Calendar & Availability
The availability calendar is where you see which dates are booked or blocked, hold dates for owners and maintenance, and set the rules that shape when guests can arrive and leave. This guide covers the calendar views, blocking tools, and date rules.
Overview
Every property in Argonautas has an availability calendar that tracks which dates are open, booked, or blocked. The calendar is the single source of truth. When a booking is created (manually or from an OTA), the calendar updates. When you block dates for maintenance or an owner stay, those blocks are sent to your connected channels so the dates can't be booked elsewhere.
There are two places to work with the calendar:
- Calendar in the sidebar -- the Availability Calendar page, showing every property at once. Use it to see the whole portfolio and to open or edit what's already on the calendar.
- A property's Calendar tab -- one property's calendar plus its blocks, date restrictions, and changeover rules. This is where you add new blocks.
The Availability Calendar
Open Calendar from the sidebar (or click Calendar on the Bookings list). The page header has List View (the bookings list) and New Booking. Inside the calendar you'll find a Today button, a button that switches between Month View and Matrix View, and month and year selectors with previous/next arrows. Your choice of view is remembered on that browser.
Month View
The month view shows a traditional month grid. Use the property selector on the right to show Direct properties (the default), All Properties, or a single property (partner properties are grouped under their partner's name).
Each day lists up to three bookings and blocks as colored labels. When there are more, a +N more link opens a side panel listing that day's bookings. The legend above the grid explains the colors:
| Color | Legend label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Confirmed | A confirmed guest booking. |
| Amber | Pending | A booking awaiting confirmation. |
| Teal | Hold | A booking on hold. |
| Purple | Owner Stay | An owner-stay block. |
| Slate gray | Maintenance | A maintenance block. |
| Pink | iCal Block | A block imported from an external calendar feed. |
Partner blocks show in indigo and Other blocks in medium gray. Booking labels also carry the icon of the channel the booking came from.
- Click a booking to open its booking page.
- Click a manual block (one created in Argonautas -- the pointer changes to a hand) to open the Edit block form. See Editing a Block.
- Blocks that come from an external calendar, a channel, or a connected system can't be clicked; they are managed where they came from.
Matrix View
The matrix view shows every active property as a row across the selected month, one cell per day. Properties are grouped into Direct and one group per partner (Partner: name); click a group's arrow to collapse or expand it.
| Legend label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Available | Nothing booked or blocked (cells are left plain). |
| Booked | A booking occupies the night (green). |
| Blocked | A maintenance, partner, or other block (gray). |
| Owner Stay | An owner-stay block (purple). |
| iCal Block | A block imported from an external calendar feed (pink). |
| Changeover (departure & arrival) | A circular-arrow icon: one guest leaves and another arrives on the same day. |
Each booking or block starts with a darker left edge, so back-to-back stays read as separate bars. Hover over a cell to see its date and status.
- Click a booked cell to open that booking.
- Click a property's name to open that property's Calendar tab.
- To edit a block, switch to Month View.
Rates row. Property managers also see each property's nightly rate under its row. Use the Rates button next to the legend to show or hide it. Click a rate to change that night's price:
- For a villa priced in Argonautas, the same editor as the property's Pricing tab opens, so you can add or edit a rate exception for those nights.
- For a villa whose prices live in Beds24, a Set price in Beds24 dialog sends the new nightly price to Beds24.
- Where the rate is managed elsewhere (for example, in Hostfully, or on a multi-unit property), the rate is shown read-only with the reason and an Open Pricing link.
Row colors. Each property's row is colored by the theme chosen under Calendar colors in Settings › Company. Click the dot next to a property's name to pick its color, or choose Auto.
The Property Calendar Tab
Open a property from Properties and go to its Calendar tab. It contains:
- Availability Calendar -- this property's month grid (same colors as above), with an Add Block button.
- Beside the calendar (below it on narrow screens):
- Availability Blocks -- a list of every block on the property, with edit and delete buttons for the ones created in Argonautas.
- Date Restrictions -- stop-sell, no-arrival, and no-departure dates.
- Changeover Rules -- which weekdays guests may check in and out.
- Below the calendar, side by side: the ICS Calendar Feed and Calendar sync cards, for sharing this property's calendar outward. See Google Calendar Sync.
Blocking Dates
To hold dates for an owner, maintenance, or any other reason:
- Open the property's Calendar tab.
- Click the first day you want to block. The Add Block form opens with that day as both the start and end date. (Clicking a booking or a block on a day opens that item instead.) You can also click Add Block, which starts from today.
- Set the Start Date and End Date. For owner, maintenance, and other blocks, the end date is the last blocked day.
