Structuring bookings for a 12-unit airbnb complex without hurting occupancy or transparency?

Hi everyone,

We’re opening a 12-unit airbnb complex, and we’re struggling with how to structure bookings on our website.

The apartments are very similar in amenities, design etc. but they differ slightly in several dimensions:

• some are pet-friendly, some are not
• some have washing machines, some don’t
• interior colors vary
• minor layout differences
• a few have small extras

The problem:

If we make all 12 units individually bookable, guests get full transparency and can choose exactly what they want — but we lose the ability to optimize occupancy and operations (cleaning logistics, avoiding fragmented availability, etc.).If we allow filtering (e.g., pet-friendly, washing machine), we essentially end up in the same situation: guests develop expectations for specific units.

If we group them into categories ( e.g. Standard / Deluxe / Penthouse), we can automate allocation and optimize occupancy — but then some functional differences (like washing machine or pet-friendly status) become tricky, because we don’t want guests to feel surprised or misled.

Our booking engine only displays availability based on occupied/vacant status.We can’t algorithmically prioritize certain units, and manually blocking/unblocking inventory just to steer demand wouldn’t be an efficient or scalable solution.

Thanks in advance for your insights!