Introduction to Inventory
The Inventory grid in Front Desk is your central hub for managing how your hotel rooms are sold. It provides a visual layout of rates, availability and restrictions for each day.
The grid explained:
Each column represents a specific date
Each row represents a room rate, grouped by room type
Inventory views
You can customise how the Inventory grid displays information using the following:
Show Inclusions: displays inclusions for each room rate
All fields (default): see all details for each room rate, including availability, price and restrictions
Basic Fields: simplify the view by hiding restrictions and only show available inventory and rates for each room rate
Room rate fields
The Inventory grid contains the following fields for each rate plan depending on the one that is selected.
Available: this shows the number of rooms available for booking on a specific date (automatically calculated)
Rate: the base price of the room rate
Restrictions: apply limits to how rooms are sold
Min Stay: minimum number of nights the room rate can be booked for (overrides the ‘Default minimum stay’ of the room type or room rate)
Max Stay: maximum number of nights the room rate can be booked for (overrides the ‘Default maximum stay’ of the room type or room rate)
Close Channels: stops selling the room rate on all connected channels
CTA (Closed to Arrival): guests cannot initiate their stay (check in) on the specific date, although they can stay through this date if they check in earlier
CTD (Closed to Departure): guests cannot end their stay (check out) on the specific date, but they can remain checked in past the restricted date
Note:
Some channels don’t support syncing restrictions, these will need to be updated manually on the channel extranet
Viewing and navigating the Inventory grid
Use the following buttons to navigate:
<< Week: move back one week
< Day: move back one day
Date selector: choose a specific date
Day >: move forward one day
Week >>: move forward one week
Note: While the Inventory grid only shows upcoming dates, you can view past dates on the Calendar tab for past bookings only.
Updating your inventory
To make updates to your Little Hotelier inventory:
Go to Front Desk > Inventory
Select your inventory view (Show Inclusions, All Fields, Basic Fields)
Navigate to the relevant dates
Make updates to any of the editable fields (derived rates are not editable)
Click Save
Note:
Most channels have a maximum update period of 1–2 years, so rates and restrictions updated beyond this will not sync to channels
Creating a stop sell
To apply a stop sell on all connected booking channels:
Go to Front Desk > Inventory
Choose dates
Tick Close Channels for each applicable room rate
Click Save
💡 Note:
Close Channels in Front Desk > Inventory stops selling on all connected channels for the selected room rates and dates
To close specific channels only: Use Stop Sells in My Apps > Channel Manager > Inventory. This allows you to close individual channels while keeping others open. Stop Sells in Channel Manager won’t work if Close Channels is enabled in Front Desk > Inventory. You can only use one method at a time.
Using the Bulk Update tool
Use the Bulk Update tool to save time when making updates across multiple dates and room rates for updates to:
Rates
Close channels
Close website (your direct booking engine)
Minimum stay
Maximum stay
CTA (close to arrival)
CTD (close to departure)
Go to Front Desk > Inventory
Click Bulk Update in the Inventory grid header
Choose dates
Select applicable room rates
Update fields you would like to change
Click Update
Managing availability
Availability is automatically calculated and cannot be directly edited in the Inventory grid. In Little Hotelier, your inventory is determined by the number of rooms available or not blocked in your calendar, based on the total number of room units set. By default, Little Hotelier keeps your room availability updated automatically for the next 716 days
Why can't I update the availability in Front Desk inventory?
Availability cannot be directly changed in the Inventory grid. It is calculated and pushed from Front Desk, based on your physical rooms and closures.
How to update availability?
Increase availability (permanent): Front Desk > Setup > Rooms & Rates > select room type > Rooms tab > Add Room > Save. Each physical room you add equals 1 more available room
Reduce availability (permanent): Front Desk > Setup > Rooms & Rates > select room type > Rooms tab > Delete or deactivate a room