Minimum Stay

Minimum stay rules set how many nights a guest must book. Use them to fill busy periods like weekends, events and holidays with longer stays.

Types of minimum stay rules

There are two types, and they differ in which nights count:

• Minimum stay through. Every night of the stay counts, so a booking must be at least as long as the highest minimum among its nights. Use it to protect a busy stretch, whichever night guests arrive.
• Minimum stay on arrival. Only the check-in night counts. Use it to set how long stays that start on a given night must be.

Try it

Weekends are your busiest nights, so Friday and Saturday ask for 3 nights and Sunday for 2. Move the stay and watch which nights each rule reads. A stay can’t be booked when the nights it needs run past check-out.

Example stays

TryThu to SatFri to SunFri to MonSun to Tue

Wed–no minimum

Thu–no minimum

Friminminimum 3

Satminminimum 3

Sunminminimum 2

Mon–no minimum

Thu to Sat, 2 nights

Check-out Sat

Minimum stay throughReads every night of the stayCan't be booked

–min3

Needs 31 short

Minimum stay on arrivalReads only the check-in nightBookable

–min3

No minimum

Drag the stay or its ends, or tap a night to check in there.

Thu to Sat, 2 nights. Minimum stay through: can't be booked, needs 3 nights. Minimum stay on arrival: bookable, needs 1 night.

Using both rules together

On a channel that reads both, like Booking.com, a stay has to meet both. For example, say every night has a minimum stay through of 2, and Fridays also have a minimum stay on arrival of 4:

• A stay that checks in on Friday needs 4 nights.
• Any other stay needs 2 nights. That includes Thursday to Sunday, which covers Friday but doesn’t start on it.

You can skip minimum stay rules for bookings you create manually in n824 yourself.

Gaps between bookings

A minimum stay can create gaps between bookings that are shorter than the required minimum, making those nights unbookable.

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun

BookedBooked2 free nights

Needs 3Booked

Minimum stay through on Wed and Thu

1234

Can't be booked

To sell a gap like this, lower the minimum stay on its nights to the gap’s length or shorter.

Channel support

• Booking.com supports both minimum stay through and minimum stay on arrival.
• Airbnb reads only one type. You choose which in your Airbnb account settings.