Can I set check-in/check-out rules (changeover days)?
Yes. WP Booking System lets you control which days of the week a booking can start and end.
For a simple setup, you can set a Booking Start Day and Booking End Day directly when embedding the calendar.
For more advanced rules — such as different check-in days depending on the season, multiple allowed changeover days, minimum stays, or turnaround time between bookings — you can use the Booking Restrictions add-on.
Use Split selection for accommodation bookings
For accommodation and other overnight rentals, we recommend setting Selection Style to Split.
With Split selection, the first and last days of a booking are displayed as changeover days rather than full booked days.
For example, a guest booking from July 10 to July 15 stays for 5 nights:
- July 10 is the check-in day;
- July 15 is the check-out day;
- another booking can potentially start on July 15.
When pricing is enabled, Split selection calculates the booking based on the number of nights rather than the number of calendar days.
This is usually the most appropriate setup for holiday homes, apartments, villas and other accommodation rentals.
Set a fixed check-in day
When adding the calendar to a page, use the Booking Start Day option.
This determines which weekday customers are allowed to select as the first day of their booking.
For example, if your property only allows Saturday arrivals, set:
Booking Start Day → Saturday
Customers will then only be able to start a booking on a Saturday.
Using the shortcode
The equivalent shortcode option is:
booking_start_day
The values are:
0– disabled;1– Monday;2– Tuesday;3– Wednesday;4– Thursday;5– Friday;6– Saturday;7– Sunday.
For a Saturday check-in:
booking_start_day="6"
Set a fixed check-out day
The Booking End Day option controls which weekday can be selected as the final day of the booking.
For example, to allow checkout only on Saturdays:
Booking End Day → Saturday
Using the shortcode
The equivalent shortcode parameter is:
booking_end_day
For a Saturday checkout:
booking_end_day="6"
You can use Booking Start Day and Booking End Day together.
For example:
booking_start_day="6" booking_end_day="6"
This creates a simple Saturday-to-Saturday booking rule.
Do I need the Booking Restrictions add-on?
Not for simple rules.
If your only requirement is something like:
- check-in only on Saturday;
- check-out only on Saturday;
- check-in Friday and check-out Sunday;
the standard calendar embed options may be enough.
The Booking Restrictions add-on becomes useful when your booking rules are more complex.
Create advanced check-in and check-out rules
After activating the Booking Restrictions add-on, a Booking Restrictions tab appears in the Form Builder.
Restrictions are configured per form and apply to every calendar that is embedded together with that form.
You can create a General Rule that applies throughout the year and additional Custom Period Rules for specific date ranges.
The add-on can control:
- minimum and maximum stay length;
- fixed booking lengths;
- minimum stay based on the arrival weekday;
- allowed booking start and end days;
- advance booking limits;
- turnaround time between bookings.
Allow different changeover days during different seasons
One of the main advantages of Booking Restrictions is that rules can change depending on the date.
For example, you could allow:
- Saturday-to-Saturday bookings during July and August;
- Friday or Monday arrivals during spring and autumn;
- any arrival day during the low season.
Create a General Rule for your normal booking policy and then add Custom Period Rules for seasons that need different restrictions.
Custom Period Rules override the General Rule for the dates they cover.
Allow more than one check-in or check-out day
The basic Booking Start Day and Booking End Day options are designed for a single weekday.
If you need several valid arrival or departure days, use the Enforce specific days setting in Booking Restrictions.
For example, you could allow bookings to:
- start on Monday or Friday;
- end on Friday or Sunday.
This gives you considerably more flexibility than the standard embed options.
Combine changeover rules with minimum stays
Booking Restrictions also lets you combine allowed arrival days with stay-length requirements.
For example:
- Friday arrivals → minimum 3 nights;
- Monday arrivals → minimum 4 nights;
- Saturday arrivals during summer → exactly 7 nights.
You can use the Minimum stay based on the start day of the week option when the required booking length depends on the arrival day.
If you only need a simple global minimum or maximum stay, WP Booking System also provides Minimum Days and Maximum Days in the standard calendar embed settings.
Require a fixed booking length
If bookings must have a specific duration, Booking Restrictions includes a Fixed number of days setting.
For example, you could allow only:
7
for weekly rentals, or:
3, 7, 14
if customers may book only one of those predefined lengths.
This can be combined with your allowed check-in and check-out days.
Add turnaround time between bookings
If you need time for cleaning or preparation between guests, Booking Restrictions includes a Turnaround Time setting.
This controls how many days must remain available between two bookings.
For example, setting a turnaround time of 1 day prevents customers from creating back-to-back bookings where you need a full day between guests.
What happens to the standard shortcode restrictions after I activate Booking Restrictions?
Once the Booking Restrictions add-on is enabled, these standard shortcode parameters are ignored:
minimum_days
maximum_days
booking_start_day
booking_end_day
Configure these rules from the Booking Restrictions tab instead.
This is important if you previously configured changeover days directly in the shortcode and later install the add-on.
Do Booking Restrictions automatically disable dates in the calendar?
No.
Booking Restrictions validate the date range selected by the customer, but they do not change the actual availability stored in your calendar.
If a customer selects a date range that violates one of your rules, WP Booking System displays a validation message below the calendar.
For example, if arrivals are only allowed on Saturday and a customer selects a Friday arrival, the booking cannot be submitted.
This is different from marking a date as unavailable.
Can I change the restriction error messages?
Yes.
The messages shown when a customer selects an invalid date range can be changed or translated under:
WP Booking System → Settings → Strings & Translations → Form Strings
This allows you to make the messages more specific to your rental.
For example:
“During July and August, bookings must start and end on Saturday.”
can be clearer to customers than a generic validation message.
Example: Saturday-to-Saturday holiday rental
For a simple holiday rental where guests must arrive and depart on Saturday:
- Embed the booking calendar.
- Set Selection Style to Split.
- Set Booking Start Day to Saturday.
- Set Booking End Day to Saturday.
- Set a minimum stay if required.
- Test the booking calendar on the front end.
If these rules apply only during certain seasons, use Booking Restrictions instead and create a Custom Period Rule for those dates.
Example: flexible low season, weekly summer bookings
A more advanced configuration could be:
General rule
Throughout most of the year:
- arrivals allowed on multiple weekdays;
- minimum stay of 2 nights;
- no fixed departure day.
Summer rule
From June 15 to September 15:
- Saturday check-in;
- Saturday check-out;
- 7-night booking length.
This is a good use case for Booking Restrictions because the booking policy changes depending on the season.
Which method should I use?
Use the standard Booking Start Day and Booking End Day options when you have a simple, fixed rule that applies all year.
Use the Booking Restrictions add-on when you need:
- multiple allowed check-in or check-out days;
- different rules for different seasons;
- minimum stays depending on arrival day;
- fixed booking lengths;
- advance reservation limits;
- turnaround time between bookings.
For most accommodation businesses, using Split selection together with the appropriate changeover rules provides the clearest booking experience for guests.
