With Holidu's Flexible Stays feature, you can maximize your earnings by filling gaps between bookings. These gaps, shown in purple on your calendar, are nights that wouldn't usually be bookable due to minimum stay rules or fixed check-in/out days. By enabling Flexible Stays, you make these nights bookable without affecting your overall availability. It's a simple way to get more reservations and increase your revenue.

Understanding Flexible Stays

Flexible Stays is a powerful revenue optimization tool designed to help property managers earn more by converting calendar gaps into bookable nights. When you have gaps between confirmed reservations that fall below your minimum stay requirement or don't align with your check-in/check-out rules, Flexible Stays allows you to open these periods to guests with customizable pricing and stay requirements. This means fewer empty nights and more consistent income throughout the year.

How to Activate Flexible Stays

You can configure Flexible Stays settings from two convenient locations: the Discounts section or the Calendar section. Both methods lead to the same outcome, so choose whichever is most convenient for your workflow.

From the Discounts Section

1. Log in to your Holidu Account and select the property you want to update
2. Go to "Configuration" on the left-hand side menu
3. Scroll down and click on "Discounts"
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Flexible Stays section
5. Click on "Configure"
6. Choose your preferred minimum stay length: 1, 2, or 3 nights
7. Set your pricing increase: up to 50% above your currently configured price per night
8. Click "Activate" to confirm your configuration

From the Calendar Section

1. Navigate to your property's calendar view
2. Click on the purple indicator showing your calendar gap
3. Choose your preferred minimum stay length: 1, 2, or 3 nights
4. Set your pricing increase: up to 50% above your currently configured price per night
5. Click "Activate" to confirm your configuration

Key Benefits of Using Flexible Stays

• More Bookings: Enable short stays during high-demand periods that would otherwise remain empty
• Better Visibility: Over 20% of peak season searches are for short stays—don't miss these opportunities
• More Reviews: Every additional stay gives you the chance to earn valuable guest feedback and improve your property rating
• Higher Search Ranking: Bookable gaps improve your property's performance score in search results, making you more visible to potential guests
• Save Time: Eliminate the need to manually adjust your calendar settings for each gap period

Things to Keep in Mind

• Calendar Gaps Only: The Flexible Stays feature only affects calendar gaps where your current settings don't allow bookings. It won't modify existing confirmed reservations.
• Overrides Current Settings: When activated, this setting overrides your minimum stay requirements and short stay restrictions specifically for those gap periods.
• Flexible Check-In/Check-Out: Check-in and check-out are possible on any day during Flexible Stays periods, giving guests maximum flexibility.
• Period-Specific Rules: If a booking is made during a Flexible Stays period, the special pricing and stay rules apply only to that specific booking.
• Calendar Tagging: Flexible Stay bookings are clearly tagged in your calendar so you can easily identify and manage them.
• Easy Deactivation: You can disable the feature anytime from the same menu without affecting other property settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I exclude certain dates from Flexible Stays?

Activating Flexible Stays currently applies to all gap nights that match your specified settings. However, you retain full control: you can manually block any dates you don't want to open for booking using your calendar's blocking feature. This allows you to maintain exclusions for maintenance, personal use, or any other reason while still benefiting from Flexible Stays on other gap periods.

Do guests see the purple gaps on my calendar?

No. The purple gap indicators are visible only to you in your host dashboard. Guests see your property's availability through the normal search and booking interface. These visual markers simply help you identify where bookings are being missed and where Flexible Stays could help fill those periods.

Can I change my Flexible Stays settings later?

Yes, absolutely. You can update your minimum stay length, adjust your pricing percentage, or completely disable Flexible Stays at any time. Simply return to either the Discounts or Calendar section and modify your settings. Changes take effect immediately and won't affect any existing reservations.

What happens to my base pricing when I enable Flexible Stays?

Your base pricing remains unchanged. Flexible Stays only affects the pricing for those specific gap nights, allowing you to increase rates up to 50% above your currently configured price. This premium pricing helps compensate for the shorter stay requirement while remaining attractive to guests looking for quick trips.

Will Flexible Stays affect my minimum stay requirements for regular bookings?

No. Flexible Stays only modifies booking rules for specific calendar gaps. Your standard minimum stay requirements remain in effect for all other dates. This means you maintain control over your property's booking patterns while selectively opening gaps that would otherwise go unbookable.

How do I know which bookings are Flexible Stays bookings?

All bookings made during Flexible Stays periods are clearly tagged in your calendar. This visual indicator helps you quickly identify which reservations fall under your Flexible Stays settings, making it easy to manage and track these bookings separately from your regular reservations.