Maximize your property's earning potential by learning how to use Flexible Stays to fill calendar gaps and attract more bookings. This guide will walk you through the activation process, benefits, and important considerations for using this powerful feature.

What Are Flexible Stays?

Flexible Stays is a Holidu feature designed to help you capitalize on gaps in your calendar that would otherwise remain unbookable. These gaps, displayed in purple on your calendar, represent nights that your current settings don't allow guests to book due to minimum stay requirements or fixed check-in and check-out days. By enabling Flexible Stays, you make these nights available for booking without modifying your overall calendar availability settings. This simple adjustment can significantly increase your reservation volume and revenue.

How to Activate Flexible Stays

Activating Flexible Stays takes just a few minutes. You can configure this feature from two convenient locations in your Holidu account: the Discounts section or the Calendar section. Both methods achieve the same result.

Activation via the Discounts Section

1. Log in to your Holidu account and select the property you wish to update
2. Navigate to "Configuration" in the left-hand 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" to open the settings
6. Choose your preferred minimum stay length: 1, 2, or 3 nights for the gap period
7. Set your price per night, with the option to increase it by up to 50% above your standard rate
8. Click "Activate" to confirm and apply the configuration

Activation via the Calendar Section

1. Navigate to your property's calendar
2. Click directly on the purple indicator showing a calendar gap
3. Choose your minimum stay requirement: 1, 2, or 3 nights
4. Set your pricing for these special nights, with options up to 50% above your standard rate
5. Click "Activate" to enable Flexible Stays for that gap period

What Are the Benefits?

Flexible Stays offers numerous advantages for property owners looking to increase their earning potential:

• More Bookings: Enable short-stay reservations during peak seasons and high-demand periods, capturing bookings you would otherwise miss
• Better Visibility: Research shows that over 20% of peak season searches are for short stays—Flexible Stays helps you capture this significant market segment
• More Reviews: Every additional booking is an opportunity to earn valuable guest reviews and improve your property rating
• Higher Search Ranking: Reducing calendar gaps and maintaining higher occupancy rates boosts your visibility in Holidu search results
• Save Time: Automate the process of opening calendar gaps for short stays without manually adjusting your settings for each period

Important Things to Keep in Mind

Before activating Flexible Stays, review these key points to ensure the feature works optimally for your property:

• The feature only affects calendar gaps where your current minimum stay and booking rules prevent reservations
• Flexible Stays settings override your standard minimum stay requirements for the specified gap periods only
• Check-in and check-out are possible on any day during Flexible Stay bookings, providing maximum flexibility to guests
• When a booking is made through Flexible Stays, the special pricing and stay rules apply exclusively to that reservation period
• All Flexible Stay bookings are clearly tagged in your calendar, making them easy to identify and manage
• You retain full control and can deactivate the feature at any time from the same configuration menu
• You can still manually block specific dates even when Flexible Stays is active, maintaining complete control over your calendar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I exclude certain dates from Flexible Stays?

When you activate Flexible Stays, it applies to all calendar gaps that match your configured settings. However, you maintain full control over your calendar. You can still manually block any specific dates you don't want to open for bookings, giving you precise control over which gaps are filled.

Do guests see the purple gaps on my calendar?

No. The purple gaps indicating calendar availability are visible exclusively to you as the property owner. They serve as a visual tool to highlight opportunities where bookings are being missed. Guests see the property availability through the normal booking interface and are not shown this internal indicator.

Can I change the Flexible Stays settings later?

Absolutely. You have complete flexibility to modify or disable Flexible Stays at any time. You can update your minimum stay requirements, adjust pricing, or turn off the feature entirely by returning to the same configuration menu where you originally activated it. Changes take effect immediately on your calendar.

What pricing should I set for Flexible Stay bookings?

You can set pricing up to 50% higher than your standard nightly rate. Consider your market demand, seasonal trends, and local competition when deciding your pricing strategy. Higher pricing during peak seasons can optimize your revenue per booking, while competitive pricing during slower periods helps maximize occupancy.

How do Flexible Stay bookings appear in my booking management?

Flexible Stay bookings are clearly tagged and labeled in your calendar, making them instantly recognizable. This helps you distinguish between standard reservations and those made through the Flexible Stays feature, allowing you to manage expectations and communication with guests appropriately.

Can I use Flexible Stays for all my properties?

Yes. You can activate Flexible Stays for each of your properties individually. Simply select the property you want to configure and follow the activation steps. Each property can have its own minimum stay and pricing settings tailored to its specific market conditions and your management preferences.

Ready to fill those calendar gaps and increase your earnings? Log into your Holidu account today and activate Flexible Stays for your properties. Every gap you fill is an opportunity for more bookings, reviews, and revenue.