Minimum stay, closed to arrival, stop sell: hotel restrictions explained
Restrictions are the quiet half of pricing. Used well, they fill the nights around your busiest days instead of leaving gaps.
Restrictions are rules attached to a date that limit how a room can be booked, without changing its price. The four most used are minimum length of stay, closed to arrival, closed to departure and stop sell. They exist to shape demand: to fill the nights around a busy date instead of letting a one-night booking block a longer one.
The four you will use
| Restriction | What it does | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum stay (Min LOS) | A stay arriving that day must be at least N nights | Weekends, festivals, holidays |
| Closed to arrival (CTA) | No stay may start that day | Protect the start of a long stay pattern |
| Closed to departure (CTD) | No stay may end that day | Keep a peak night from ending short stays |
| Stop sell | The room is not sold that day at all | Last room, maintenance, private event |
A worked example: the orphan night
Your hotel is full on Friday and Sunday but has one Deluxe free on Saturday. A guest wanting Friday–Sunday cannot book it. A guest wanting only Saturday probably will not appear. That single night is an orphan — and it often stays empty.
A two-night minimum on Friday arrivals, set a few weeks out, would have sold that room as Friday–Sunday. As the date gets close and the gap is still there, remove the restriction: a one-night guest is better than none.
Restrictions follow demand, not habit
- Set them early for dates you know are strong.
- Relax them as the date approaches if the gaps are still there.
- Review them weekly. A minimum stay left in place from last year’s festival is a common reason for an unexplained quiet weekend.
Common mistakes
- Minimum stay on every weekend, all year. It protects the peak and empties the shoulder season.
- Forgetting derived rates. If your non-refundable rate is derived from the standard rate, check whether restrictions should follow too.
- Editing restrictions in a booking site’s extranet. Your channel manager will overwrite it — or not, and they will disagree.
In Revio
The RevioLink calendar shows minimum stay, closed to arrival, closed to departure and stop sell per room and rate, per date, on the same grid as prices. Bulk updates set restrictions for a whole season at once, with a preview before anything is sent to the channels.
Questions
Do booking sites support every restriction?
Most support minimum stay, closed to arrival and closed to departure, but support varies by channel and connection. Check what each channel accepts before relying on a restriction there.
Is minimum stay counted from the arrival date?
Usually yes: a minimum stay set on the arrival date applies to stays that start that night. Some systems also support a minimum stay that applies to any night within the stay. Know which your channels use.
Should I put restrictions on every channel the same way?
Not necessarily. A common pattern is to keep your own booking page more flexible than the booking sites, giving guests one more reason to book direct.
Try Revio free for 30 days — all three products, no card.
