads to higher prices.
Example scenario:
The mountain bike category is assigned the price model below, with a tiered calculation. A customer rents two mountain bikes for 14 days. The price is calculated as follows:
- Tier 1: 7 (days) * 2 (bikes) * €15 = €210
- Tier 2: 7 (days) * 2 (units) * €12 = €168
- Total price: €378
| Min. time units | Meaning | Price per time unit (day) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Day 1 to 7 | €15 |
| 8 | Day 8 to 14 | €12 |
| 15 | from day 15 | €10 |
Seasonal rates
A price model can contain multiple seasons. Each season has its own period and its own tiers — the same category thus costs more in the high season than in the low season, without the need for a second price model and a second category.
When creating the seasons, the following applies:
- The seasons must follow one another without gaps. The following season begins exactly one second after the end of the previous one: If the low season ends on 06/30/2026 at 23:59:59, the high season begins on 07/01/2026 at 00:00:00. If there is a gap, the price model cannot be saved.
- Each season needs at least one tier. The tiers are maintained separately for each season and may differ — in number, in minimum time units, and in price.
- The time unit ("Time unit duration"), on the other hand, applies to the entire price model, not per season.
Sample model with three seasons
Category mountain bike, one time unit = one day, three seasons:
| Season | Period |
|---|---|
| Low season | 01/01/2026, 00:00:00 – 06/30/2026, 23:59:59 |
| High season | 07/01/2026, 00:00:00 – 08/31/2026, 23:59:59 |
| Post-season | 09/01/2026, 00:00:00 – 10/31/2026, 23:59:59 |
The tiers per season — the post-season is calculated here like the low season:
| Min. time units | Meaning | Low season | High season | Post-season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Day 1 to 3 | €12 | €18 | €12 |
| 4 | Day 4 to 7 | €10 | €15 | €10 |
| 8 | from day 8 | €8 | €12 | €8 |
All the following examples are calculated with one unit and with pickup and return each at 09:00 o'clock, so that whole days also result in whole time units. For multiple items, the sum is multiplied by the quantity as above.
Bookings across a season boundary
The start of the booking, i.e., the planned pickup, is decisive: The season in which the start occurs determines the tiers for the entire rental period. A booking is not split at the season boundary, and the return has no influence on the season selection. This applies to both variants — with and without tiered pricing.
Without tiered calculation (volume price model), 6 days each:
| Booking | Season | Calculation | Total price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06/22 → 06/28 | Low season | 6 × €10 | €60 |
| 06/28 → 07/04 (across the season boundary) | Low season | 6 × €10 | €60 |
| 07/06 → 07/12 | High season | 6 × €15 | €90 |
| 08/29 → 09/04 (across the season boundary) | High season | 6 × €15 | €90 |
With tiered pricing, the same bookings:
| Booking | Season | Calculation | Total price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06/22 → 06/28 | Low season | 3 × €12 + 3 × €10 | €66 |
| 06/28 → 07/04 (across the season boundary) | Low season | 3 × €12 + 3 × €10 | €66 |
| 07/06 → 07/12 | High season | 3 × €18 + 3 × €15 | €99 |
| 08/29 → 09/04 (across the season boundary) | High season | 3 × €18 + 3 × €15 | €99 |
Both tables show the same effect: The booking from 06/28 to 07/04 is in the high season for five out of six days and still costs €60 or €66 — exactly the same as the same booking entirely in the low season and €30 or €33 less than the same booking a week later. Conversely, the same applies at the end of the season: The booking from 08/29 to 09/04 is billed throughout at the high-season prices, although it is predominantly in the post-season.
With a tiered calculation, the rental period is divided into tiers according to time units across the tiers, not according to the calendar. The season boundary therefore does not start a new tier — it is not even visible on the invoice. This becomes clear with a longer booking that reaches the third tier:
| Booking | Duration | Season | Calculation without tiering | Calculation with tiering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/25 → 07/05 (across the season boundary) | 10 days | Low season | 10 × €8 = €80 | 3 × €12 + 4 × €10 + 3 × €8 = €100 |
| 07/05 → 07/15 | 10 days | High season | 10 × €12 = €120 | 3 × €18 + 4 × €15 + 3 × €12 = €150 |
If you want to bill bookings that start shortly before the high season at the high-season prices, set the start of the high season earlier accordingly — for example, by the usual rental period. The season of an ongoing booking cannot be changed retroactively.
A pickup on 07/01/2026 at 00:00:00 falls in the high season. The second entered as the end of the low season — 06/30/2026, 23:59:59 — is also already counted as part of the high season. This does not matter for the usual pickup times.
Extensions and rebookings across a season boundary
If a booking is changed after the pickup — extended or rebooked to a different capacity of the same price model — then the option "Carry over time units" determines how the counting continues. If it is active, the time units already used are carried over; however, the new segment is priced using the tiers of its own season.
Example with tiered calculation — pickup on 06/28, initially until 07/01, then extension until 07/04:
| Segment | Time units | Season | Calculation | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/28 → 07/01 | Day 1 to 3 | Low season | 3 × €12 | €36 |
| 07/01 → 07/04 | Day 4 to 6 | High season | 3 × €15 | €45 |
| Total | 6 | €81 |
The three days of the extension continue the tiers from day 4, but are charged at the price of this tier in the high season (€15). Without "Carry over time units" the extension would start again at the first tier: 3 × €18 = €54, so a total of €90.
Even without a tiered calculation, the carried-over time units count — they determine which individual tier applies. The extension therefore falls into the "from day 4" tier of the high season and also costs 3 × €15 = €45.
Maintain seasons completely
The price calculation only recognizes the seasons that are entered:
- After the last season no price can be calculated. If a booking starts after the end of the last season — in the example model, therefore, from 11/01/2026 — the booking then has no price.
- Before the first season the earliest season is used. A booking with a pickup before the start of the first season uses its tiers.
Extend seasons in good time. Bookings are often accepted one year in advance — if the seasons do not extend that far, the price will be missing for precisely these bookings. The easiest way is to update the seasons for each year in advance, covering the quiet periods as a season as well.
Limit time units per day
With hourly rentals, multi-day bookings otherwise lead to a very large number of time units. With "Max. units per day" the maximum number of time units that are charged per calendar day is specified — the remaining hours of the day are not charged.
Example model: E-bike category, one time unit = one hour, "Max. units per day" = 8, with the same seasonal periods as above.
| Min. time units | Meaning | Low season | High season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hours 1 to 3 | €9 | €12 |
| 4 | from hour 4 | €7 | €9 |
| Booking | Time units | Season | Without tiered pricing | With tiered pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/29, 09:00 → 17:00 | 8 | Low season | 8 × €7 = €56 | 3 × €9 + 5 × €7 = €62 |
| 07/02, 09:00 → 17:00 | 8 | High season | 8 × €9 = €72 | 3 × €12 + 5 × €9 = €81 |
| 06/30, 09:00 → 07/01, 17:00 | 16 (2 × 8 instead of 32) | Low season | 16 × €7 = €112 | 3 × €9 + 13 × €7 = €118 |
The last row shows both together: 32 hours become 16 calculated time units, because a maximum of 8 are counted per calendar day — the limit is at midnight, not 24 hours after the pickup. And because the pickup is on 06/30 the low-season prices apply for both days.