Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus filters and guest stepper behavior

Gabriela Garcia

Updated July 07, 2026 18:32

Purpose	Use this article to understand how Booking Engine Plus filters work, how guest steppers behave, and how filtered results are displayed to guests.
Best for	Property admins, general managers, revenue managers, marketing managers, and users who manage the guest booking experience.
Use this when	You need to understand why Booking Engine search results change after guests select occupancy, amenities, or accommodation type filters.
You need	Access to Cloudbeds PMS and permission to review or edit Booking Engine settings and accommodation setup.
Expected result	You can explain how Booking Engine filters work, how matching results are prioritized, and why guest steppers may show different default values.
Important limit	Some filters prioritize matching accommodations instead of hiding all non-matching accommodations. Other available accommodations may remain visible and bookable.

Introduction

Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus filters help guests narrow search results by occupancy, amenities, and accommodation type. These filters are designed to support discovery: they help guests find stronger matches while keeping other available options visible when possible.

This article explains how the main Booking Engine filters work together, how guest steppers behave after a search, and why some results may still appear after a guest applies a filter. It also explains how URL parameters can affect results even when a filter is hidden from the Booking Engine search panel.

Booking Engine filter settings apply only to the Cloudbeds Booking Engine. They do not change OTA filters, distribution channel content, or channel mapping.

Booking Engine Plus filter types

Booking Engine Plus includes filters that help guests search by party size, preferred amenities, and accommodation type. Each filter uses different setup information from Cloudbeds PMS.

Filter	What it does	Required setup
Guest occupancy filter	Lets guests search by total guests or by adults and children.	Occupancy settings configured for each accommodation type.
Amenities filter	Lets guests filter accommodations by selected amenities.	Amenities configured at the accommodation level.
Accommodation type filter	Lets guests filter results by accommodation type, such as Standard, Deluxe, Suite, Cabin, or other configured types.	Accommodation types configured in Cloudbeds PMS.

To turn filters on or off, go to Account Menu → Settings → Booking Engine → Settings → Filters. For a full settings overview, see Booking Engine Settings page overview.

Guest occupancy filter and guest steppers

The guest occupancy filter controls how guests search by party size on the Booking Engine. The guest steppers show how those selections appear later in the booking flow, where guests can review or adjust the number of adults and children before booking.

Think of the Guest occupancy filter options as the setup logic, and the guest stepper behavior as the guest-facing result. The sections below explain each option first, then show how the same option appears to guests on the Booking Engine.

Default guest selection

Booking Engine searches default to 1 guest. This keeps the broadest set of accommodations visible when guests first open the Booking Engine.

For dorm-style properties, defaulting to 2 guests may exclude dorm rooms from the initial results.
For properties using occupancy-based pricing, defaulting to 2 guests may increase displayed rates before the guest has selected their actual party size.

The image below shows the Booking Engine search panel with 1 Guest selected by default. Guests can open this field to change the number of guests before searching.

Booking Engine search panel showing 1 Guest selected by default

Guest occupancy filter options

The Guest occupancy filter can be configured in three ways:

Option	How it works
Total guests	Guests enter the total number of people in their party. The Booking Engine checks whether each accommodation can support that total occupancy. It does not split guests into adults and children.
Adults and children	Guests enter adults and children separately. The Booking Engine checks the maximum adults and maximum children allowed for each accommodation.
Do not show	The guest selector is hidden from the Booking Engine search panel. All available accommodations can appear in the initial search results, but URL parameters may still affect filtering if they are included in the shared link.

The image below shows where the Guest occupancy filter is configured in Booking Engine settings. The dropdown includes Total guests, Adults and children, and Do not show.

Booking Engine Settings Filters tab showing Guest occupancy filter options

Guest stepper behavior

Guest steppers are the adults and children selectors guests use after search results are displayed. Their default values depend on the guest occupancy filter option and the selected accommodation's pricing setup.

The examples below show how each Guest occupancy filter option affects the selector guests see before searching and the stepper values they see after results are displayed.

Switch between the tabs below to compare how the guest selector and steppers behave for each Guest occupancy filter option.

With Total guests, guests select one total party size before searching. The Booking Engine checks whether each accommodation can support the total number of guests, without splitting the party into adults and children.

In this example, the guest opens the selector and chooses 2 Guests before searching.

Booking Engine search panel showing Total guests selector set to 2 Guests

After the search, the results page shows accommodations that can support the selected guest count. Guests can open the Filters panel to adjust the total number of guests before applying the filter again.

