Minimum Length of Stay: FAQ

Learn more about optimizing your bookings with length of stay and booking window requirements.

Getting started on Minimum Length of Stay? Check out these articles:

Minimum Length of Stay: Setup

Best and Preferred Site

Q: What is a Minimum Length of Stay (MLOS)?

MLOS is an rate fencing and inventory management function that allows you better manage your parks inventory. A well-rounded revenue strategy will include requirements to help you accept your best 100 guests, not just your first.

Q: If I use a MLOS rule, am I saying "No" to my guest if they do not meet the rule restrictions?

No, not necessarily. Campspot's MLOS, or "Reservation minimum of __ days", rule allows you to set different parameters behind a length of stay requirement providing you a lot of flexibility.

Q: When should I use MLOS Rules?

MLOS can be placed on any period of time you define within a Date Group. These can define the minimum days required on holidays, weekends, peak season, shoulder season, special events, and more.

A good rule of thumb: Use data from Campspot reports to support your LOS strategy. How many nights does a guest book 365 nights out? How many nights do they book 90 days outs? 30 days? 14 days?

Q: Can MLOS rules be stacked - meaning I want to require 5 days 365 days prior to arrival, then 3 up to 30 days, then 2... etc?

The functionality of Campspot's LOS rules will let you stack them if you create a rule for each. For example, in the example from the question, I would have at least 3 rules set up based on "and is booked ___ to ___ days before reservation." to leverage the booking window.

Q: Should I set rules for different Site Types or Categories?

If your strategy is to require different MLOS for different Site Types or Categories, you will want to create different variations of the rule.

Consider: Should your premium RV sites have different MLOS requirements than your base level RV sites? Should a tent site have the same requirement as a lodge?

Q: This is a lot to set up, can these rules be reused year over year?

Using the Active Dates feature, you can apply different Date Groups to a single rule year over year. As you define the Rule Name, consider if you plan to use it this way so you can plan your naming convention accordingly.

Q: If a site has a MLOS, is that translated to my booking site to educate my guests?

Yes. Your guest will receive a message similar to the one below on any site that does not meet the requirements.

Online MLOS notification

Q: Can my staff override rules?

If you have the User Permission set up in the User Profile for your Front Desk staff, they will be able to override the rules.

Q: What data or reporting can I use to support my MLOS strategy?

Campspot Analytics gives you access to many different views of your data. Within Campspot Analytics, the Park Overview report offers some great insights into your parks performance. In particular, this report analyzes both average length of stay and how far out the reservation was booked (also known as Booking Window).

Using both of average LOS and Booking Window, you can make a plan on when to apply a MLOS, what site types to apply the rule, and provide more insight into whether you should have multiple rules setup for the same date ranges.