What is a Stop Sell?
A Stop Sell allows you to make a room unavailable for a specific Rate Type without removing the price. It's a way to show your staff that you are intentionally not selling this Rate Type.
This is helpful when you want to prevent bookings for a certain rate type, package, or channel while keeping your pricing intact.
For example, you may want to stop selling your OTA rate for a holiday weekend while still allowing guests to book directly through your Best Available Rate.
When should I use a Stop Sell?
Use a Stop Sell to intentionally prevent a specific Rate Type from being booked.
Common examples include:
Making inventory unavailable to OTAs on your OTA rate
Holding inventory for direct bookings
Holding inventory for a package or event rate
Temporarily taking a room out of sale for a specific Rate Type
Managing availability during operational, seasonal, or transition periods
Stop Sell vs. No Rates
A Stop Sell and No Rates behave differently and serve different purposes. Removing pricing accomplishes the same result for bookability, but it's harder to reopen that availability if you don't know the price that was set.
Help your staff understand
Previously, properties removed rates or left rates blank to prevent bookings. Now, No Rates and Stop Sell are separate actions.
Use a Stop Sell when you want to communicate to your front Desk that management has deliberately marked a room/date as not available for a particular Rate Type.
The label "No Rates" appears when pricing hasn't been entered yet, such as in the future when pricing hasn't been determined. So when staff see this, it communicates that pricing hasn't been set yet, but likely will.
If you see No Rates, but Stop Sell would be a more appropriate calendar label, set a Stop Sell on the dates with no rates.
Pro Tip: If you have both no pricing and a Stop Sell configured at the same time, the label on the calendar will read "Stop Sell".
Stop Sell vs. Blackout
A Stop Sell only blocks availability for a specific Rate Type. A blackout blocks availability across all Rate Types.
Feature | What it blocks | Best used when |
Stop Sell | One Rate Type | You want to stop selling a specific rate, package, or channel. |
Blackout | All Rate Types | The room is out of service and should not be bookable by anyone, including staff. |
For example, use a Stop Sell to close your OTA rate while keeping your direct rate available. Use a Blackout if the room is out of service and should not be booked.
How "Stop Sell" appears on the Reservation Calendar
When a room/date is unavailable because of a Stop Sell, the Reservation Calendar displays a gray patterned bar labeled Stop Sell.
The calendar displays unavailable labels such as No Rates, Stop Sell, and Linked Room to help explain why a room/date is unavailable. This article explains that unavailable dates show a patterned light-gray bar with a note explaining the reason.
Please note that the Reservation Calendar changes based on the Rate Type selected at the top left of the calendar. If you change the selected Rate Type, you may see different rates, restrictions, or availability for the same room/date.
Best practice
Use Stop Sell when your goal is to prevent bookings while keeping the rate in place and communicate intention to your staff.
Avoid removing rates just to stop bookings. Removing rates can make it harder to tell whether pricing is missing by mistake or intentionally made unavailable. Also, using Stop Sell keeps your pricing intact and makes your intent clearer to your team.