Listing question - minimum days

[Elizabeth4059]

I just listed my house yesterday and have a 5 night minimum on it. Should I take that down and open to any nights for better chance of bookings with no reviews?

[Mustapha117]

Bonjour 

[Hubert--J0]

Hi @Elizabeth4059 

This is all up to you really. Set minimum nights usually reduces your frequency of bookings and at the same time, reduces your cost of changeovers and overheads. Try them both out and see which works best for you. We can also introduce minimum nights for weekends only. 

[Leonardo1460]

Assolutamente si

[Antoni-and-Chomo0]

Hello, 

First of all, very nice house, it looks very cozy. 

Regarding your question, I think that to find the best (I mean the most profitable) nº of nights, you have to calculate the balance between these factors: 

- Season of the year (or even the day of the week)

- Time and money that you spend on cleaning the house. 

- $ that you charge per night. 

- Inquiries that you are having. The more you have, the more you can demand (with caution of course). 

That's my opinion. 

Sorry for my english, I'm from Spain Lol 😅

[John9068]

First @Elizabeth4059 , you need to do your research. Look at comparable listings. What is the minimum night stay?

There is also software that can help with this and save you time. 

Also, look at the booking window. Are you trying to fill for next month or 3 or more months away? As the dates get closer, you may want to bring down the min stay. You want to set up orphan days to rent the days in between. For example, you have 3 days available in between two 5-night stays. Set it up so guests can then book those 3 nights to help fill the calendar.

Here for any questions or advice

John L

[Elizabeth4059]

Ok thank you @John9068 ! 

[Aniket35]

Can you tell Softwares name 

[Tona47]

Interested in software 

[Richard3358]

I always work with 3 night minimums, but I prefer longer.   It all seems to work out and I even fill the 2 day openings in peak season as long as my cleaner can take care of that.  I think especially if your just getting started its a good idea to allow 3 days....VERY important to get good ratings it most DEFINATELY sells your property!!!

[Heather2271]

I have mine set to allow for one  night stays. I get a lot of business because I am one of the few people in my area that allow that. I found that niche and it has paid off. Yes, it's a lot of work to reset things for just one night but I am getting the business. 

[Artour1]

The longer the stay the better as we minimize costs. We also save time because more guests means you probably have to communicate more often. 

Ideally you would want to gather your local data and see how many nights people book more often.

1-2 nights stay are terrible because they ruin your calendar availability. Lets say someone books 10 july 1 night. Another person wants to book for 1 week+ but your listing will not show up in his search for that date. You just lost a potential long reservation and inflated your costs.

1 night is good for last minute (last week) bookings as there could be lot of people who are passing by wanting to stay for a night. 

There is also an idea of letting 1 night as long as there is another reservation on next/previous dates. You have 10-15july booked you could let 9 16 july for 1 night. The downside is we block a potential long stay that would book that day. It is a new strategy I am thinking so it could be wrong.

For a new listing I would set min stay 1 night in the first month maybe even 2 weeks only with a very competitive price just to get some momentum.

[Federico1412]

Hi @Elizabeth4059 , maybe 5 nights minimum is a bit high, if you don't get reservations bring it down. We have a minimum of 2 ni

[Laurelle3]

@Elizabeth4059  great question. My reply is each Host needs to know there own market and what works for their property. Factors such as seasons. Guest demands,cleaning costs, and wear and tear all play a part. It is also important that you can maintain a high standard presentation and guest reviews.

For my Airbnb listing we have found 2 nights minimum works well for us. But every property and market is different. So you might need to do a trial and error to find your right balance. A suggestion is also check your local market and see what other listings in your local area too. 

[Alison1104]

When I started 3 years ago I opened it to all bookings - even 1 nighters, hard work but you need to get the reviews to start with, I now do a minimum of 2 nights and am ticking over nicely, most bookings are for 3 nights.