What is Smart Booking Allocation?
Smart Booking Allocation (SBA) is an automated system that intelligently distributes reservations across the units within a Multi-Unit Property Group. Its primary goal is to reduce fragmented availability and gaps between reservations, ensuring that units are booked in contiguous blocks rather than scattered across the group.
Without SBA, bookings may land on different units in a way that creates small unusable gaps — for example, Unit A has a 2-day gap between two bookings while Unit B sits empty. This fragmentation leads to false availability: a guest searching for 3 nights might see the dates as "available" because individual nights are free across different units, but no single unit can accommodate the full stay without a mid-stay room change — a poor guest experience.
SBA solves this by consolidating reservations onto fewer units and keeping availability contiguous on the remaining ones.
Example: You have 5 identical "Studio Room" units. A guest books Mon–Wed, another books Fri–Sun. Without SBA, these might land on different units, leaving both with gaps on Thursday. With SBA, both bookings are placed on the same unit, keeping the other 4 units fully open for longer stays.
Prerequisites
A Multi-Unit Property Group must already be set up (see Multi-Unit Rental Types)
Calendar Service v2 must be active on your account
Why Smart Allocation Matters
The Fragmentation Problem
When multiple identical units accept bookings independently, reservations naturally spread across all units. Over time this creates a pattern where:
Each unit has small gaps between reservations (1–2 nights)
These gaps are often too short to sell as standalone bookings
Longer stay requests appear available in search (dates are technically free) but no single unit can fulfill the entire stay
Guests would need to switch rooms mid-stay, which is operationally difficult and creates a bad experience
How SBA Fixes It
Smart Booking Allocation consolidates reservations to minimize gaps:
Packs reservations tightly on fewer units, leaving other units completely open
Reduces false availability — if dates show as available, a single unit can actually fulfill the stay
Eliminates mid-stay room changes — guests stay in the same unit for their entire booking
Maximizes sellable inventory — open units have clean, contiguous availability for new bookings
Enabling Smart Booking Allocation
SBA is configured per property group:
Go to Settings → Multi Unit
Click the edit button on the group you want to configure
In the edit modal, check the Smart Booking Allocation toggle
Configure the allocation settings (see below)
Click Save
Settings
Setting | Description |
Enable / Disable | Master switch that turns Smart Booking Allocation on or off for this group. When disabled, bookings stay on whichever unit they were originally placed on. |
Fixed Advance Days | Number of days in advance for allocation scheduling. For example, if set to |
Shuffle | When enabled, the system randomizes which unit receives the next booking (among equally optimal choices). This balances wear and usage across units over time. Recommended: ON. |
Allocation Pending | Manually flag this group for re-allocation on the next run. Use this after making changes to the group (adding/removing units, cancelling reservations) to trigger a fresh optimization pass. |
How It Works
Allocation Process
The system periodically checks groups that have SBA enabled
For each group, it analyzes upcoming reservations within the Fixed Advance Days window
It evaluates the current distribution of reservations across units
Reservations are re-assigned to minimize gaps and fragmentation — packing bookings tightly on fewer units
If Shuffle is on, equally optimal unit choices are randomized for balanced wear
⚠️ Important: Reservations are not fixed to a specific unit. On each allocation cycle, the system re-evaluates the optimal distribution and may relocate reservations to a different unit within the same group. This is by design — as new bookings arrive or cancellations occur, the system re-optimizes to keep availability as contiguous as possible. If you need a reservation to stay on a specific unit, disable SBA for that group or manually assign it after the allocation run.
Status Indicators
On the Multi Unit management page, each group card shows the current SBA status:
ON — SBA is active, with the configured advance days and shuffle setting displayed
OFF — SBA is disabled for this group
Pending — The group is queued for the next allocation run
Running — Allocation is currently being processed for this group
Best Practices
Enable Shuffle for groups with 3+ units to ensure balanced wear while still optimizing for contiguous bookings
Set Fixed Advance Days based on your typical booking lead time — 1–3 days works well for most properties
After adding or removing units from a group, toggle Allocation Pending to trigger a fresh optimization pass
Monitor the group cards on the Multi Unit page to verify allocation status
Review your calendar periodically to confirm that bookings are being consolidated and gaps are minimized
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I disable SBA on a group?
Existing reservations remain on their assigned units. New bookings will stay wherever they were originally placed, without automatic optimization. Over time, this may lead to fragmented availability.
Can I manually override an allocation?
Yes. SBA assigns units automatically, but you can always move a reservation to a different unit manually through the calendar or reservation detail page. Note that if SBA is still enabled, the system may relocate it again on the next cycle.
Does SBA work with multi-unit website bookings?
Yes. When a guest books multiple units through the website, SBA ensures the selected units are optimally chosen to minimize gaps. The guest receives a single confirmation code covering all units.
What if a unit becomes unavailable after allocation?
If a unit is blocked or taken offline, toggle Allocation Pending on the group to trigger re-optimization. Affected bookings will be moved to remaining available units on the next run.
Will guests ever need to change rooms mid-stay?
No — that's exactly what SBA prevents. By consolidating bookings onto fewer units, each guest's entire stay is always on a single unit. The system never splits a reservation across multiple units.
Can I prevent a reservation from being relocated?
SBA re-evaluates all reservations on each cycle, so any booking may be moved to a different unit. To prevent this, either disable SBA on the group, or manually assign the reservation after the allocation run completes and before the next cycle.