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Group discounts approved before the proposal goes out

Discounts above your threshold, or proposals above a total value, wait In Review until the revenue manager approves.

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On QuoteCloud's Business plan, an approval workflow sends any group or corporate proposal with a discount above your threshold, or a total value above your limit, to approvers such as the revenue manager or general manager. The proposal stays In Review and can't be sent until it's approved; approvers approve or decline in QuoteCloud or through Zapier.

A sample group proposal from a fictional hotel, Lantern Quay Harbourside, for Talmont Biosciences' national sales conference, with a checklist beside it: rooms priced night by night, the day delegate package added, a 15% discount on the Monday to Thursday rate added by the sales manager, an approval rule triggered because the discount is greater than 12%, and a request sent to the revenue manager, Josh Kerrigan. The proposal's status is In Review.

What the revenue manager sees

Josh opens the proposal from Workflow Review. The Document workflow panel shows why it's there (a discount greater than 12%), who has to approve it and what has happened so far: Rafael's 15% discount on the Monday to Thursday rate and the request sent to him.

He approves it, and Rafael can send the proposal to Talmont. If he declines, Rafael updates the proposal and asks again. Approvers can also approve or decline through Zapier's Approve or Reject Workflow action.

  • The trigger, the approvers and a log on the document
  • In Review until approved: it can't be sent before
  • Approve or decline in QuoteCloud, or through Zapier

Approval workflow: Business

How the approval workflow works
Document workflowLantern Quay Hotels Sample data

Document workflow

In Review

Triggered when Discount greater than 12%

  • Josh KerriganRevenue managerWaiting

Must be approved before it can be sent.

  1. A 15% discount on the Mon–Thu group rates added by Rafael Ortega (in the line notes)
  2. Approval request sent to Josh Kerrigan

Approval workflow · Business plan

Two rules most hotel sales teams start with

An approval workflow is triggered by a discount percentage or by the document's total value. Set the threshold and choose who approves; these are sample settings for a fictional hotel.

  • Discount above 12% → revenue manager

    Any group or corporate proposal with a discount greater than 12% goes to the revenue manager before it can be sent. A 10% discount goes straight out.

  • Total value above $150,000 → general manager

    Large blocks and conferences go to the general manager for a second look, whatever the discount. Talmont's $115,988.40 group is under the limit.

  • Approvers by role

    Choose approvers from a role, such as Revenue manager, so the right person is asked when people change. Roles and teams are set up on Essentials and up.

  • In Review until it's decided

    While a proposal waits, its status is In Review and the rep can't send it. Approved, it's ready to send; declined, the rep updates it and asks again.

Rate discipline without slowing the sales team

What changes once discount approvals live on the proposal instead of in someone's inbox.

The jobWithout itWith QuoteCloud
Approving a group discount An email to the revenue manager, often after the proposal has already gone to the organiser. The rule catches the discount on the proposal itself, and it can't be sent until it's approved.
Knowing what's waiting Asking around, or finding the request a day later. Proposals waiting for a decision show as In Review, and approvers find them in Workflow Review.
Keeping a record A thumbs-up in a chat that nobody can find at month end. The Document workflow panel keeps a log on every proposal: the request and who approved or declined it.
Sending once approved The rep keeps checking whether the email has been answered. Once approved, the rep opens the proposal and sends it to the organiser.

Try approval rules on your own group template

Free for 14 days on the Business plan, no credit card required. Approval workflows are part of Business.

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Rate discipline

Win the group without giving the rate away

Sales managers discount to win business; revenue managers protect the rate. An approval rule on the template lets both do their job before the organiser sees a price.

Set up a discount approval in five steps

A sample set-up for a hotel sales team on the Business plan.

  1. Open Workflow

    In Settings, open Workflow and create a new workflow, from blank or from a template such as Approval by Discount Level.

  2. Set the trigger

    Choose Discount Percentage greater than 12, or Total Value greater than your limit.

  3. Choose approvers

    Find approvers from a role, such as Revenue manager, and decide what happens if none are found.

  4. Activate it

    Test and save the workflow, then set it to Active.

  5. Send once approved

    A proposal over the threshold goes In Review; once approved, the rep sends it to the organiser.

Discount approval questions

Can group discounts need the revenue manager's approval?

Yes, on the Business plan. An approval workflow can send any proposal with a discount percentage above your threshold to approvers such as the revenue manager. The proposal stays In Review and can't be sent until it's approved. If it's declined, the rep updates the proposal and requests approval again.

What can trigger an approval?

For hotel proposals, set the trigger on the discount percentage or on the document's total value, with a threshold such as a discount greater than 12% or a total above $150,000. Each workflow names its approvers. QuoteCloud doesn't trigger approvals on margin, RevPAR or displacement, and it doesn't analyse rates.

Who can approve a proposal?

Choose approvers from a role, such as revenue manager or general manager, so requests go to whoever holds that role. Approvers see the proposal in Workflow Review and approve or decline it in the Document workflow panel. Approve or Reject Workflow is also a Zapier action, so a decision can come from another tool you use.

Can a rep send a proposal while it's waiting for approval?

No. While a proposal waits for a decision its status is In Review, and it can't be sent to the organiser until it's approved. Once approved, the rep opens it and sends it as usual. The request and the decision are logged on the document.

Which plan includes approval workflows?

Approval workflows are on the Business plan (US$59 per user per month) and Enterprise. Business also adds content locking, version history, Gantt charts and native CRM and accounting integrations. You can try Business free for 14 days with no credit card.

More questions from hotel sales teams

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Every group discount checked before it goes out

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