With Holidu's Flexible Stays feature, you can unlock booking opportunities in calendar gaps that would otherwise remain unavailable due to your minimum-stay requirements or fixed check-in and check-out days. By activating Flexible Stays, you make these nights bookable without changing your standard property settings, allowing you to capture short-stay demand and maximize your rental income.

Understanding Flexible Stays

Flexible Stays are designed to help you fill the purple gaps visible on your calendar—periods between confirmed bookings where your current settings don't allow reservations. When activated, this feature temporarily overrides your minimum-stay rules for these specific gaps, making them available to guests while keeping your regular settings intact for all other dates.

How to Activate Flexible Stays

You can configure Flexible Stays from two convenient locations in your Holidu dashboard: the Discounts section or directly from your Calendar. Both methods achieve the same result.

Activating from the Discounts Section

1. Log in to your Holidu account and select the property you want to update
2. Click on "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"
6. Select your minimum stay requirement: 1, 2, or 3 nights for the gap period
7. Set your price per night (you can increase it up to 50% above your standard rate)
8. Click "Activate" to confirm and enable the feature

Activating from the Calendar Section

1. Navigate to your property's calendar
2. Click on the purple indicator showing the calendar gap
3. Select your preferred minimum stay: 1, 2, or 3 nights
4. Set your pricing (up to 50% higher than your regular rate)
5. Click "Activate" to enable Flexible Stays for that gap

Key Benefits of Using Flexible Stays

• More Bookings: Convert short-stay gaps into revenue-generating reservations during high-demand seasons
• Capture Market Demand: Over 20% of peak-season searches are for short stays—don't miss this opportunity
• Increase Guest Reviews: Every new booking is another chance to receive valuable guest feedback and build your reputation
• Improve Search Performance: Bookable gaps enhance your property's visibility and ranking potential in search results
• Reduce Manual Work: Eliminate the need to manually adjust your calendar for each gap—the system handles it automatically

Important Things to Keep in Mind

• Gap-Specific: Flexible Stays only affects calendar gaps where your current minimum-stay settings prevent bookings
• Overrides Standard Rules: This feature temporarily overrides your minimum-stay and short-stay rules for the selected period only
• Flexible Check-ins and Check-outs: Guests can check in and check out on any day during Flexible Stay periods, not just your standard days
• Special Pricing Applies: Once a booking is made, the special pricing and stay rules you set apply only to that reservation
• Clear Calendar Labeling: Flexible Stay bookings appear tagged in your calendar so you can easily identify them
• Easy Deactivation: You can disable this feature at any time from the same configuration menu

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I exclude certain dates from Flexible Stays?

Currently, activating Flexible Stays applies to all gap nights that match your configured settings. However, you retain full control over which dates are available—you can still manually block any specific dates you don't want to open for short-stay bookings through your calendar blocking tools.

Will guests see the purple gaps on the calendar?

No. The purple gaps are only visible to you as a host. They serve as a visual indicator to highlight where booking opportunities exist and where you're potentially missing revenue. Guests never see these indicators and will only view available dates as bookable dates on your listing.

Can I change my Flexible Stays settings after activation?

Yes, absolutely. You have complete flexibility to update, modify, or disable your Flexible Stays settings at any time. Simply return to the configuration menu (either from Discounts or Calendar) and adjust your minimum-stay requirements, pricing, or deactivate the feature entirely. Changes take effect immediately for future bookings.

What happens if I receive a booking through Flexible Stays?

When a guest books during a Flexible Stay period, the special pricing and minimum-stay rules you configured for that gap apply exclusively to that reservation. Your standard settings remain unchanged for all other dates on your calendar.

How much can I increase my price for Flexible Stays?

You can set prices up to 50% higher than your regular nightly rate for Flexible Stay bookings. This premium pricing compensates for shorter stays and helps optimize your revenue while remaining attractive to price-conscious short-stay travelers.

Do I need technical skills to set up Flexible Stays?

No. The setup process is straightforward and user-friendly. Simply follow the steps in your Discounts or Calendar section, select your preferred minimum stay, adjust pricing if desired, and activate. No technical knowledge is required.

Will activating Flexible Stays affect my existing bookings?

No. Flexible Stays only applies to current and future calendar gaps. Your existing confirmed bookings are completely unaffected by this feature.