Why Filling in Your Availability Changes Everything

Élise created her Kaza in Dijon in May: a barn converted into a family cottage, with photos, a carefully written description, and a well-filled-out capacity. Three months later, she'd received no requests at all — and couldn't understand why, until a member of her Klub asked her a very simple question: "When's your Kaza free?" Élise couldn't answer right away — and it was that hesitation, more than the question itself, that alerted her.

A Complete Listing, Silent on the Essential

"I'd spent time on the photos, on the description. I thought I'd done the hardest part." What Élise hadn't filled in was the availability section — the calendar showing when the barn is free. "I told myself I'd deal with it whenever someone contacted me, and give exact dates at that point."

It's a line of reasoning that seems logical from the inside, yet produces the opposite of the intended effect: with no availability set, no one contacts you, so the moment you think you'll be able to specify dates never comes. Behind this postponement there's often another hesitation: not wanting to lock into a calendar when you don't yet know precisely when you'll go yourself. "I was afraid of blocking out a week as available, then changing my mind."

What Actually Happens Without Availability

Searching by date is the most common way to find a Kaza: a member enters a period, and only Kazas whose calendar covers those dates show up with the option to make a request. A Kaza with no availability set at all can't match any of these searches, whatever period is entered — not because it's hidden, but because it technically can't meet any date criteria.

"They explained to me that my barn could very well show up if someone came across it while browsing the Klub's Kazas without specifying dates. But as soon as someone searched 'available August 10 to 15,' it never appeared. And that's exactly how people search in practice — they have dates in mind, not a vague wish."

"I'd done all the visible work — the photos, the text — and left out the one thing that actually triggers a request."

What She Set Up

Élise filled in her availability for the following four months, in blocks of two to three weeks rather than day by day. "I thought it would be tedious. Actually, I just looked at my own calendar — the weeks I wasn't planning to go there myself, or the ones where I already knew I'd stay in town — and left the rest as available. It took me fifteen minutes, no more."

She solved her fear of locking herself in not by avoiding the calendar, but differently: "An availability isn't an irrevocable promise. If I ever have a conflict after accepting a request, I can always talk it over with the person. What I was really blocking before wasn't a specific date, it was the very idea of committing." She also picked up a simple habit: updating the calendar every time she decides on a personal stay at the barn, rather than waiting for a general review every six months.

What Changed

Within three weeks of updating the calendar, Élise received two requests, one of which she accepted for a September weekend. "The listing hadn't changed by a single word. Not the photos, not the description, not the cost-sharing amount. The only difference is that people could finally know if it was possible before even asking me."

She also noticed a shift in the nature of the messages she received: "Before, in the rare messages I got, people would first ask if it was free. Now, they ask directly about the practical details, because they already know the dates work for them. The conversation starts further along, and I waste less time on exchanges that go nowhere."

Who This Speaks To

This applies to any Kaza already online, sometimes with a carefully done listing, whose availability calendar has stayed empty — often out of a "we'll see later, case by case" mindset, or fear of committing to dates that might change. It's precisely this setting that makes a Kaza findable by people searching for actual dates, rather than only by those browsing with no specific plan. Filling in the listing to the end is pointless if the last step, the one that actually gets you contacted, is left aside.