Minimum Stay Restrictions allow you to control how long bookings should be for certain dates. These settings require a good understanding of your market and the type of bookings you aim to attract.

Types of Minimum Stay Restrictions

1. Min-Stay on Arrival – The minimum stay requirement is applied based on the check-in date.
   
2. Min-Stay Through (specific to MiniHotel and Lodgify) – The minimum stay must be met for all dates between check-in and check-out, excluding the check-out date.
   

How to Set Minimum Stay Restrictions

Like other customizations, you can apply Minimum Stay Restrictions at the Listing, Group, or Account level. To access these options:

• Click the Edit button in the Customizations panel when reviewing a listing’s prices.
  

Available Options for Minimum Stay Rules

Min Stay Recommendation Engine

• Click “Help me choose minimum stays” to generate recommendations.
  
• View recommended minimum stays for each month by clicking the info button.
  
• Use these recommendations to create Minimum Stay Profiles and apply them to your Seasonal Profiles.
  

Watch the tutorial on Suggested Seasonal Minimum Stay Settings.
Click here to learn more about the Min-Stay Recommendation Engine.

Minimum-Stay Profiles

There are two options:

1. Use an Existing Min-Stay Profile
   
1. If you have a saved profile, you can select it directly without re-entering details.
   
2. Create a New Profile
   
1. Click "+ Create Profile" to define a new profile tailored to your needs.
   

Custom Min Stay Rules

1. Default Min Stay Rule

1. This is the default setting that will apply to all dates unless an exception is specified using one of the special rules. You can select from three options:
1. Fixed (most common) – Set different minimum stays for weekdays and weekends.
2. Booking Value – Ensures bookings meet a minimum revenue threshold. If the value entered is 300 (in the same currency as the listing), the system will calculate a minimum stay for the check-in date, ensuring that no booking generates less than 300 in revenue.
   
1. Example: For five consecutive dates with prices of 100, 200, 150, 100, 200, the minimum nights would be:
   
1. 2 nights for 100 + 200
   
2. 2 nights for 200 + 150
   
3. 3 nights for 150 + 100 + 200
   
4. 2 nights for 100 + 200
   

• None (rarely used) – Disables minimum stay rules, preventing special rules from being applied.
• You won’t be able to save any of the special rules (e.g., last-minute, orphan, or far-out bookings).
• If you have existing settings for these rules, they will still apply unless turned off. We recommend disabling these rules if you select None.
  

2. Minimum Stay for Last-Minute Bookings

• You can define a minimum night requirement and specify how many days in advance it should become active.
• Example:
  
• Set a 1-night minimum for weekdays and a 2-night minimum for weekends within the next 7 days.
  
• Helps secure shorter last-minute bookings.
  
• You can configure up to three last-minute minimum night rules.

3. Minimum Stay for Far-Out Bookings

• You can define a minimum night requirement and specify how far in advance it should apply.
• Example:
  
• For bookings 180+ days out, set a 5-night minimum on weekdays and 7-night minimum on weekends.
  
• Helps fill the calendar with longer bookings while allowing shorter stays closer to check-in dates.

4. Minimum Stay for Orphan Bookings

• You can configure your settings so that any minimum night rules are overridden if the default minimum stay is longer than an orphan gap between bookings. For example, a 2-night gap will not be adjusted if your default minimum stay is set to one night.
  
• To enable this feature:
  
• Ensure a default minimum stay rule is in place, as it determines the gap length.
• Choose from several options in the dropdown menu, which are activated only if the minimum stay needs to be reduced to fit a booking into the gap:
  
• Length of Gap: For gaps of a specified length (e.g., 1 to 4 days), the minimum stay will be set to match the length of the gap.
  
• Example:
  
  • For a 3-day gap, the minimum stay will be set to 3 nights.
    
  • If you’re using a value-based default minimum stay, the daily rates for the orphan period will adjust to meet the required booking value.
    
• Length of Gap - 1 or 2: For gaps of a specified length (e.g., 1 to 4 days), the minimum stay can be set to one or two nights shorter than the length of the gap.
  
