diff --git a/workload/bicep/brownfield/newSessionHosts/deploy.bicep b/workload/bicep/brownfield/newSessionHosts/deploy.bicep
index 4c8fd4a3a..e17f69be8 100644
--- a/workload/bicep/brownfield/newSessionHosts/deploy.bicep
+++ b/workload/bicep/brownfield/newSessionHosts/deploy.bicep
@@ -57,12 +57,7 @@ param enableAcceleratedNetworking bool = true
 ])
 param availability string = 'None'
 
-@sys.description('The Availability Zones to use for the session hosts.')
-@allowed([
-  '1'
-  '2'
-  '3'
-])
+@sys.description('The Availability Zones to use for the session hosts. Valid values are combinations of \'1\', \'2\', \'3\', or an empty array for regions without availability zones.')
 param availabilityZones array = ['1', '2', '3']
 
 @sys.description('Set to deploy image from Azure Compute Gallery. (Default: false)')
diff --git a/workload/bicep/deploy-baseline.bicep b/workload/bicep/deploy-baseline.bicep
index 0f705d275..3ee610dba 100644
--- a/workload/bicep/deploy-baseline.bicep
+++ b/workload/bicep/deploy-baseline.bicep
@@ -236,12 +236,7 @@ param avdSessionHostCountIndex int = 1
 ])
 param availability string = 'None'
 
-@sys.description('The Availability Zones to use for the session hosts.')
-@allowed([
-  '1'
-  '2'
-  '3'
-])
+@sys.description('The Availability Zones to use for the session hosts. Valid values are combinations of \'1\', \'2\', \'3\', or an empty array for regions without availability zones.')
 param availabilityZones array = ['1', '2', '3']
 
 @sys.description('When true, Zone Redundant Storage (ZRS) is used, when set to false, Locally Redundant Storage (LRS) is used. (Default: false)')
diff --git a/workload/bicep/modules/avdSessionHosts/deploy.bicep b/workload/bicep/modules/avdSessionHosts/deploy.bicep
index 0148a3cbd..4a5ad9717 100644
--- a/workload/bicep/modules/avdSessionHosts/deploy.bicep
+++ b/workload/bicep/modules/avdSessionHosts/deploy.bicep
@@ -168,6 +168,7 @@ var varCustomOsDiskProperties = {
   diskSizeGB: customOsDiskSizeGB != 0 ? customOsDiskSizeGB : null
 }
 var varZones = [for zone in availabilityZones: int(zone)]
+var varHasZones = length(availabilityZones) > 0
 
 // =========== //
 // Deployments //
@@ -188,7 +189,7 @@ module sessionHosts '../../../../avm/1.0.0/res/compute/virtual-machine/main.bice
       name: '${namePrefix}${padLeft((i + countIndex), 4, '0')}'
       location: location
       timeZone: timeZone
-      zone: availability == 'AvailabilityZones' ? varZones[i % length(varZones)] : 0
+      zone: availability == 'AvailabilityZones' && varHasZones ? varZones[i % length(varZones)] : 0
       managedIdentities: contains(identityServiceProvider, 'EntraID') || deployMonitoring
         ? {
             systemAssigned: true
diff --git a/workload/portal-ui/brownfield/portalUiNewSessionHosts.json b/workload/portal-ui/brownfield/portalUiNewSessionHosts.json
index 8c2436764..23d6ffa47 100644
--- a/workload/portal-ui/brownfield/portalUiNewSessionHosts.json
+++ b/workload/portal-ui/brownfield/portalUiNewSessionHosts.json
@@ -557,11 +557,7 @@
 									"name": "availabilityZones",
 									"type": "Microsoft.Common.DropDown",
 									"label": "Select Availability Zones",
-									"defaultValue": [
-										"Zone 1",
-										"Zone 2",
-										"Zone 3"
-									],
+									"defaultValue": "[map(first(map(first(map(filter(steps('sessionHosts').resourceSkusApi.value, (sku) => contains(sku.name, steps('sessionHosts').settings.vmSize)), (sku) => sku.locationInfo)), (sku) => sku.zones)), (zone) => parse(concat('{\"label\":\"Zone ', zone, '\",\"value\":\"', zone, '\"}')))]",
 									"multiselect": true,
 									"selectAll": true,
 									"toolTip": "Select the desired Availability Zones",
diff --git a/workload/portal-ui/portal-ui-baseline.json b/workload/portal-ui/portal-ui-baseline.json
index 2a9994178..a0a358360 100644
--- a/workload/portal-ui/portal-ui-baseline.json
+++ b/workload/portal-ui/portal-ui-baseline.json
@@ -1025,11 +1025,7 @@
 									"name": "availabilityZones",
 									"type": "Microsoft.Common.DropDown",
 									"label": "Select Availability Zones",
-									"defaultValue": [
-										"Zone 1",
-										"Zone 2",
-										"Zone 3"
-									],
+									"defaultValue": "[map(first(map(first(map(filter(steps('sessionHosts').sessionHostsRegionSection.resourceSkusApi.value, (sku) => contains(sku.name, steps('sessionHosts').sessionHostsSettingsSection.sessionHostSize)), (sku) => sku.locationInfo)), (sku) => sku.zones)), (zone) => parse(concat('{\"label\":\"Zone ', zone, '\",\"value\":\"', zone, '\"}')))]",
 									"multiselect": true,
 									"selectAll": true,
 									"toolTip": "Select the desired Availability Zones",