Boarding Peak Pricing: How to Set Fair Holiday Surcharges
Boarding peak pricing is a higher nightly rate (or a flat per-night surcharge) charged on your highest-demand dates, such as Thanksgiving week, the December holidays, spring break, and summer holiday weekends. Done fairly, it means four things: a modest, predictable increase (most facilities land between $5 and $15 per night, or roughly 10–25% above the standard rate), a published list of peak dates, notice well before clients book, and the same rule applied to every client. Peak pricing pays for holiday staff wages and longer hours, nudges flexible travelers toward quieter nights, and protects your runs for the clients who need those dates most. The rest of this guide covers how to size the surcharge, which dates to include, how to communicate it, and what to do about daycare.
Why do boarding facilities charge peak pricing?
Holiday boarding costs more to deliver. Staff often earn holiday or overtime pay, you may run extra shifts for playgroups and potty breaks, and demand for runs far exceeds supply for a handful of nights a year. A peak rate does three jobs:
- Covers real costs. Holiday premiums and extra hours can raise labor cost per run-night noticeably on peak dates.
- Shapes demand. A small price difference encourages some families to drop off a day later or pick up a day earlier, which frees runs on the tightest nights.
- Rewards your team. Many owners pass part of the surcharge directly to staff working the holidays, which helps with retention during the busiest weeks.
How much should a boarding peak pricing surcharge be?
There is no industry-wide standard, so start from your own numbers rather than copying a competitor. A simple method:
- Estimate your extra cost per run-night. Add holiday wage premiums, extra shifts, and any added supplies for the peak period, then divide by expected booked run-nights.
- Check your local market. Call or browse two or three nearby facilities so you know whether peak rates are common in your area and roughly what they charge.
- Look at last year’s demand. If you sold out weeks early and turned families away, you have room to price higher. If peak nights finished soft, keep the increase small.
- Round to a clean number. A flat “$10 per night holiday rate” is easier to explain than a 13.5% increase.
| Approach | How it works | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat per-night surcharge | Add a fixed amount, e.g. $10, to every peak night | Simple menus, mixed run types | Feels steep on budget runs, small on suites |
| Percentage increase | Raise each rate by a set percent, e.g. 15% | Facilities with many suite tiers | Odd-looking totals unless rounded |
| Separate peak rate card | Publish a full holiday price list | Large facilities with long peak seasons | More to maintain and explain |
| Tiered by date | Higher rate on the top few nights, smaller on shoulder nights | Facilities that sell out on specific dates | Requires clear date lists |
Which dates should count as peak?
Keep the list short and defensible. If every weekend is a “peak,” clients stop believing it. Common choices:
- Thanksgiving week, usually Tuesday through Sunday
- Roughly December 20 through January 2
- Local school spring break weeks
- Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day weekends
Use your own booking history to decide: any night that sold out or had a waitlist last year is a candidate. Publish the full list for the coming year in one place, and avoid adding dates after clients have booked.
Clients rarely object to a holiday rate. They object to discovering it at checkout.
How do you announce peak pricing without upsetting clients?
Fairness is mostly about transparency and timing.
Tell clients before they book
Post peak dates and rates on your pricing page and booking portal, and show the surcharge as its own line on estimates and confirmations. Send a short email to boarding clients 60–90 days before the holidays with the dates, the rate, and the reason.
Explain where the money goes
One honest sentence is enough: “Our holiday rate covers holiday pay for the team caring for your dog.” If you share part of it with staff, say so.
Apply it consistently
Waiving the surcharge for whoever complains loudest is unfair to everyone who paid it. If you want to reward loyalty, do it through a published policy, such as a members’ rate or locking in standard pricing for clients who book before a set date.
Should daycare have holiday pricing too?
Many facilities keep daycare prices steady and instead adjust operations: limited holiday hours, reservations required, or closure on the holiday itself. If you do charge more, a flat holiday day fee is the clearest option. Be careful with prepaid packages and memberships: decide in advance whether a package day can be used on a peak date or needs a top-up, and put that rule in your package terms. Changing it mid-season is the fastest way to lose goodwill.
How do deposits and cancellations fit with peak pricing?
Peak nights are the ones you cannot easily resell, so pair your holiday rate with a firmer policy:
- Require a deposit at booking for peak stays, commonly one night or a percentage of the stay.
- Set a longer cancellation window, such as 7–14 days, for peak dates only.
- Use minimum stays on the busiest nights to avoid unsellable single-night gaps.
- Keep a waitlist so a late cancellation can be filled quickly.
What tools make peak pricing easier to run?
Manual surcharges invite mistakes: a front-desk team member forgets the holiday rate, or an online booking slips through at the standard price. Software that applies date-based rates automatically, collects deposits through online booking, and handles packages and memberships keeps pricing consistent. Franpos brings cloud POS, payments, online booking, memberships and packages, marketing, and payroll together for pet businesses, so your holiday rates, deposits, client emails, and the staff hours behind them live in one system. See our daycare and boarding solutions, compare pricing, or book a demo to walk through a holiday setup.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to charge more for holiday boarding?
In general, yes. Businesses commonly set different prices for different dates. The key is disclosing the rate clearly before the client commits. Check any local consumer rules if you are unsure.
Will peak pricing drive clients to competitors?
On true peak dates most facilities are full, so a modest, well-explained surcharge rarely costs bookings. Keeping the increase reasonable and announcing it early matters more than the exact amount.
Should existing clients get a discount on peak dates?
Reward loyalty through a published policy, such as a member rate or an early-booking deadline, rather than case-by-case waivers.
Do cats and small animals get the same surcharge?
Many facilities apply a smaller surcharge to cat condos and small-animal boarding because they require less staff time. Whatever you choose, list it clearly.
