**Understanding Marketing Segments in a Reservation (Cloud) šŸŽ„

**Understanding Marketing Segments in a Reservation (Cloud) šŸŽ„

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Marketing Segments in Visual Matrix Cloud help categorize reservations for reporting, analysis, and marketing purposes. These segments include Market Segment, Referral Code, and Reason for Stay.
Understanding how these fields work togetherā€”and how they are automatically populatedā€”helps ensure consistency, reduces manual entry, and improves the accuracy of reports and exports.



What Are Marketing Segments?

Marketing Segments are three key fields used on every reservation:
- Market Segment: Identifies the type of business (e.g., Corporate, Leisure, Group)
- Referral Code: Identifies how the guest booked (e.g., Website, Phone, OTA)
- Reason for Stay: Identifies why the guest is staying (e.g., Business, Vacation, Event)

Together, these fields provide a complete view of:
- What type of guest you have
- How they booked
- Why they are staying

How Marketing Segments Are Applied

Marketing Segments can be populated in different ways depending on your setup.

Required vs Optional Fields
Each field can be configured as:
- Required: Users must select a value before saving a reservation
- Optional: The field can be left blank

Default Values
If a field is not required, a default value can be assigned.
When a default is set:
- The system automatically fills in the field when saving a reservation
- Users can still change the value if needed

Manual Selection
Users can manually select or change Marketing Segments during:
- Reservation creation
- Reservation edits

When Values Are Assigned

Marketing Segments are typically assigned:
- When creating a reservation
- When saving a reservation
- When editing an existing reservation
Notes
If defaults are configured, they will automatically populate at the time of saving unless overridden by the user.

Special Behavior: Reason for Stay ā€œOtherā€ Option

The Reason for Stay field includes an ā€œOtherā€ option that allows users to enter a custom value.
When Other is selected:
- An additional field appears
- Users can enter a custom reason not listed in the setup
Notes
These entries can be reviewed in the Reason for Stay report, which displays all custom ā€œOtherā€ values entered by users.
Idea
If similar custom values are used frequently, consider adding them as standard Reason for Stay options to improve consistency.

Impact on Reports and Exports

Marketing Segments are used throughout the system, including:
- Marketing Exports (Guest, Company, Travel Agent, City Ledger)
- Segment Reports (Market Segment, Referral Code, Reason for Stay)
- Forecasting and performance analysis

Accurate and consistent use of these fields ensures:
- Reliable reporting
- Better marketing insights
- Improved data analysis

Integration Considerations
Marketing Segments (Market Segment, Referral Code, and Reason for Stay) are also used in external integrations, such as your channel manager rate plan mappings.
If these values are: Modified, Deactivated, or Deleted, it may impact how reservations are received from external systems.
Quote
For example:
- A rate plan mapped to a specific Market Segment may no longer match
- Reservations from the channel manager may fail to import correctly
- Booking data may be incomplete or rejected
Alert
It is important to review any integrations before making changes to Marketing Segment setups.

Best Practices

- Set fields as Required whenever possible to ensure consistency
- Use default values if the field is optional
- Train staff to select the correct values during reservation entry
- Review reports regularly to ensure data accuracy
- Limit use of ā€œOtherā€ to cases where no standard option exists

Still Need Help With This Topic?

Ask Yourself:
- Are the Marketing Segment fields set as required or optional?
- Are default values configured correctly?
- Are users selecting the correct values consistently?

Support May Ask You:
- What are your current setup settings for Market Segment, Referral Code, and Reason for Stay?
- Are default values configured?
- Which report or export is showing incorrect data?

Set Up Market Segments (Cloud)
Set Up Referral Codes (Cloud)
Set Up Reason for Stay (Cloud)
Marketing Exports Overview (Cloud)

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