Minimum and maximum stays control how many nights a guest can book, and let you charge different prices for different lengths of stay. You set them on the room, the offer and each price, and adjust them for individual dates in the Calendar.
Table of Contents
- Where minimum and maximum stays are set
- Restriction strategy: Stay Through or Arrival
- Change the minimum stay on individual dates
- Charge a higher price for short stays
- Set a minimum stay for weekends only
- Set a minimum stay for a season or period
- Set a minimum stay depending on when the booking is made
- Set a minimum stay for a check-in day
- Set minimum stays with Daily Prices
- Send minimum stays to channels
Where minimum and maximum stays are set
| Level | Minimum stay | Maximum stay |
|---|---|---|
| Room (Settings > Properties > Rooms > Setup) | The lowest minimum stay allowed at any time. No other setting can go below it. | The highest maximum stay allowed at any time. |
| Offer (Settings > Properties > Offers) | Can be set per offer. | Not set here. |
| Price (Prices > Daily Price Rules or Prices > Fixed Prices) | Each Daily Price and Fixed Price can have its own value. | Each Daily Price and Fixed Price can have its own value. |
| Calendar | Can be increased for dates. It can't be lower than the value for the room, offer, Daily Price or Fixed Price. | Can be reduced for dates. It can't be higher than the value for the room, Daily Price or Fixed Price. |
Tip: to sell nights left over by a minimum stay, use a gap filler.
Restriction strategy: Stay Through or Arrival
The Restriction Strategy in Settings > Properties > Rooms > Setup sets how the minimum and maximum stays of your prices are applied. In most cases, use Stay Through.
- Stay Through: the minimum and maximum stay must be met for every night of the stay where the price applies.
- Arrival: only the minimum and maximum stay of the check-in date must be met.
Example: weekdays have a 2-night minimum stay, Friday and Saturday a 3-night minimum stay. A guest wants to arrive on Thursday for 2 nights. With Stay Through, the booking isn't possible because the 3-night minimum applies to Friday. With Arrival, the booking is possible because the 2-night minimum of Thursday applies and the Friday rule is ignored.
Change the minimum stay on individual dates
Steps:
- In the Calendar, go to the date and click in the Min Stay field.
- In the pop-up, enter the new minimum number of nights. You can only increase it.
- For a date range, also set the end date.
Expected result: the new minimum stay shows in the Min Stay row for those dates.
Tip: if you normally require a minimum stay but allow shorter stays to fill gaps, create a gap filler.
Charge a higher price for short stays
Example: guests who stay one or two nights pay more than guests who stay three nights or more. Create two Daily Prices or two Fixed Prices:
| Price | Minimum Stay | Maximum Stay |
|---|---|---|
| Price 1 (short stays, higher price) | 1 | 2 |
| Price 2 (longer stays, lower price) | 3 | 999 |
Note: make sure the minimum and maximum stays of the prices don't overlap, or the prices won't work as expected. You can create as many prices as your pricing needs.
Set a minimum stay for weekends only
Option 1: override in the Calendar
Click in the Min Stay field on the date, tick the weekend days in the pop-up and set the date range.
Option 2: two Fixed Prices
Two Fixed Prices let you set a different minimum stay depending on the check-in day. This example sets a 2-night minimum for Friday arrivals and a 1-night minimum for arrivals on every other day.
- Fixed Price 1: Minimum stay = 1 night, Allowed deselected for Friday.
- Fixed Price 2: Minimum stay = 2 nights. If this price is the same as or higher than Fixed Price 1, leave it available on all nights. If the 2-night weekend price is lower and not allowed on weekdays, deselect Allowed for the weekdays.
Note: keep the check-in and check-out tick boxes selected on all days for both prices. Otherwise the prices can't be combined for bookings that include both weekend and weekdays.
Set a minimum stay for a season or period
Example 1: the normal minimum stay is 1 night. In July you want a minimum stay of 3 nights.
Option 1: override in the Calendar. Click in the Min Stay field on July 1, enter 3 and set the date range to July 31.
Option 2: three Fixed Prices. All three use Strategy = Do not allow lower prices.
| Fixed Price | First night | Last night | Minimum stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal price | Today (or when it starts) | June 30 | 1 night |
| High season | July 1 | July 31 | 3 nights |
| Normal price | August 1 | June 30 (next year) | 1 night |
Example 2: the normal minimum stay is 2 nights. For check-ins between 27 December and 5 January you want a minimum stay of 5 nights and a higher price for the first 5 nights.
Option 1: create a holiday Fixed Price with First night = 27 December, Last night = 5 January (following year), Minimum stay = 5 nights and Strategy = Do not allow lower prices. The holiday price applies until 5 January. From 6 January your normal price applies again.
Option 2: end your normal Fixed Price on 26 December and start a new one on 8 January. Then create:
- Holiday Fixed Price: First night = 27 December, Last night = 7 January (following year), Minimum stay = 5 nights, Strategy = Allow lower prices.
- Filler Fixed Price at your normal price: First night = 6 January, Last night = 8 January, Minimum stay = 2 nights, Strategy = Allow lower prices, check-out not allowed on the weekdays that 6 and 7 January fall on.
Guests checking in up to 6 January pay the holiday price. Guests checking in on 6 January or later pay the normal price.
Example 3: the normal minimum stay is 4 nights. For stays between 27 December and 7 January, even if they start earlier, you want a minimum stay of at least 7 nights.
- Create a holiday Fixed Price with First night = 27 December, Last night = 7 January (following year), Minimum stay = 7 nights and Strategy = Do not allow lower prices.
- In the Calendar, select No Check-out in Override for the dates from 27 December to 2 January.
The holiday price and minimum stay apply until 7 January, with a stay of at least 7 nights across these dates.
Set a minimum stay depending on when the booking is made
Example: the normal minimum stay is 2 nights. For last-minute bookings made up to 3 days before check-in, a 1-night stay is accepted. Both prices use Strategy = Do not allow lower prices.
| Fixed Price | Minimum stay | Min days until check-in |
|---|---|---|
| Normal price | 2 | 3 |
| Last-minute price | 1 | 1 |
See also Last-Minute Prices and Early Booker prices.
Set a minimum stay for a check-in day
Example: a minimum stay of 3 nights for check-ins on Monday.
Option 1: set the minimum stay in the Calendar. Click in the Min Stay field, enter 3, tick only Monday and set the date range.
Option 2: two Fixed Prices.
| Fixed Price | Minimum stay | Allowed | Check-in Allowed | Check-out Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal price | 1 | All days | All days except Monday | All days |
| Monday price | 3 | All days | Only Monday | All days |
Set minimum stays with Daily Prices
Steps:
- Go to Prices > Daily Price Rules and add a new Daily Price.
- Set the Minimum Stay for each Daily Price.
- Go to the Calendar and enter the price in the row of each Daily Price.
Send minimum stays to channels
Minimum stays are sent to channels that support them. See which channels support prices for different lengths of stay in Channel Manager Capabilities, and check the help page of each channel you use.