Revenue management, answered

Should I open dates I've blocked off, and does blocking hurt me?

Yes, open them. Unnecessary blocks are silent revenue killers. Every blocked night is inventory you can never recover, and platforms penalize low availability with reduced search visibility, compounding the loss beyond just the missing booking.

By Jack Murphy, Head of Revenue Management at UpRev. Running pricing for US vacation rental managers since 2017. Last updated September 1, 2026.

What Blocking Actually Costs You

Platforms rank listings partly on availability ratio, so chronic blocking suppresses your position in search results even on the nights you are open. That means you lose bookings on unblocked dates too, not just the ones you closed off. For portfolio managers, this compounds fast across dozens of units.

When a Block Is Justified

Owner holds, confirmed maintenance windows, and verified turnover gaps are legitimate. Speculative holds waiting on a direct booking that may never materialize are not. Audit your blocked inventory every week and require a hard reason tied to a real event before any block stays on the calendar.

How to Open Dates Without Underpricing

The concern most managers have is that opening short-notice or shoulder dates means accepting low rates. That is a pricing problem, not an availability problem, and the answer is rate adjustment, not a block. Price last-minute gaps at a level that still generates margin, because even a below-peak booking outperforms zero revenue and keeps your availability score healthy.