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How do I block dates on a WordPress booking calendar?

You block dates by marking them as unavailable in your booking calendar’s availability settings. In WP Booking System, you can block a single date by editing it directly in the calendar, or you can block many dates at once using bulk edit (for example: a whole week, a season, or every weekend in a month). Once blocked, those dates will appear as unavailable on the front-end calendar and cannot be selected for booking.

On this page

1. What blocking dates does
2. What you’ll need
3. Step 1: Block a single date
4. Step 2: Block a date range (multiple days)
5. Step 3: Block weekends or specific weekdays
6. Step 4: Block dates from an external calendar (optional)
7. Step 5: Confirm the blocked dates on the front-end
8. Common issues (and quick fixes)
9. Best practices
10. Mini FAQ

What blocking dates does

• Blocked dates appear as unavailable to visitors on your booking calendar.
• Visitors cannot select blocked dates for booking (depending on your selection settings).
• Blocking dates is ideal for maintenance, owner stays, holidays, or days you do not accept bookings.

What you’ll need

• WP Booking System installed and activated
• A calendar already created for your resource (room/service/rental)
• Admin access to edit calendar availability

Step 1: Block a single date

Use this when you want to close just one day (for example: maintenance on a specific date).

1. Go to WP Booking System → Calendars.
2. Open the calendar you want to edit.
3. Click the date you want to block.
4. Set the date status to Unavailable (or your equivalent “blocked” status).
5. Save your changes.

Tip: Always double-check you are editing the correct calendar if you have multiple resources.

Step 2: Block a date range (multiple days)

Use bulk edit when you need to block many dates at once (for example: a week, a month, or a season).

1. Go to WP Booking System → Calendars and open the calendar you want to edit.
2. Find the Bulk Edit availability option.
3. Select the start date and end date.
4. Choose the status Unavailable.
5. Apply/save the bulk edit.

Screenshot suggestion: Bulk edit panel with date range selection and status dropdown.

Step 3: Block weekends or specific weekdays

If you only want to block certain weekdays (for example: every Sunday), use bulk edit on a date range and apply the change to the selected weekdays only, if your bulk editor supports weekday filtering. If weekday filtering is not available in your setup, you can still block recurring days by repeating bulk edits per month or by selecting the dates manually.

• Example: block every Saturday and Sunday for the next 3 months.
• Example: block every Monday (closed) but keep the rest available.
• Example: block specific holiday dates across the year.

Tip: If you manage recurring closures (like “closed every Monday”), keep a simple checklist so you remember to apply the next month’s blocks in advance.

Step 4: Block dates from an external calendar (optional)

If you also accept bookings on other platforms, you can reduce double-booking risk by syncing blocked dates from external calendars (for example: owner stays or external reservations). When dates are imported into your calendar, those dates can be reflected as unavailable in your WordPress calendar depending on your sync settings.

• Use this if you manage availability across multiple channels.
• Use this if you want owner stays added in Google Calendar to block dates in WordPress.

Step 5: Confirm the blocked dates on the front-end

After blocking dates, always confirm the front-end calendar reflects the change, especially if you use caching or optimization plugins.

1. Open the booking page in an incognito/private window.
2. Check the month where you blocked dates.
3. Confirm the blocked dates display as unavailable and cannot be selected.

If you need a quick test page, embed the calendar temporarily using [wpbs id="1"] or [wpbs id="1" form_id="1"] and replace the IDs with your own.

Common issues (and quick fixes)

I blocked dates but they still look available on the website

• Clear your page cache and any plugin cache, then reload the booking page.
• Confirm you edited the correct calendar (resource) and not another one.
• Check if your selection style allows arrivals/departures on edge days (for night-based bookings, the “last day” can behave differently depending on your setup).

Visitors can still select blocked dates

• Confirm the dates are set to Unavailable in the calendar availability editor.
• Check if you have inventory or quantity settings that allow multiple bookings per day; if so, you may need to set inventory to 0 for those dates.
• If you sync external calendars, confirm your sync rules do not overwrite your manual blocks.

I blocked a range but accidentally blocked too much

• Use bulk edit again on the same date range and set the status back to Available.
• If only a few dates need fixing, edit those dates individually to save time.

Blocked dates look correct but bookings still conflict

• Confirm your booking workflow blocks dates at the right moment (pending vs accepted), depending on how you review bookings.
• If you accept bookings elsewhere (Airbnb/Booking.com), make sure your external sync is active and up to date.

Best practices

• Block dates as early as possible for maintenance, holidays, and owner stays to avoid back-and-forth with customers.
• If you have multiple resources, create a routine: update availability for all calendars on the same day each week.
• After bulk edits, always verify one month before and one month after the edited range to ensure the correct dates were affected.
• If you use caching, make it part of your routine to clear cache after availability changes.

Mini FAQ

Can I block dates without removing existing bookings?

Yes. Blocking dates affects future selection on the calendar, but existing bookings remain in your booking management area. If you need to cancel an existing booking, do that from the booking management tools, not by changing availability alone.

Should I block dates as unavailable or remove them from the calendar?

Block them as unavailable. Removing dates is not a typical workflow for booking calendars, and it is safer to keep the calendar consistent and simply mark availability states.

How do I block dates for only one room but not others?

Edit the availability for the specific calendar that represents that room. If each room has its own calendar, blocking dates on one calendar will not affect the others.