- Choose the block type in the Status dropdown: Owner Stay, Maintenance, Partner Block, Partner Booking, or Other.
- Optionally add a note in Notes (Optional). It appears as the block's label on the calendar.
- Click Save.
The block appears on the calendar straight away and is sent to your connected channels so no guest can book those dates externally. A new block can't start in the past.
Editing a Block
You can edit a block created in Argonautas from any of these places. Each opens the same Edit block form:
- Click the block on the Availability Calendar in Month View.
- Click the block on the property's Calendar tab.
- Click the pencil icon next to it in the property's Availability Blocks list.
Change the dates, type, or note and click Save. Blocks that have already started can still be edited, for example to shorten or extend a maintenance block that's in progress. Only brand-new blocks are prevented from starting in the past.
To remove a block, click the trash icon next to it in the property's Availability Blocks list and confirm. The dates become available again and the change is sent to your channels.
Blocks imported from an iCal feed, a channel, or a connected system show Synced externally in the list instead of edit and delete buttons. They are refreshed from their source, so change them there.
Booking over a block. If a guest wants dates you've blocked, you don't have to delete the block first. Create the booking and choose Clear block & book. See Overriding Availability Rules.
Date Restrictions
Date restrictions stop certain kinds of bookings on specific dates without blocking the calendar outright. On the property's Calendar tab, click Add on the Date Restrictions card. In the Add Restriction form, set the Start Date and End Date, and tick at least one option:
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Stop Sell | Blocks all bookings for these dates. |
| No Arrivals | Guests cannot check in on these dates. |
| No Departures | Guests cannot check out on these dates. |
Add an optional Reason (optional) and click Save. Existing restrictions are listed with edit and delete buttons.
Changeover Rules
Changeover rules control which days of the week guests can check in and check out. They are common in villa rentals where housekeeping, laundry, and pool maintenance follow a fixed weekly schedule.
On the property's Calendar tab, the Changeover Rules card shows the Property Default. Click Add (or the edit icon on an existing rule), choose the Season the rule applies to (Default (all seasons) or one season), and pick the allowed Check-in days and Check-out days (Mon to Sun). Leaving a row empty means Any day. With no rule at all, the card reads "No changeover rules configured. Guests can arrive and depart any day."
Minimum Stay
Minimum and maximum stay requirements are set on your seasons and rate overlays, not on the calendar. See Minimum Stay Rules.
A manager can knowingly book past a minimum stay, changeover rule, or date restriction when needed. See Overriding Availability Rules.
Availability Sync
Your calendar stays synchronized with your connected OTA channels:
- Outbound -- When you block dates, create a manual booking, or change a restriction, the change is sent to Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and any other connected channel.
- Inbound -- When a guest books through an OTA, the reservation comes into Argonautas and the calendar updates, blocking those dates on your other channels.
This two-way sync prevents double bookings across platforms. If something fails to sync, see Sync Errors.
Key Concepts
- Availability -- Whether a property can accept a booking for a given date. Determined by existing bookings, blocks, and restrictions.
- Block -- A hold on the calendar that isn't a guest booking: owner stay, maintenance, partner block or booking, or other.
- Manual block -- A block created in Argonautas. You can edit or delete it.
- Synced block -- A block imported from an iCal feed, channel, or connected system. Read-only in Argonautas.
- Changeover day -- The day of the week designated for guest arrivals and/or departures.
- Stop sell -- A date restriction that blocks all new bookings for the chosen dates.
Common Questions
How do I see availability across all my properties at once? Open Calendar from the sidebar and click Matrix View. Every active property gets its own row for the month, grouped into direct and partner properties.
Can I add a block from the main calendar? No. The main calendar lets you open and edit existing blocks. New blocks are added from the property's Calendar tab, which knows which property the block belongs to.
A maintenance job is running longer than planned. Can I extend the block? Yes. Click the block (on the calendar or in the property's Availability Blocks list), change the End Date, and save. Blocks that have already started can still be edited.
Why can't I click or edit some blocks? They were imported from an external calendar feed, a channel, or a connected system. They show Synced externally in the property's block list and are updated from their source.
What happens if I change a changeover rule while bookings already exist? Existing bookings are not affected. The new rule applies to future reservations.
Why do maintenance blocks look different from pending bookings now? Maintenance has its own slate-gray color and its own Maintenance entry in the legend, so it's never mistaken for an amber Pending booking.
Related
- Booking Lifecycle -- How bookings are created, modified, and cancelled.
- Overriding Availability Rules -- Booking past a rule or through a manual block.
- Minimum Stay Rules -- Setting minimum and maximum stays.
- Google Calendar Sync -- Copying bookings and blocks to Google Calendar.
- Channel Integration -- How availability syncs to OTAs.