Managing your calendar (for hosts)

Your calendar determines when guests can book your spot. Guests can instantly book any available time that meets your hosting preferences, so it's important to keep your availability up to date.

Each spot has its own calendar. If you host multiple spots, you'll manage the availability for each spot separately.

In this article, you'll learn how to:

  1. Set your regular availability
  2. Block time when you're unavailable
  3. Choose your hosting preferences
  4. Use your calendar
  5. Understand how your calendar works

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How your availability works

Guests can instantly book a reservation when all of the following are true:

  • The time is available on your calendar.
  • Your hosting preferences (such as advance notice requirements) allow the booking.
  • The reservation falls within your maximum booking window.

There is no request-to-book process. If a time is available and meets your hosting preferences, guests can book it immediately.

By default, new spots are available for booking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until you customize your calendar.

1. Set your regular availability

Most hosts start by setting the days and times they're typically available.

Since new spots are available 24/7 by default, the easiest way to create a regular schedule is by using recurring calendar blocks to automatically block the times you're consistently unavailable. This creates a weekly schedule without requiring you to update your calendar every week.

For example, you might:

  • Block overnight hours every day.
  • Block weekdays while you're at work.
  • Block evenings after a certain time.
  • Leave weekends open for bookings.

Tip: Hosts who make weekends available often receive their first bookings sooner.

Overnight schedules

Recurring calendar blocks can't span midnight.

If you regularly close overnight, create:

  • one recurring block from your closing time until midnight (12:00 AM, or as close as your device allows), and
  • a second recurring block from midnight until your opening time.

2. Block time when you're unavailable

Use calendar blocks anytime your regular schedule changes.

For example, you can block time when you:

  • Go on vacation
  • Have appointments or personal plans
  • Close earlier than usual
  • Open later than usual
  • Need additional time before or after guests
  • Want to block several consecutive days

You can create:

  • One-time blocks
  • Recurring blocks
  • Multi-day blocks

Note: Multi-day blocks can't be set to repeat.

Existing reservations aren't affected

Adding a calendar block doesn't cancel or modify reservations that have already been booked.

If a guest booked before you created the block, their reservation will remain on your calendar. Calendar blocks only prevent future bookings during the blocked time.

If you're no longer able to host an existing reservation, you'll need to cancel it. Learn more in How to cancel a booking as a host.

3. Choose your hosting preferences

Your calendar is only one part of your availability.

Your hosting preferences determine which reservations guests can make, even when your calendar appears available.

From your hosting settings, you can customize:

  • Advance notice requirements
  • Maximum booking window
  • Minimum and maximum booking length
  • Guest limits
  • Other hosting preferences

These settings help ensure you receive bookings that fit your schedule and hosting style.

Learn more about:

4. Use your calendar

You can manage your calendar from both the Sniffspot website and the mobile app.

If you host multiple spots, always select the correct spot before making changes. Changes only apply to the selected spot's calendar.

Add a calendar block

On the website

  1. Log in to your host account.
  2. Select Calendar.
  3. Choose the spot you'd like to manage.
  4. Select Add block, Add blocked time, or View day schedule, depending on your current calendar view.
  5. Enter the dates, times, and recurrence, if applicable.
  6. Save your changes.

On the mobile app

  1. Open the Sniffspot app.
  2. Go to the Host tab.
  3. Tap Calendar.
  4. Select the spot you'd like to manage.
  5. Tap Add block, Add blocked time, or View day schedule, depending on your current view.
  6. Enter the dates, times, and recurrence, if applicable.
  7. Save your changes.

Edit or delete a calendar block

Select any future calendar block to edit or delete it.

Remove one occurrence from a recurring block

If you want to make one occurrence of a recurring block available:

  1. Select the recurring block.
  2. Choose Delete blocked time.
  3. Select Delete block on this day.
  4. Choose the date you'd like to remove.
  5. Select Delete.

Only that occurrence will be removed. The recurring block will continue for future dates.

View a day's schedule

Select a date and choose List view to see all reservations and calendar blocks for that day.


5. Understand how your calendar works

Calendar colors

Your calendar uses different colors to show availability:

  • White = Available
  • Gray = Blocked
  • Green = Reserved

Reservation buffers

Sniffspot automatically adds a 30-minute buffer between reservations to help ensure guest visits don't overlap.

This automatic buffer doesn't apply between reservations and your own calendar blocks. If you'd like extra time before or after a reservation, include that extra time in your calendar block.

Why your host calendar and guest calendar may look different

Your host calendar displays:

  • Calendar blocks
  • Reservations

It doesn't display time that's unavailable because of your hosting preferences.

For example, if you require advance notice, your host calendar may show time as available even though guests can't book it yet.

To preview exactly what guests can book, visit your public listing and view the calendar from a guest's perspective.

Managing reservations

Reservations can't be modified from your calendar.

To manage an existing reservation, open it from your host account. From there you can:

  • View reservation details
  • Message your guest
  • Manage the reservation

If you need to cancel a reservation, see How to cancel a booking as a host.

Past reservations and past calendar times can't be edited.

See what other hosts are saying about this topic in our Sniffspot Host Community on Facebook!

Discussion Topic: Calendar

Discussion Topic: Google Calendar

Discussion Topic: Block Time

Discussion Topic: Set Hours

Discussion Topic: Hours of Operation

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