Black Friday is a great opportunity to boost bookings with limited-time offers. Bookwhen makes it easy to set up special prices, discount codes, or promotional tickets tailored to your event.

This article explains how to create Black Friday promotions and manage your seasonal deals.

Creating a discount code

You can create discount codes to use against tickets and passes. They are a great and straightforward way to run a short-term promotion.

To create a discount code:

Select Packages & Discounts, then Discounts from the left-hand menu on your account.
Select Create a discount set:
Name the set: This is an internal reference name, not the discount code. Choose something descriptive, especially if you have multiple discount codes. Example: 'Black Friday Discounts'
Discount type: If you're using Passes, you can choose to make this code specifically redeemable against a pass purchase. Otherwise, select Ticket discount.
- You will need to create separate discount sets if you want a discount redeemable against both tickets and passes.
Restrict from date: Customers can use the discount against valid events from the date set.
Restrict until date: Customers can use the discount against valid events until the date set here (ending at 23:59 of the specified date).
Ticket discount applies to: You can restrict discounts by entry, ticket or tag. Your options will appear when you select Add usage restriction:
- Leaving it blank means customers with the discount code can apply it to all events on your schedule page.
You may have multiple entries or tickets with the same name, so you must choose all that are applicable. The next upcoming date and time are shown next to each entry to help identify the separate entries:
Codes: Select Add discount code:
Discount codes are NOT case-sensitive. A settings sub-menu will appear where you can add the code name (in the box under Add one or multiple codes).

💡 Helpful tip: Use a clear discount code name your customers will recognise. For example: BLACKFRIDAY24 or FRIDAY25OFF.
Choose the code to be either a Fixed or Percentage amount and add the discount amount, e.g. £2 or 20%.
Set an expiry date and/or how many times it can be used (if applicable).
- The expiry date refers to the booking date, not the event date.
Select Restrict to single use per booker email address to ensure the code can only be used once per email address:
If you need to edit these settings, you can delete the code by selecting the bin icon, then re-create it:
Select Add codes to add the code to the discount set, then select Save changes.

💡 Please note: Our discount code system doesn't have a built-in feature to limit codes to specific groups.

Additional settings:

Published?: You can toggle this to unpublish and republish the discount set at any time. It will not delete the discount.
Rules: This section is strictly for block booking discounts.

What works well

Time-limited percentage discounts
Fixed-amount savings for higher-priced events
Offers that only apply to certain ticket types

Creating a bulk-booking offer

Bulk booking discounts are ideal for encouraging customers to book multiple sessions at once. A bundle discount automatically applies when a customer adds enough qualifying tickets to their basket.

Select Packages & Discounts from the left-hand menu, then Discounts:
A "discount set" is like a folder for a group of discounts, including discount codes and rules for bulk purchase discounts. You can input your discount requirements within the set, and they could be grouped around a theme, like "Black Friday Offers".
Select Create a discount set:
Name the set: This is an internal reference name, not the discount code. Choose something descriptive, especially if you have multiple discount codes. Example: '15% Discount'
Discount type: If you're using Passes, you can choose to make this code specifically redeemable against a pass purchase. Otherwise, select Ticket discount.
- You will need to create separate discount sets if you want a discount redeemable against both tickets and passes.
Restrict from date: Customers can use the discount against valid events from the date set.
Restrict until date: Customers can use the discount against valid events until the date set here (ending at 23:59 of the specified date).
Ticket discount applies to: You can restrict discounts by entry, ticket or tag. Your options will appear when you select Add usage restriction:
- Leaving it blank means customers with the discount can apply it to all events on your schedule page.
- Free tickets are excluded from the bulk-booking discount offer.
You may have multiple entries or tickets with the same name, so you must choose all that are applicable. The next upcoming date and time are shown next to each entry to help identify the separate entries:
Rules: Set the rule for your bulk-booking offer. Select Add discount rule:
In the Minimum tickets selected field, set the minimum selection requirement, i.e., the number of minimum tickets a customer must select to receive a discount.
Choose the rule to be either a Fixed or Percentage amount and add the discount amount, e.g. £2 or 20%.
Set an expiry date (if applicable).
Add a Days in advance limit: This option allows you to restrict the discount to tickets selected within a set number of days after the first ticket.
Restrict the selection by ticking the Only count separate events checkbox. This option counts tickets only for separate events.
Select Add rule to add the rule to the discount set, then select Save changes.

What works well

Regular classes
Events with multiple dates where you want to promote repeat attendance

How bulk booking discounts and discount rules work together

Discount rules and discount codes are independent of each other. Customers don’t need to enter a code for a bulk booking discount, as these are applied automatically.
If you delete a discount rule, any tickets purchased using that rule will be "frozen," meaning they cannot be transferred.

Use ticket scheduling to create a Black Friday ticket type

If you prefer not to use discount codes or bulk-booking offers, a temporary ticket type can create a clean, time-boxed offer.

To create a Black Friday ticket

Select your entry from your scheduling page, then Edit entry to open the entry settings.
Select the Tickets & Costs tab, then Create ticket to create a new ticket with the special Black Friday price.
Select Save ticket.
If you'd like to hide your existing ticket, open your current ticket settings within the entry and untick the Show this ticket checkbox.
Save your entry by selecting Save or Save & Exit.