Booking Engine results page showing Filters panel with total guests set to 2

With Adults and children, guests select adults and children separately before searching. The Booking Engine checks each accommodation's adult and child occupancy rules.

In this example, the guest selects 4 Adults and 1 Child before searching.

Booking Engine search panel showing Adults and children selector set to 4 Adults and 1 Child

After the search, the results page keeps the same adult and child values in the Filters panel. This helps the guest understand that results are based on the exact party composition.

Booking Engine results page showing Filters panel with 4 adults and 1 child selected

When Do not show is selected, the guest occupancy field is hidden from the Booking Engine search panel. Guests can start a search without selecting a party size.

In this example, the search panel shows check-in, check-out, promo code, and Search only. The guest selector is not displayed.

Booking Engine search panel with no guest selector displayed

If a shared Booking Engine URL includes guest-related parameters, those parameters may still affect results even when the guest selector is hidden from the search panel.

Occupancy-based pricing may update when guests adjust the adult or child steppers during the booking flow.

Amenities and accommodation type filters

The amenities and accommodation type filters help guests find accommodations that match their preferences. These filters prioritize matching accommodations in the results instead of always hiding accommodations that do not match.

Amenities filter behavior

When the amenities filter is enabled, guests can select one or more amenities from the Booking Engine filter panel. The Booking Engine prioritizes accommodations that include the selected amenities.

The filter uses amenities configured at the accommodation level.
When guests select multiple amenities, accommodations that include all selected amenities are prioritized.
Other available accommodations may still appear lower in the results and remain bookable.

If no accommodations have amenities configured, the Amenities filter has nothing to display.

The image below shows the Amenities filter expanded in the Booking Engine filter panel. Guests can search for amenities and select one or more options, such as accessible bedroom, air conditioning, balcony, electric kettle, or parking.

Booking Engine filter panel showing Amenities filter options

This example shows a guest selecting Accessible bedroom. The matching accommodation appears first in the results, while other available accommodations can remain visible lower on the page.

Booking Engine results showing Accessible bedroom amenity selected and matching accommodation prioritized

Accommodation type filter behavior

When the accommodation type filter is enabled, guests can filter available accommodations by type, such as Standard, Deluxe, Suite, Cabin, or other types configured for your property.

Matching accommodation types appear first in the results.
Other available accommodation types may still appear lower in the results and remain bookable.
The filter uses the accommodation types configured in Cloudbeds PMS.

The image below shows the Accommodation types filter expanded in the Booking Engine filter panel. Guests can select one or more configured accommodation types, such as Private Room, Deluxe Ensuite, dorm room, or Private Villa.

Booking Engine filter panel showing Accommodation types filter options

This example shows a guest selecting 4 Bed Mixed Dorm Room. Matching accommodations appear first, while other available options can remain visible lower in the results.

Booking Engine results showing 4 Bed Mixed Dorm Room accommodation type selected and matching accommodation prioritized

Amenities and accommodation type filters are additive discovery filters. They help guests find stronger matches while keeping other available options visible when possible.

URL parameters and filter behavior

Booking Engine links can include parameters such as adults, kids, guests, checkin, checkout, room_type, rate_plan, and promo. When these parameters are included in a shared URL, they can affect the Booking Engine results.

Even if the guest selector is hidden from the Booking Engine search panel, the accommodations page can still respect guest-related URL parameters when they are included in the link.

This can happen with links from Google Hotel Search, allotment blocks, targeted room or rate plan links, promo links, or manually created Booking Engine URLs. The Booking Engine setting controls what guests can select from the user interface, while URL parameters can still pass search values into the booking flow.

Which Booking Engine filter option should I use?

Choose the filter setup that best matches how you want guests to search and compare accommodations.

Use this option	When
Total guests	You want broader discovery and want guests to fine-tune adult and child values on the results page.
Adults and children	You want results to reflect the exact party composition immediately.
Do not show guest selector	You want to hide the guest selector from the Booking Engine search panel while still allowing guests to choose occupancy later in the booking flow when applicable.
Amenities filter	You want guests to search by features such as parking, air conditioning, balcony, accessibility, or other accommodation-level amenities.
Accommodation type filter	You want guests to search by accommodation categories, such as room type, suite, cabin, dorm, or other configured accommodation types.

Be mindful of third-party or manually created links that include guest, room, rate plan, date, or promo parameters. These links may still affect results even when a related selector is hidden from the Booking Engine interface.

Use these articles to review Booking Engine settings, filter behavior, troubleshooting questions, and related accommodation setup.