SiteMinder automation
Set SiteMinder minimum stay and closed to arrival for peak dates
Before Christmas, New Year or a festival week you want a minimum stay and no one-night arrivals on the busiest dates. In SiteMinder each channel rate can accept a different set of restrictions, so the change is never just one form.
Cotlet does it in your own SiteMinder account with list_channels, list_room_rates, update_restrictions and close_dates, called by your AI agent, an n8n workflow or a script.
Hosted · nothing to install or maintain
Official options
Can SiteMinder do this on its own?
SiteMinder has no API a hotel can use to set restrictions (checked 12 Oct 2026); certified PMS and RMS partners send them. Natively, Bulk update sets one restriction type per save, and an Automatic closure yield rule under Distribution > Yield rules stops selling a room type or rate when availability reaches a threshold. Neither checks which channels support CTA or CTD, nor lists the channels you still have to change in an extranet.
By hand
How you do it in SiteMinder today
- Go to Distribution > Inventory, open the room rate's connections drop-down and click Rates next to a channel rate; switch the drop-down to Closed to arrival or Min length of stay.
- Tick the CTA box or type the Min Stay value for each date, then Save. For many dates use Bulk update and pick the restriction in the Set drop-down.
- A dash instead of a checkbox means that channel rate does not take the restriction. Note which channels showed a dash and set the restriction in each one's own extranet.
- Check Rooms and rates > Rate plans as well: the Default minimum stay there covers only new dates, so the holiday dates already loaded keep their old value.
- After the holidays, go back to each channel rate and untick CTA or set Min Stay back to 1. A forgotten restriction keeps blocking short bookings in January.
With an agent
How to set SiteMinder minimum stay and closed to arrival for peak dates
Prompt
For Christmas, close all room rates to arrivals on 24 and 25 December and set a 3-night minimum stay from 23 to 27 December on every channel that supports it. - 01
Check support per channel first
list_channels shows, for every channel rate, which restrictions SiteMinder can send. The agent splits your request into what SiteMinder can deliver and what has to be set in the channel extranet, before it touches a date.
- 02
Pick the room rates that sell
From list_room_rates the agent takes the base rates mapped to at least one enabled channel. It asks before restricting a long-stay or package rate, since a 3-night minimum on a weekly rate makes no sense.
- 03
Set CTA and minimum stay in one pass
One update_restrictions call per date block carries both values, for example cta on 24 and 25 December and min_los 3 from 23 to 27 December. Each call waits for your OK with the dates and channels listed.
- 04
Report what SiteMinder skipped
The response lists channel rates that did not take a restriction. The agent turns that into a to-do: which channel, which dates, which restriction to set in its extranet.
- 05
Schedule the lift
If you ask, the agent notes the end date and on 28 December clears CTA and resets min_los to 1, the value SiteMinder uses for no minimum. If the closure was a stop sell made with close_dates, it removes that too.
What you get back
Example data
Christmas restrictions, 23 to 27 Dec
CTA on 24 and 25 Dec: Booking.com, Expedia, Direct Booking (6 room rates)
Min stay 3 nights, 23 to 27 Dec: Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, Direct Booking
Not supported, set in the extranet yourself: CTA on Agoda (2 room rates)
Skipped on purpose: Weekly Saver rate (long stay)
Reminder set: lift on 28 Dec Other ways to ask
- Rooms 201 to 204 are out of order after a leak: stop sell the Standard Double on Booking.com and Expedia for the next two weeks, keep Direct Booking open.
- Set a 2-night minimum stay on every Saturday in July and August, Booking.com only.
- Remove all closed to departure restrictions we set for New Year.
- Close the Deluxe King to arrivals every Sunday next month, on all channels that support it.
Before you automate it
What SiteMinder allows, and what to know first
- SiteMinder can send a restriction only where Data supported by this channel rate lists it, under Distribution > Channels > Edit room rates mapping > Configure; the rest must be set in the channel's extranet.
- Default minimum stay, default maximum stay and release period on a SiteMinder rate plan apply only to new rate plans and future dates, so existing dates need date-specific restrictions.
- SiteMinder treats availability 0 and stop sell differently: availability 0 closes a room type and all its rates on every channel, while a stop sell closes one rate or channel and leaves the rest selling.
- An Automatic closure yield rule in SiteMinder watches the availability of one room type or rate, not the total for the property, and deleting the rule reopens the affected rates.
- If a connected PMS, RMS or CRS syncs restrictions, SiteMinder overwrites manual CTA, minimum stay and stop sell changes with the values from that system.
update_restrictions and close_dates ask for your OK by default. To run it on a schedule without you, switch confirmation off for those tools in your dashboard.
Sources: SiteMinder Help: set up and manage restrictions · SiteMinder Help: add or remove stop sells · SiteMinder Help: set up an automatic closure yield rule · SiteMinder Help: minimum and maximum length of stay restrictions
REST
Call update_restrictions from a script
curl
curl https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/siteminder/update_restrictions \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"room_rate_ids":["rr_48213","rr_48210"],"from":"2026-12-24","to":"2026-12-25","restrictions":{"cta":true,"min_los":3}}' Example response
{
"status": "updated",
"room_rates": 2,
"dates": 3,
"channels": [
"Booking.com",
"Expedia",
"Direct Booking"
],
"skipped": [
{
"channel": "Agoda",
"reason": "CTA not supported by this channel rate"
}
]
} MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the tool is siteminder_update_restrictions. Example data.
Schedule it in n8n, Make, Zapier or cronTools
SiteMinder tools this automation uses
| Tool | Parameters |
|---|---|
| list_channels | none |
| list_room_rates | none |
| update_restrictions | room_rate_ids, from, to, restrictions, channels, days_of_week |
| close_dates | from, to, room_rate_ids, channels |
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