Filling gap nights to increase occupancy on Airbnb

Maximize your revenue by making short, unbookable gaps between reservations available to guests. In this article you will learn how to change your minimum stay settings to allow bookings in “gaps” between reservations.

Enable gap night minimum stay to identify dates that remain empty because they don't meet your standard minimum stay requirements, and automatically apply a shorter minimum stay to fill them.

Understand gap nights

A gap night occurs when the number of available days between two existing bookings is fewer than your default minimum stay settings. .

For example, if your default minimum stay is 7 nights, and a guest books a stay that leaves a 4-night gap on your calendar, those 4 nights would normally remain unbookable. By setting the minimum stay overwrite for gap nights, you allow Airbnb to accept bookings and fill in the remaining occupancy.

Configure gap night minimum stay

You can enable this setting at the channel level to apply it to all your Airbnb listings, or override it for specific properties that require unique rules.

Configuring at the channel level

Step by step:

Log in to your Rentals United account.
Go to Channel Settings for Airbnb. Follow the steps here.
Expand the Airbnb minimum stay section.
Choose the minimum stay option you want to enable by checking the box
- Keep my regular minimum stay: Choose this to maintain your existing minimum stay requirements.
- Increase the minimum stay to X for all properties below this value: Use this to set a base minimum stay across all properties. This only updates properties that currently have a lower minimum stay than the value you enter.
Check the Overwrite minimum stay for "gap nights" box and enter your preferred value.

Note: The value must be lower than your regular minimum stay. If you want to allow bookings of any length within a gap, set the minimum stay value to "1".
Click Save.

Overriding at the property level

Property-level settings always take priority. If you configure the Gap night minimum stay at the property level, those settings remain in place even if you update your global channel settings.

Follow the steps below to set a unique gap night rule for a specific listing.

Step by step:

Log in to your Rentals United account.
Go to the Property Settings for Airbnb page. Follow the steps here.
Select the relevant listing and click Manage.
Check the Overwrite minimum stay for "gap nights" box and enter your preferred value.

Click Save.

How it works in practice

Rentals United optimizes your calendar availability to accommodate the longest bookings first. This means we try to fill the gap with the longest possible booking that fits the window first.

Scenario	Regular minimum stay	Gap-night minimum stay	Gap nights	Result
Guest wants to book 5 nights	7 nights	5 nights	6 nights	Listing is bookable for a 5-night stay (gap can’t accommodate a booking with regular minimum stay). Note: We try to fill as big a gap as possible. If the gap is 6 nights, we set the minimum stay to 6 on the first day of the gap.
Guest wants to book 4 nights (or shorter)	7 nights	5 nights	6 nights	Listing is unavailable for a 4-night stay or shorter (gap can still accommodate a booking with the 5-night minimum stay).
Guest want to book 4 nights	7 nights	5 nights	1 night	Listing is unavailable (gap is smaller than the 4-night minimum).
Guest wants to book 5 nights	7 nights	5 nights	10 nights	Listing is unavailable. Regular 7-night minimum applies.

FAQ

Does this setting affect my other channels?

No. Currently, the gap night minimum stay setting only applies to your Airbnb listings.

What happens if a guest books part of a gap?

The system doesn’t allow to book stays shorter than the gap night minimum stay. We try to fill the gap with the longest possible booking that fits the window first.

Can I set different gap night minimum stay for different seasons?

No. Currently, you can’t set the gap night minimum stay by seasons.

How to remove gap night minimum stay settings?

To disable this feature, simply uncheck the Overwrite minimum stay for "gap nights" box.

What in case I’m using stay-through minimum stay in Rentals United?

The Gap night minimum stay works in the same way, regardless if you use arrival-based or stay-through minimum stay in Rentals United.