Blocked Days/Nights
Definition: What Is a Blocked Day or a Blocked Night?
Blocked days and blocked nights are dates intentionally set as unavailable for booking. Hosts and managers use blocks for maintenance, personal use, calendar control, or pricing strategy—so the property does not appear bookable on those dates.
Blocks are typically managed in a Property Management System (PMS), channel manager, or OTA extranets and should stay in sync across all channels to prevent accidental bookings and ensure accurate reporting.
Why Blocked Days and Nights Matter
Revenue Management
Blocks change your sellable inventory and affect key metrics such as ADR, Occupancy Rate, and RevPAR. Clear rules for when to block—and when not to—help protect peak revenue and smooth low-demand periods.
Operations & Maintenance
Downtime enables deep cleans, inspections, repairs, and upgrades without guest disruption. Planned blocks reduce emergency fixes and protect guest satisfaction.
Personal Use & Owner Stays
Owner-occupied dates are commonly blocked to reserve the property for personal stays or private events—keeping calendars accurate and avoiding double booking.
How to Use Blocked Days and Nights Effectively
- Plan maintenance windows: Schedule seasonal checks, deep cleans, and vendor visits with lead time, then block those dates in your PMS.
- Coordinate with pricing rules: Align blocks with dynamic pricing, minimum-stay, and LOS strategies so you don’t unintentionally suppress demand.
- Sync across channels: Use a channel manager to push blocks to all OTAs and your direct site—preventing availability mismatches.
- Document the reason: Tag each block (e.g., “maintenance,” “owner stay,” “staging/photos”) to keep reporting clean.
- Review frequently: Audit upcoming blocks weekly; remove or adjust placeholders to recapture demand when plans change.
Operator note: Avoid using blocks to “hold” uncertain reservations—this can distort KPIs and hurt marketplace visibility. Use quotes, options, or holds with expiry where supported.
Examples
- Event prep: A lakeside cottage blocks the day prior to a regatta to perform safety checks and stage outdoor amenities.
- Seasonal turnaround: A beach rental blocks two midweek nights at season’s end for deep cleaning and linen replacement.
- Owner stay: An owner blocks a long weekend for a family gathering; the PMS syncs the block to all channels instantly.
Related Terms
- Calendar Management
- Keeping availability accurate across channels to avoid conflicts and maximize bookings.
- Occupancy Rate
- The percentage of sellable nights that are booked. Some operators exclude blocked nights when analyzing performance cohorts.
- Average Daily Rate (ADR)
- Average revenue per sold night; excessive blocking can skew ADR comparisons if not handled consistently.
- RevPAR
- Revenue per available night; sensitive to how you treat blocked nights in the denominator.
- Revenue Management
- Coordinating price, availability, and restrictions to optimize revenue—blocks are one of several levers.
- Channel Manager
- Software that synchronizes rates, inventory, and blocks across OTAs and your direct site.
Benefits of Managing Blocks Well
- Operational reliability: Consistent maintenance improves reviews and reduces urgent repairs.
- Data integrity: Tagged, time-bound blocks keep KPI reporting clean and comparable.
- Guest experience: Prep time prevents rushed turnarounds and quality issues.
- Owner alignment: Clear policies balance personal use with revenue goals.
FAQs
Do blocked nights count as “available” when calculating Occupancy Rate?
Practices vary. Many operators exclude legitimate maintenance and owner blocks from “available nights” to avoid penalizing operations. Be consistent and document your methodology in reports. See Occupancy Rate.
Should I block nights to create scarcity and push prices up?
Use pricing rules, not artificial blocks, to influence demand. Unnecessary blocking can reduce marketplace visibility and mislead your KPIs. Consider dynamic pricing and minimum-stay rules instead.
What’s the difference between a “hold” and a “block”?
A hold
(where supported) temporarily reserves dates pending payment or verification and may auto-expire. A block
removes the dates from sale entirely until you manually release them.
How far in advance should I block for maintenance?
For planned work, block as soon as vendor dates are confirmed—ideally 2–8 weeks out. For recurring tasks (e.g., deep clean), create a recurring maintenance cadence on your calendar.
Can blocks sync automatically to every channel?
Yes—if you use a channel manager or integrated PMS. Always verify the sync after large imports or bulk edits.
How do blocks affect ADR and RevPAR?
Blocks reduce sellable nights. If you exclude blocked nights from available
counts, RevPAR can rise relative to total-calendar methods. Keep the same approach over time so trends remain comparable. See ADR and RevPAR.
What’s a best practice for documenting block reasons?
Use standardized tags (e.g., Maintenance
, Owner
, Staging
, Compliance
) and add brief notes. This helps filter reports and evaluate the operational cost of downtime.
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