Can I set minimum and maximum booking length (min nights / max days)?
Yes. WP Booking System lets you set a minimum and maximum booking length.
For example, you can require customers to book at least 2 nights and no more than 14 nights.
For simple rules that apply all year, use the Minimum Days and Maximum Days options when embedding the calendar.
For more advanced rules — such as different minimum stays by season or arrival day — use the Booking Restrictions add-on.
Set a minimum booking length
When embedding your calendar, set Minimum Days to the shortest booking you want to allow.
For example:
Minimum Days → 2
prevents customers from selecting a booking shorter than the configured minimum.
If you use the shortcode directly:
minimum_days="2"
Example:
Set a maximum booking length
Use Maximum Days to limit how long a single booking can be.
For example:
Maximum Days → 14
prevents customers from selecting a booking longer than the configured maximum.
Using the shortcode:
maximum_days="14"
Example:
You can use Minimum Days and Maximum Days together:
This allows bookings within the configured range.
Should I use days or nights?
This depends on the calendar’s Selection Style.
WP Booking System supports:
- Normal — the selected dates are treated as full days;
- Split — the first and last dates are displayed as changeover days.
For accommodation bookings, Split is usually the appropriate selection style because the start and end dates represent check-in and check-out.
When pricing is enabled:
- Normal selection calculates the booking in days;
- Split selection calculates the booking in nights.
Example
A booking from July 10 to July 15 represents:
- 6 selected calendar dates with Normal selection;
- 5 nights with Split selection.
For holiday homes, villas, apartments and similar accommodation, Split selection generally produces the expected booking behaviour.
Example: minimum 2 nights and maximum 14 nights
For an accommodation rental:
This creates a date-range booking calendar with a minimum and maximum stay restriction.
Can I set only a minimum stay?
Yes.
You do not need to set both limits.
For example:
allows bookings that meet the minimum requirement without imposing a maximum booking length.
A value of 0, or leaving the option unset, means there is no restriction.
Can I set only a maximum stay?
Yes.
For example:
allows shorter bookings but prevents a customer from selecting a stay longer than the configured maximum.
Do I need the Booking Restrictions add-on?
Not for a simple minimum or maximum stay that applies throughout the year.
The standard Minimum Days and Maximum Days options are sufficient for rules such as:
- minimum 2 nights;
- maximum 14 nights;
- minimum 7 nights throughout the year.
Use the Booking Restrictions add-on when your rules need to change depending on the booking dates or other conditions.
Create seasonal minimum stays
Booking Restrictions lets you create a General Rule and additional Custom Period Rules.
For example:
General rule
Minimum stay:
2 nights
July and August
Minimum stay:
7 nights
Christmas and New Year
Minimum stay:
5 nights
Custom Period Rules override the General Rule for the periods you define.
This allows one booking form to use different stay requirements throughout the year.
Set a different minimum stay depending on the arrival day
Booking Restrictions also includes:
Minimum stay based on the start day of the week
This is useful when the required stay depends on the customer’s arrival day.
For example:
- Monday arrival → minimum 4 nights;
- Friday arrival → minimum 3 nights;
- Saturday arrival → minimum 7 nights.
This is more flexible than the standard Minimum Days option, which applies the same minimum to every booking.
Require specific booking lengths
If customers should only be able to book certain lengths, Booking Restrictions includes Fixed number of days.
For example:
3, 7, 14
allows only those booking lengths.
This is useful when you offer predefined rental periods rather than simply setting a minimum and maximum.
For example, a property could accept:
- weekend stays;
- one-week stays;
- two-week stays.
Can I combine minimum stays with check-in days?
Yes.
Booking Restrictions can combine stay-length rules with Enforce specific days.
For example, during summer you could require:
- Saturday check-in;
- Saturday check-out;
- 7-night stay.
You can also create different rules for other parts of the year.
This is useful for accommodation businesses where changeover policies vary by season.
What happens if Booking Restrictions is activated?
This is important.
When the Booking Restrictions add-on is enabled, the following standard calendar embed options are ignored:
minimum_days
maximum_days
booking_start_day
booking_end_day
Configure these rules from the form’s Booking Restrictions tab instead.
If you previously set a minimum stay in the shortcode and later activate Booking Restrictions, the old shortcode value will no longer control the booking length.
Do booking restrictions change calendar availability?
No.
Minimum and maximum stay rules control which date ranges customers are allowed to book. They do not change the availability stored in the calendar.
With Booking Restrictions, the rules are validated when the customer makes a date selection.
If the selected range does not satisfy the rule, WP Booking System displays an error below the calendar and prevents the booking from being submitted.
For example, if your minimum stay is 3 nights and the customer selects only 2 nights, they will be asked to choose a valid date range.
Can I change the error message?
Yes.
Booking restriction messages can be changed or translated under:
WP Booking System → Settings → Strings & Translations → Form Strings
You can customize these messages to make your booking policy clearer.
For example:
“Bookings during July and August require a minimum stay of 7 nights.”
This can be more useful to customers than a generic minimum-stay message.
Which setup should I use?
Use the standard Minimum Days and Maximum Days options when:
- the same limits apply throughout the year;
- you only need a simple minimum or maximum;
- you do not need different rules based on arrival day.
Use Booking Restrictions when you need:
- seasonal minimum stays;
- different minimum stays based on arrival day;
- specific allowed booking lengths;
- different rules for different periods;
- check-in and check-out restrictions;
- advance booking limits;
- turnaround time between bookings.
Summary
WP Booking System lets you control how short or long a booking can be.
For simple requirements, configure Minimum Days and Maximum Days when embedding the calendar.
For accommodation bookings, use Split selection when you want check-in/check-out behaviour and night-based pricing.
If your minimum stay changes by season, arrival day or booking period, use the Booking Restrictions add-on instead.
Remember that when Booking Restrictions is enabled, the standard minimum_days and maximum_days settings are ignored.
