Changeover Days and Minimum Stays: Rules That Protect Your Weekends
A minimum stay says a booking cannot be shorter than a set number of nights. A changeover day says a stay has to start, or end, on a particular day of the week. Both exist for the same reason: to stop a handful of short bookings breaking up the dates you could have sold as a full week.
The gap problem
Picture a bank holiday weekend. Someone books the Saturday night only. The Friday and the Sunday are still free, but almost nobody wants a single night either side of an occupied pitch, so they sit empty. One booking has cost you two nights of your busiest weekend. Do that across twenty pitches and the loss is serious.
A two-night minimum on Friday and Saturday removes the problem entirely. The guest either takes both nights or books elsewhere, and in peak weeks somebody will always take both.
Setting minimums that fill rather than block
The mistake is applying one rule all year. A three-night minimum in February will empty your site. Sensible practice is to vary it by season: no minimum out of season, two nights at summer weekends, three over bank holidays and school holiday changeovers, and a full week on holiday homes at peak.
It is worth reviewing the rules each autumn against what actually sold. If a two-night rule left gaps midweek, relax it. If Saturdays sold out in April, tighten it earlier next year.
Changeover days on holiday homes
Statics, lodges and larger glamping units are usually let by the week in peak season with a fixed changeover — traditionally Friday, Saturday or Monday. It keeps cleaning predictable, because everything turns around on the same day, and it stops a stray three-night booking blocking a week you could have sold whole.
Outside peak, most parks drop the fixed changeover and take short breaks instead. That flexibility is where a lot of shoulder-season income comes from.
Let the system enforce it
Rules only work if they are applied every time, including at half past ten at night when nobody is watching. Set them once per unit and per season and the booking system simply will not offer a stay that breaks them — the dates are not available, so there is no awkward conversation and no exception made by accident.
Our campsite booking software applies minimum stays and changeover rules as guests search, so the only stays offered are ones you actually want.
Leave yourself a manual override
Rules are for the website. Behind the counter you should still be able to take a one-night booking on a quiet Tuesday, or squeeze someone in on a Sunday because you know the pitch is free. Good software enforces the rules publicly and lets staff override them deliberately.
Frequently asked questions
What is a minimum stay?
A rule saying a booking cannot be shorter than a set number of nights. Most UK sites use two nights at summer weekends and three over bank holidays, with no minimum out of season.
What is a changeover day?
A fixed day of the week on which a stay must start or finish. It is mainly used on statics, lodges and larger glamping units let by the week, and it keeps all the cleaning on one predictable day.
Will minimum stays lose me bookings?
Only the ones that cost you more than they earn. A single Saturday night can leave the Friday and Sunday unsellable, so a two-night rule on peak weekends usually increases total nights sold rather than reducing them.
Can I still take a one-night booking if I want to?
Yes. The rules govern what the website offers the public. Staff can still create a shorter booking directly when you know the pitch would otherwise sit empty.