• Example:
  
  • For a 4-day gap, the minimum stay could be set to 2 or 3 nights, making it easier to fill the gap with shorter bookings.
  • Note: A 1-day gap will always remain at a 1-night minimum stay.
    
  • If you’re using a value-based default minimum stay, the daily rates for the orphan period will adjust to ensure that the shortest stay meets the required booking value.
    
• Choose a number: If the value in the box is set to 1, a 1-night minimum stay will be applied to all days within gaps of 1 to 4 days. 
  
• You can apply the same number of gap nights to multiple rules across different day ranges for added flexibility and consistency.
  

5. Minimum Stay for Adjacent Bookings

• These settings let you adjust the minimum stays for dates before and after existing bookings. They are specifically designed to accommodate shorter bookings when they do not create a gap night. 
  
• Adjacent bookings BEFORE an existing booking/block: These settings allow you to define the types of bookings you’re willing to accept before an existing booking or blocked date.
  
• Example:
  
• A 2-night booking is acceptable if it begins 2 nights before an unavailable date, ensuring that no gap days are created.
  
• Adjacent bookings AFTER an existing booking/block: These settings allow you to define the types of bookings you’re willing to accept after an existing booking or blocked date.
  
• They can be used to prevent orphan gaps from being created after a booking.
  
• You can specify if shorter bookings are acceptable, provided they do not result in a gap.
  
• Tip: For more details, refer to our article on Preventing Gap Creation Using Min-Stay Settings.
  
• You can add the same number of minimum nights to multiple rules for different day ranges.

6. Lowest Minimum Stay Allowed

• This option functions similarly to a minimum price but applies to minimum stays.
  
• It has the highest priority among all rules and ensures that the minimum stay cannot be reduced below this value, even with Date-Specific Overrides (DSOs).
  
• It’s particularly useful for listings requiring a higher minimum stay, as it prevents group customizations or overrides from lowering the minimum stay below the set threshold.
  

7. Advanced Features (Available by Request)

• Some advanced settings are available upon request. Feel free to contact our support team to enable them for your account.
  
• Allow Min-Stay Increase:
  
• This feature permits minimum stay increases through Orphan and Adjacent rules. Users with this setting will see a checkbox at each rule level to enable minimum stay increases.
  
• Don't Overwrite Date Overrides:
  
• This option ensures that Orphan Min-Stay settings do not reduce the minimum stay when a Date-Specific Override (DSO) is in place. Users with this customization will see a checkbox applicable to all Orphan Min-Stay levels.
  

Minimum Stay Restrictions for Specific Dates or Events

Group and Account Level Minimum Stay Restrictions

1. You can also apply minimum stay settings to specific groups of listings or your entire account through the Customization page (Dynamic Pricing > Customizations).
   
1. Account-Level Rules: These will apply to all listings by default.
   
2. Group-Level Rules: Apply to specific groups of listings.
   
3. Individual Listings: For listings requiring unique rules, you can override group or account-level settings individually, as described earlier.
   
4. Important Notes:
   
1. When minimum-night settings are applied at multiple levels, only the most specific level (e.g., individual listing) will take effect.
   
2. Minimum-night settings are all or nothing, meaning rules from different levels cannot combine (e.g., you cannot mix customizations from account-level and group-level rules).
   
3. For a detailed explanation of the hierarchy, refer to this guide.
   

Hierarchy of Minimum Stay Restrictions

Managing minimum stay restrictions is a critical part of optimizing bookings and reducing unoccupied gaps. However, with multiple rules and customizations available, it’s essential to understand how they interact and which ones take priority in specific scenarios.

1. Lowest Minimum Stay Allowed
   
2. Orphan Day Minimum Stay
   
3. Date-Specific Override Minimum Stay
   
4. Adjacent Day (After Booking) Minimum Stay
   
5. Adjacent Day (Before Booking) Minimum Stay
   
6. Far-Out Minimum Stay
   
7. Last-Minute Minimum Stay
   
8. Default Minimum Stay

Example:

• If a Last-Minute Day is also an Orphan Day, the Orphan Day rule applies (higher priority).