Hi All, we have a house on the UK south coast which sleeps 17+: just wondering about anyone's experience of going from 2 to 3 night minimum stay

[Jane3220]

We are in Swanage UK, a very popular seaside resort, especially in these Covid times. As many people are working at least partially from home/from anywhere with internet we thought this might work.

[Anonymous]

@Jane3220  Despite being in a location that gets a lot of 1-2 night visitors, I always found that there were enough 3 night bookings to keep my occupancy rates where I liked them. Having a longer minimum stay paid off in terms of less changeover work, less wear and tear on linens, and more relaxed guests.

It is always an option to selectively offer a lower minimum stay at a higher nightly rate for specific gaps in your calendar you'd like to fill, but defaulting to a higher minimum should get you better bang for your buck on cleaning while also helping discourage illicit parties. 

[Jane3220]

Thanks...we are giving some thought. We are currently booked until mid November so I don't think there should be shortage of people who might like it.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jane3220 We have, for our 3 bed apartment a 3 night minimum stay but raise this over the summer to 7 nights with check in and out forced to be a Saturday. We were fully booked last summer (from when lockdown eased). I would recommend a 3 night minimum as the work is just too great for only 2 nights!

[Jane3220]

Yes, we already do 3 night minimum in normal school holidays instead of upping the nightly rate, plus Saturday-Saturday in the 6 week summer holidays...I'm becoming convinced this could work, thanks