Booking Engine Plus Calendar: Restriction Indicators and Tooltips

Gabriela Garcia

Updated April 15, 2026 15:26

Overview

Restricted dates may appear differently depending on availability and configuration. The calendar uses distinct visual styling and plain-language tooltips to clarify restrictions such as Closed to Arrival (CTA) and Closed to Departure (CTD), helping guests better understand how dates can be selected.

The Booking Engine date picker differentiates between dates that are fully unavailable and those restricted only for check-in or check-out. This guide explains how to enable these indicators and what each visual state represents for your guests.

How to Access and Enable Restriction Indicators

To display these indicators on your Booking Engine, follow these steps:

Navigate to Booking Engine in the main menu.
Select the Settings tab.
Scroll down to the Accommodation Settings section.
Check the box for Show restrictions on the availability calendar.
Click Save at the bottom of the page.

GIF showing how to enable the Show restrictions on the availability calendar setting in Booking Engine Settings.

Show Rates vs. Show Restrictions: These settings control different elements of the calendar display.

Show rates on the availability calendar: Displays the nightly price under each date.
Show restrictions on the availability calendar: Enables visual indicators such as dots for length-of-stay requirements and grayscale styling for CTA/CTD dates.

For the best guest experience, enable both settings.

Calendar Visual States and Interactive Tooltips

The Booking Engine calendar uses different visual states and tooltips to help guests understand whether a date is fully unavailable, restricted for check-in or check-out, or available with length-of-stay requirements.

Calendar visual style summary

The calendar uses consistent visual styling to indicate how each date can be used in a booking:

Grayscale + strikethrough: The date is fully unavailable and cannot be selected.
Grayscale (no strikethrough): The date has a restriction (such as CTA, CTD, or length-of-stay rules) but may still be included as part of a stay.
Dot indicator: The date has a length-of-stay (LOS) requirement.
Standard styling: The date is fully available and can be selected.

Tooltips provide additional context when interacting with restricted dates.

Before Check-In Selection

Before a guest selects a check-in date, the calendar may display the following visual states:

Unavailable (Grayscale): Dates marked like a appear grayed out and cannot be selected for check-in.
Available (Standard styling): Dates marked like b appear with normal styling and are available for check-in.
Length of Stay restriction (Standard styling + Dot): Dates marked like c remain selectable, but include a length-of-stay requirement. A tooltip may display details such as "2 Min Night Stay".

Some dates may appear grayed out to indicate they are not available for check-in on that date, even if they can still be included within a stay.

After Check-In Selection

After a guest selects a check-in date, the calendar updates to show which dates can be used for check-out based on availability and stay restrictions.

Past dates (Grayscale): Dates marked like a appear grayed out because they are in the past and cannot be selected.
Invalid check-out dates (Grayscale + Strikethrough): Dates marked like b appear grayed out with a strikethrough because they occur before the selected check-in date and cannot be selected as check-out options.
Length of Stay restriction (Tooltip): Dates marked like c may display a tooltip explaining the restriction, such as "Minimum length of stay required".
Available check-out options (Standard styling): Dates marked like d remain active and selectable when they meet all stay requirements.

After a check-in date is selected, the calendar updates to reflect valid check-out options based on availability and restrictions such as Closed to Departure (CTD) and length-of-stay requirements.

In general, a strikethrough indicates that a date cannot be selected, while grayscale without a strikethrough may indicate that the date is unavailable, inactive, or restricted depending on the booking step and calendar context.

Restriction tooltip examples

When guests hover over a restricted date, the calendar may display a tooltip explaining why the date cannot be selected for check-in or check-out, or why a stay rule applies.

Tooltip example showing the you can't check in on this date, but stays including it may still be possible message on the Booking Engine calendar. — You can't check in on this date, but stays including it may still be possible.

Tooltip example showing the you can't check out on this date, but you can stay through it message on the Booking Engine calendar. — You can't check out on this date, but you can stay through it.

Tooltip example showing the minimum length of stay required message on the Booking Engine calendar. — Minimum length of stay required.

Tooltip example showing the exceeds maximum length of stay message on the Booking Engine calendar. — Exceeds maximum length of stay.

How guests interact with restriction tooltips across devices

On Desktop, guests can view restriction tooltips by hovering over a restricted date.
On Mobile Devices, guests must tap the restricted date to display the tooltip.

For some length-of-stay cases on mobile, the calendar may also show a "Restrictions may apply" message at the bottom of the calendar.

FAQ and Troubleshooting

What if I don't see the tooltips on my calendar?

CTA and CTD control check-in and check-out availability, while Min LOS and Max LOS define stay length requirements. All of these can trigger tooltips in the Booking Engine when properly configured.

Follow the steps below to ensure tooltips appear correctly:

Enable restriction indicators in the Booking Engine
Enable restriction fields in the Availability Matrix:
- From the Main menu, go to Rates & Availability → Availability Matrix.
- Click the Display Options dropdown.
- Enable:
  - Closed to Arrival (CTA)
  - Closed to Departure (CTD)
  - Min LOS
  - Max LOS
Apply restrictions to your dates:
- Locate the desired dates in the Availability Matrix.
- Check or enter values for CTA, CTD, Min LOS, or Max LOS as needed.
- Apply these restrictions across all room types and rate plans for consistent behavior.
- Click Save.

Availability Matrix example showing where to enable Display Options and configure Min LOS, Max LOS, Closed to Arrival, and Closed to Departure restrictions.

Keep in mind:

If restrictions are applied to only some room types or rate plans, the tooltip may not appear in the Booking Engine.
Dates must have available inventory. Fully blocked or sold-out dates will appear with a strikethrough and will not display tooltips.

For more details on how to configure these restrictions, see:

Issue: CTA/CTD dates still show a strikethrough

Verify that the date is actually set as CTA/CTD in your rate restrictions and not accidentally fully blocked. Recommended article: Rate Plans and Packages Restrictions Overview.

Issue: Tooltip not appearing on mobile

Ensure the device is not in a browser Reader Mode, which can sometimes suppress pop-up tooltips.

General display Issues

If changes aren't appearing after saving, clear your browser cache and hard-refresh the Booking Engine page.