Definition
Length-of-stay controls are restrictions — minimum length of stay, closed to arrival and closed to departure — that manage which bookings a hotel accepts around a demand peak rather than only what it charges for them.
Also called: LOS controls · Minimum Length of Stay · MLOS · Closed to Arrival · CTA
In practice
They exist because on the nights that matter most, the binding constraint is not the rate but the shape of the bookings taken. Picture a wedding weekend where Saturday sells out effortlessly at a high rate while Friday and Sunday are soft: accepting a wave of one-night Saturday bookings fills the best night and leaves the shoulders half-empty, selling peak inventory to the guests who contribute least across the stay.
A minimum-length-of-stay restriction requires guests to book a set number of nights to include the high-demand date, so the peak is available only to longer, more valuable stays. Closed to arrival stops new arrivals on a date while letting existing stays continue through it; closed to departure works the other way.
Their power is exactly their risk: they turn business away. Placed too aggressively or left on too long, they reject guests who would happily have paid, and the hotel ends up protecting inventory for demand that never arrives. They are also very visible to a guest told to book three nights for one.
Why it matters to an owner
Length-of-stay controls complement price rather than replacing it, and they belong in the weekly revenue meeting — placed where pace and the calendar justify it, and taken off the moment a peak softens.
Frequently Asked Questions
Only around a genuine, predictable demand peak flanked by softer nights — weddings, festivals, major conferences, sporting events and long weekends are the classic cases.
A minimum-stay restriction requires a booking to cover a set number of nights to include the peak date. Closed to arrival prevents new arrivals on that date while allowing stays that already span it to continue.