Information on the interactive Availability Calendar on the new RMS Booking Engine.

Overview

An updated Interactive Availability Calendar is available at the category level in the new RMS Booking Engine, making it easier to engage guests and encourage bookings.

When guests search for stay dates on your RMS Booking Engine, and no availability is found, they will see an Availability Calendar instead of a blank “no availability” message.

This enhancement aims to provide a more useful and informative experience when there is no availability, helping guests quickly find alternative dates that work for them.

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Terminology

• Stop Sell – A restriction that prevents new bookings from being made for a specific rate, category, or date, even if inventory is available.

• MLOS (Minimum Length of Stay) – A restriction that requires bookings to be at least a certain number of nights.

What’s New?

When a guest searches and no availability is found for their selected dates, the RMS Booking Engine will:

• Display a category‑level availability calendar

  • Instead of just showing “no availability”, guests will see a calendar for that specific category (e.g. Cabin, Villa, Powered Site).

  • The calendar shows future dates where that category has available inventory.

• Show categories that are not available in a clearer way

  • Categories that have no availability for the searched dates can still be displayed under a “Not Available” section.

  • This helps guests understand what your property usually offers, even if it’s not available for their current search.

• Allow guests to quickly re‑search using the calendar

  • Guests can click on a date in the availability calendar to update their search.

  • This makes it easy for them to adjust their plans based on what’s actually available.

How It Works for Your Guests

1. A guest searches for dates on the new RMS Booking Engine.

2. If there’s no availability for those dates:

   1. They won’t hit a blank page or a dead end.

   2. Instead, they’ll see:

      1. A clear message explaining that no availability is found for the selected dates.

      2. A category‑level availability calendar showing when that category is available.

3. The guest can:

   1. Click on a date with availability.

   2. The RMS Booking Engine re‑runs the search for that new date.

   3. If availability exists, the usual results and rate options are displayed.

4. This keeps the guest engaged in the booking journey and encourages them to be flexible with their dates, rather than leaving your site.

Benefits for Your Property

• Reduced drop‑offs
  Guests are less likely to abandon the booking journey when they see clear future options instead of a hard “no availability” message.

• More bookings from flexible travellers
  Many guests are willing to adjust their dates if they can easily see what’s available. The calendar makes this simple and visual.

• Better communication of what you offer
  Even when nothing is available for the current dates, guests can still see which categories your property normally sells, providing reassurance and encouraging them to try different dates.

What Your Guests Will See

When no availability is found, guests will see:

• A helpful message, such as:

  “We couldn’t find availability for your selected dates. Try another date from the calendar below.”

• A category‑level calendar showing:

  • Dates with available inventory for that specific category.

• A “Not Available” section (where applicable):

  • Categories that aren’t available for the searched dates, but are still listed so guests know they exist at your property.

Guests can then:

• Click an alternate date on the calendar.

• See updated availability and proceed to book as normal.

Configuring the Lead Rate Type for the Availability Calendar

The Interactive Availability Calendar uses your Lead Rate Type to determine which rate (and rate values) are displayed to guests.

To select the Lead Rate Type used for the calendar:

In the side menu of RMS, go to Setup > Online Bookings > Online Options.

1. Navigate to the Page Settings tab.

2. In Lead Rate Type, choose the rate type you want the calendar to use when displaying rates.

3. Select Save.
   

Configure the No Availability message

You can customise the message guests see when no availability is found:

In the side menu of RMS, go to Setup > Online Bookings > Online Options.

1. Navigate to the Page Settings tab.

2. Enter your preferred text in the No Availability Custom Message field.

3. Select Save.
   

This message will display above the Interactive Availability Calendar when there is no availability for the searched dates.

FAQs

Q: Will guests see prices on the calendar?
A: The calendar focuses on displaying availability. Rates will display as per the selection made in the Lead Rate Type dropdown in Online Options.
Alternatively, rates will continue to display in the standard results once the guest selects a date and the search is re‑run.

Q: Does this impact performance for large properties?
A: The feature is designed to use your existing availability data. As with any availability‑heavy feature, RMS monitors performance and optimises to support properties with larger inventories.

Q: Can I turn this off if I don’t want to show future availability?
A: No. The Interactive Availability Calendar is a standard feature of the new RMS Booking Engine and cannot be disabled on that interface.