2 night minimum

[Cindy465]

Wondering if anyone has advice for me if I should change to 2 night minimum bookings? I ask because my washing bill is so high & the extra organising I have to do to accommodate these single nighters is a little exhausting. Just worried though that I wont book as much.

Is there a function where you can put an extra fee for single night bookings?

Cheers, Cindy

[Noel102]

It is likely you will indeed lose bookings.  I think all comes down to balancing the revenue with your costs and labor.  There isn't a way to charge an extra fee, as far as I am aware, but the effective rate is much higher if you have a cleaning fee because the cleaning fee is not spread out over several nights.  If the extra work and costs of cleaning/turnover are more than you think is wirth it for what you are bringing in, then it probably makes good sense to go to a 2-night minimum.  I thought about going to a 2-night minimum, but approximately 15% of my bookings are single nights.  That's a pretty high percentage, so I didn't.    Sometimes I'll block a night after a booking just to get a break because single nights can create a real hassle for same-day turnovers really close together.  

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Cindy465 

I think it would ultimately depend on the type of guests you tend to get....... if you are near an airport or get people who are passing thru on their way somewhere else then I'd assume you get a lot of 1-nighers. If this is the case, you should adjust your cleaning fee/nightly rates to make sure you are compensated properly for your efforts and service.

If you are in a destination location maybe try switching to a 2-night minimum, but after a certain amount of bookings are secured you can manually adjust the min requirement to a 1-night min to get remaining dates filled? 

[Sarah977]

@Cindy465  As @Jessica-and-Henry0  say, it really depends on your market. I'm in a vacation destination, so my minimum is 3 nights, max 2 weeks, and the majority of my guests book for at least a week or more.

If you are getting a lot of one night bookings now, I see you have a few options.

Change to 2 nights and see if your occupancy rate takes a big hit.

Up your price or cleaning fee so those 1 nighters become wothwhile.

But there is a tipping point where even if you're being paid well for your time, it's just not worth it in terms of the stress you're under. What good is a pile of $ in your bank account if you feel worn out and hosting has become a burden, rather than something you enjoy? Everyone has to decide that for themselves.

Personally, I'd rather have less bookings and a life that leaves time for other things.

[Terri38]

Looking back at my booking sheet, about 1 in 5 or 6 was a 1-night stay.  Probably because my home is only a 20 minute trip (off peak) from the airport.

Then, about 4 months ago I was asking myself the same question you are.  The decision was made for me when I had five 1-nighters in a row in one of my rooms and another two 1-nighters in the other room at the same time - right at the point where I started working random casual shifts.  And that was chaos!

Basically, the choice came down to:

1/ cancel a booking or two - NOPE!
2/ work myself to frazzle

3/ block off a day in between arrivals and know I was going to have no income for that night

4/ set a 2-night minimum stay and see what happens.

I went with Option 4 and haven't noticed a drop in bookings or income.  I still run both rooms to at least 90% occupancy (except for Christmas).

All the best with whatever choice you make.