Increase bookings with Airbnb's minimum night setting
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One key aspect of increasing bookings on Airbnb and optimising revenue is using minimum night settings to reduce gaps between bookings. Short-term rental (STR) hosts can lose income by having unbooked nights caused by suboptimal minimum night settings on Airbnb, especially during peak travel season.
Read on below to learn what Airbnb’s minimum night settings are, how it can affect your STR revenue, and how you can use it to maximise occupancy.
What are Airbnb’s minimum night settings?
Airbnb’s minimum night settings indicate the minimum number of nights you are requiring guests to book your property.
For example, if you set a four-night minimum stay in your Airbnb settings, guests must book at least four nights to check out and stay at your property. If you set just a one-night minimum stay, you open your Airbnb to guests looking for overnight stays.
Why are Airbnb’s minimum night settings important?
- Increases bookings and maximises occupancy
Setting up the correct minimum night settings on Airbnb helps to ensure that your property is booked for as many nights as possible, especially during peak travel seasons. For example, one-night stays every other day can block customers from booking longer stays on your property. This means losing income on days that would otherwise be filled if you had set up longer minimum stays.
The reverse can also apply — if you set a four-night minimum stay and have two days of availability between stays, those two days won’t show on Airbnb as available. You can manually override your current minimum night settings on specific dates to reduce any orphan days and booking gaps in your calendar.
- Fewer turnovers
Longer stays also mean that you’ll have to spend less resources cleaning your STR in between guests. Seven single-night stays in a week will result in seven turnovers, while longer stays can reduce this to just once or twice. This also leads to lower cleaning and maintenance costs, and reduced wear and tear on your property.
- Reduces risk of unauthorised parties and other disruptive events
According to Airbnb, last-minute one-night stays are higher-risk for unauthorised parties, particularly during holiday periods. Longer minimum night settings can also help prevent bookings from potential bad guests looking for a property to party in.
Recommended Airbnb minimum night settings:
There are no one-size-fits-all recommendations — the most profitable way to handle minimum stays on Airbnb is to be proactive and dynamic. You should adapt your Airbnb’s minimum night settings according to various factors such as:
- Property type and target market
STR properties in vacation destinations (think beaches) will primarily target vacationers, who tend to book longer stays far ahead. It’s recommended to set longer minimum stays for this type of location.
On the other hand, Airbnbs in urban areas primarily attract business travellers, and you’ll be competing directly with business hotels. Shorter stays for this type of location can help make your STR more competitive.
- Market demand
Your STR’s minimum stay settings will highly depend on the market it’s located in: seasonal markets (such as coastal locations that peak in summer) will require closer monitoring to ensure that you’re getting maximum returns, particularly during high-demand periods.
Less seasonal markets, on the other hand, will likely need less fine-tuning throughout the year.
- Seasonal fluctuations
Longer minimum stays during peak seasons are recommended to capitalise on the higher demand; shorter minimum stays (such as two-night stays) during this period can increase the risk of gap days, leading to loss of revenue.
During off-peak seasons, try setting up shorter minimum night stays to help your listing attract guests and get bookings during a slower period.
Hometime tip: Curious about when the peak travel period is for your local market? Check out our guide on the best Airbnb markets in Australia for more information on market seasonality and occupancy rates.
- Weekends vs weekdays
Weekends will have the highest demand of any given week; it’s best to avoid single-night bookings on weekends to avoid loss of revenue. Instead, set minimum stays to either two or three days for the highest returns.
- Local events
Local events such as concerts, festivals, and sports tournaments create spikes in demand. It’s recommended to avoid one-night stays during this period — you should set it instead to two to three nights to encourage longer stays during a peak travel period.
Take a look at how average daily rates (ADRs) for Airbnbs in Melbourne increased during Feb 2024 due to Taylor Swift's concert:
Learn how other local events boost demand for Airbnbs in Melbourne from our 2024 Melbourne Market Report.
- Booking lead time
You should also adjust your Airbnb’s minimum night settings based on how far out the booking is. For bookings further away, it’s recommended to have longer minimum stays; this ensures that you don’t take on short stays and restrict longer booking enquiries.
As the date approaches, lowering the minimum stay can help fill last-minute availability, and you can even offer last-minute discounts too.
Check out this video from Abdullah, Hometime's Revenue & Pricing Senior Manager, to learn how we utilise Airbnb’s minimum night settings to increase occupancy.
Hometime tip: Existing data is a key factor in determining recommended minimum night stays in your area. If you’d like to get personalised recommendations for your STR and learn how you can earn more with Hometime, get in touch with us.
How to set your minimum number of nights on Airbnb
To set minimum night booking requirements on your Airbnb listing:
- Click Calendar and select the listing calendar you want to change
- Click Availability
- Under Trip length, update your minimum and maximum nights
- Click Save
To create custom rules for each day of the week, click Minimum nights > Customise by check-in day.
Maximise occupancy with Airbnb’s minimum night stays
Optimising your STR’s minimum night stay policy isn’t just about choosing a random number — it requires an understanding of various factors such as real-time market dynamics, seasonality, and the like to make strategic decisions.
If you’d like to find out how you can earn more with Hometime’s revenue optimisation and booking management, get in touch with us.
