Calendar & Availability
The availability calendar is where you control when your properties can be booked, enforce stay rules, and ensure your availability stays synchronized across every connected channel. This guide covers the calendar views, blocking tools, and the rules that shape your booking patterns.
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 instantly. When you block dates for maintenance or an owner stay, those blocks push out to all connected channels in real time.
Calendar Views
Argonautas offers two ways to view your calendar:
Month View
The month view shows a single property's calendar in a traditional grid. Each day is color-coded:
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| White / Clear | Available for booking |
| Teal | Booked (confirmed guest reservation) |
| Yellow | Pending or on-hold reservation |
| Gray | Owner stay or maintenance block |
| Red stripe | Manually blocked (not available) |
Click any available date to start a new booking or block. Click an existing booking to jump to its detail view.
Timeline View
The timeline view displays multiple properties on a horizontal time axis -- each property gets its own row, and bookings appear as colored bars spanning their check-in to check-out dates. This view is ideal for property managers overseeing several villas at once, since you can spot gaps, overlaps, and busy periods across your entire portfolio at a glance.
Use the date range selector to scroll through weeks or months, and the property filter to narrow the view to a specific subset of properties.
[Screenshot: Timeline view showing five properties with color-coded booking bars spanning across a two-week period.]
Blocking Dates
To block dates manually (for example, when a property is temporarily unavailable or undergoing repairs):
- Navigate to the property's calendar.
- Click and drag across the dates you want to block, or click a start date and then an end date.
- Choose the block type: Owner Stay, Maintenance, or Manual Block.
- Add an optional note describing the reason.
- Click Save.
The block appears immediately on the calendar and pushes to all connected OTA channels so no guest can book those dates externally.
To remove a block, click it and select Remove Block. The dates become available again and the change syncs outward.
Minimum Stay Rules
Minimum stay rules prevent bookings shorter than a specified number of nights. This is essential for vacation rentals where turnover costs make very short stays unprofitable.
You can set minimum stay rules at two levels:
- Property default -- A baseline minimum stay that applies year-round (for example, 3 nights).
- Seasonal overrides -- Different minimums for specific date ranges. For instance, you might require 7 nights during high season (December through April) but allow 2-night stays in the low season.
When a guest or OTA attempts to book fewer nights than the minimum, the booking is rejected with a clear message explaining the requirement.
Example Configuration
| Period | Minimum Stay |
|---|---|
| Year-round default | 3 nights |
| Dec 15 -- Apr 15 (high season) | 7 nights |
| Easter week | 5 nights |
| Sep 1 -- Nov 30 (low season) | 2 nights |
Seasonal overrides take priority over the property default. If multiple overrides apply to the same date, the most specific (shortest date range) wins.
Changeover Day Rules
Changeover rules control which days of the week guests can check in and check out. These are common in villa rentals where housekeeping, laundry, and pool maintenance follow a fixed weekly schedule.
| Rule Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Any day | No restrictions -- guests can check in or out on any day of the week. |
| Fixed check-in day | Guests must check in on a specific day (e.g., Saturday). Check-out falls naturally based on the length of stay. |
| Fixed check-in and check-out | Both days are fixed (e.g., Saturday check-in, Saturday check-out), enforcing week-long stays. |
| Flexible with exclusions | Any day except specific ones (e.g., no check-ins on Sunday). |
Configure changeover rules in the property's Availability Settings tab. Like minimum stay rules, these can have seasonal overrides -- you might enforce Saturday-to-Saturday stays during high season but allow flexible dates the rest of the year.
When changeover rules are active, the booking calendar visually highlights valid check-in dates, making it easy for your team (and guests on direct-booking sites) to select allowed dates.
Gap-Night Filling
Gaps -- short unbookable periods between two reservations -- are a common revenue leak for vacation rentals. A 1- or 2-night gap between bookings often goes unfilled because it falls below the minimum stay requirement.
Argonautas offers strategies to address this:
- Automatic minimum stay reduction -- When a gap of 1-3 nights appears between confirmed bookings, the system can automatically lower the minimum stay for those specific dates. For example, if your default minimum is 3 nights but there is a 2-night gap, the system allows a 2-night booking for just those dates.
- Gap-night pricing -- You can configure special pricing for gap-night fills, either as a discount (to attract last-minute bookings) or a premium (if the property is in high demand).
- Gap alerts -- The calendar highlights gaps in a distinct color so your team can proactively reach out to prospective guests or adjust pricing.
Gap-night rules respect changeover day constraints. If your property requires Saturday check-ins, a mid-week gap will not be opened for booking unless changeover rules are also relaxed for those dates.
Availability Sync
Your calendar stays synchronized with all connected OTA channels through the distribution network:
- Outbound -- When you block dates, create a manual booking, or modify availability, the changes push to Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and any other connected channel in real time.
- Inbound -- When a guest books through an OTA, the reservation pulls into Argonautas and the calendar updates instantly, blocking those dates on all other channels.
This bidirectional sync prevents double bookings across platforms. If a sync error occurs, the property's status in the Distribution dashboard will show an error indicator, and details will appear in the sync logs.
Key Concepts
- Availability -- Whether a property can accept a booking for a given date. Determined by existing bookings, manual blocks, and stay rules.
- Changeover day -- The day of the week designated for guest arrivals and/or departures.
- Gap night -- An unbooked night sandwiched between two confirmed reservations, typically too short to meet minimum stay requirements.
- Seasonal override -- A rule that applies to a specific date range, overriding the property's year-round default.
Common Questions
Can I set different minimum stays for different OTAs? Minimum stay rules are set at the property level and apply uniformly across all channels. If an OTA has its own minimum stay settings, the stricter of the two will apply.
What happens if I change a changeover rule while bookings already exist? Existing bookings are not affected. The new rule applies only to future reservations. The calendar will show existing bookings that may not conform to the updated rule, but they remain valid.
How do I see availability across all my properties at once? Use the Timeline view. It displays every property (or a filtered subset) on a single horizontal timeline so you can compare availability side by side.
Can guests see my minimum stay and changeover rules? On direct-booking channels, yes -- the booking widget enforces these rules and greys out invalid dates. On OTAs, the rules are communicated through the channel sync so the OTA's own calendar reflects them.
Related
- Booking Lifecycle -- How bookings are created, modified, and cancelled.
- Pricing Guide -- Setting rates, seasonal pricing, and discounts.
- Channel Integration -- How availability syncs to OTAs.