---
title: "Why didn't my price rule charge the price I expected?"
slug: "why-did-a-guest-pay-a-different-price"
description: "Uncover common reasons for unexpected guest prices and learn how to troubleshoot booking issues effectively with our comprehensive guide."
updated: 2026-10-13T18:10:23Z
published: 2026-10-13T18:10:23Z
canonical: "mysupport.roller.software/why-did-a-guest-pay-a-different-price"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mysupport.roller.software/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Why didn't my price rule charge the price I expected?

When a guest pays a price you weren't expecting, the rule is usually working correctly and something about the booking, the product or the timing is different from what you had in mind. This guide walks through the most common reasons, in the order they're worth checking.

## Common causes

- The rule isn't applied to the product, or a tier has no price
- A higher-priority tier applied instead of the one you expected
- The tickets didn't count toward the tier you expected
- A different resource set the capacity tier
- The price was changed after the booking was taken
- The booking was amended after it was sold
- The guest bought on a channel the rule doesn't price

## Solution

Start with the booking itself: what was bought, when it was booked, for what date, and through which channel. Then work down the causes below. Each one is independent, so check the ones that fit what you're seeing rather than all seven.

> [!NOTE]
> You'll need the **Can manage price rules** permission to open a rule and check its tiers, and **Can edit products** to check or change a rule on a product.

## Check the rule is applied and every tier is priced

A product with no rule, or with a blank tier column, charges its standard price.

1. From Venue Manager, go to **Products** > **All products** and select the product.
2. Scroll to the **Price rule** drop-down field.
3. Confirm the **Price rule** drop-down shows the rule you expect, not **Fixed price**.
4. In the variations table, check every ticket variation has a price in every tier column.

> [!NOTE]
> If the rule you want isn't in the drop-down at all, it may not be supported for that product type. See [How price rules work with different product types.](/v1/docs/price-rules-product-types)

## Check which tier applied for time-based price rules

For a time-based rule, more than one tier can cover the same session. Tiers apply in this order:

1. Custom dates (eg holidays or special events)
2. Override times (specific hours within a day, for session passes and party packages)
3. Recurring days (eg every Saturday and Sunday)
4. Base tier

A custom date group left in place from a past event still wins, which is the most common cause of a price nobody expected.

1. Go to **Products** > **Price rules** > **All rules** and open the rule.
2. Check the custom date groups for a period that covers the booking date.
3. Remove or re-date any group that has passed.

## Check how tickets are counted for quantity-based rules

For a quantity-based rule, how tickets count toward a tier is set in the rule, not the product settings.

- **Any variation** counts all ticket types together, so 2 adults and 1 child qualify for a "3+" tier.
- **Specific variation** counts each ticket type separately, so 2 adults and 1 child do not qualify, but 3 adults do.

If a guest bought a mixed group and didn't get the tier price, open the rule and check which counting method it uses.

Tickets also only count toward a tier when they're for the same product, date and session time.

## Check which resource set the tier for capacity-based rules

A capacity-based rule prices off the fullest of the resources assigned to the product. A party package can show your highest tier while the main activity area is nearly empty, because one of its party rooms is almost fully booked.

To see which resources a product uses, go to **Products** > **All products** and select it. A session pass lists them in the **Resource** field. A party package lists them in its party program. See [Create a capacity-based price rule](/v1/docs/create-a-capacity-based-price-rule) for how capacity is counted.

## Check when the price was changed

Tier price changes apply to new bookings only. A booking already taken keeps the price it was sold at, on every rule type.

If you updated a price recently and an older booking still shows the old amount, that's expected behavior rather than a fault. Check the booking's creation date against the date you changed the price.

## Check whether the booking was updated

What happens to the price when a booking changes depends on the rule type.

| Rule type | What happens when the booking changes |
| --- | --- |
| Quantity-based | The price updates automatically if the number of tickets changes |
| Time-based | The price updates if the booking moves to a different day, time or custom date period |
| Early bird | The price stays the same, because it's locked to the original booking date |
| Capacity-based (beta) | The booking holds the price it was sold at |

> [!NOTE]
> When a guest arrives on the wrong day and staff reschedule the ticket at POS rather than redeeming it, POS shows any price difference before confirming, based on your existing price rules. Moving a booking from an off-peak day to a peak day shows that difference upfront, and staff can issue a credit or keep the original price. See [ROLLER release notes: January 2026](/v1/docs/roller-release-notes-january-2026).

## Check the channel the guest bought through

Quantity-based, time-based and early bird rules price the online checkout, POS and Venue Manager automatically.

Self-serve kiosks and the legacy checkout charge the product's standard rate, so a guest buying there pays the normal price while the same ticket in the online checkout follows the rule.

Capacity-based rules are different again. You select which channels the tiers price on when you create the rule, and a channel you leave out charges the base price.

To check where a rule prices, see [Which sales channels a price rule applies to](/v1/docs/price-rules-sales-channels).

## Related

- [How price rules work with different product types](/price-rules-product-types.md)
- [Which sales channels a price rule applies to](/price-rules-sales-channels.md)
- [Apply a price rule to products](/apply-a-price-rule-to-products-and-set-prices.md)
- [Manage and optimize price rules](/manage-and-optimize-your-price-rules.md)