How to Build Your Own Direct Booking Website to Multiply Your Revenue

How to Build Your Own Direct Booking Website to Multiply Your Revenue

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After listing a vacation rental property on multiple OTAs, the next logical step for many hosts is to create a direct booking website. Here, you can share more information about your property and let your own brand identity shine through, making it one of the best vacation rental marketing tools. Plus, it can help you attract direct bookings to increase your revenue significantly.

To help you design a great website, we explore the main options and share some practical tips for how you can ensure that your online bookings keep rolling in.   

What Is a Direct Booking Website?

A direct booking website is a site where you can display your high-quality property photos, share a detailed listing description, and offer a direct booking engine. This way, guests can book directly without having to pay the additional Airbnb service fee. 

While no two direct booking sites are the same, the following are some of the information that you will typically find:

• An “About the Host” section introducing the vacation rental owner
• High-quality photos
• Property description
• Directions
• Guest reviews
• Special offers
• Booking forms/booking engine

Why Should I Have My Own Direct Booking Website?

There are a number of reasons why it can be a smart investment to build a direct booking site. The most obvious perk is probably that you will be able to generate commission-free bookings, but that’s not the only benefit of going the book-direct route.  

1. Opens another revenue stream

Your direct booking site does not necessarily need to replace your property listings on the other popular channels like Vrbo, Booking.com, or Expedia altogether. You can get the best of both worlds. 

Instead, a booking engine simply offers an extra revenue stream that you can tap into. Implementing a multi-channel approach like this can help you to scale your vacation rental business faster.

2. Builds your business brand 

A direct booking website can become a core part of creating a marketing strategy for your vacation rentals. You can, for example, include a blog section where you regularly add relevant blog posts. 

With your own booking engine, it is also easier to integrate other marketing strategies like social media and/or email marketing, with the help of a web development service. With web development services for startups, you can have a high-performing website that showcases your unique offerings and attracts potential customers.

You can, for example, create a monthly newsletter about recent renovations or events in the area that you share with your email list or blog readers. Not only will your target audience find this helpful, but it can also improve search engine optimization (SEO) for your short-term rental.

3. Save on OTA fees and receive more profit per booking

The booking fees that OTAs charge can add up to a pretty penny. Plus, as a comparison of Airbnb and Vrbo reveals, one platform isn’t necessarily cheaper. The only way that you can increase your profit without charging more per night is to reduce your expenses like service fees.

4. More control over your business

A website won’t have to follow the same guidelines set by OTAs. With a direct booking website, you are free to decide on and implement your own terms, policies, payment structures, prices, and availability. For example, if you decide to charge a security deposit, you can inspect the property and only return it if the guests looked after your property and followed your house rules. 

You can also use it to optimize the experience completely. For example, if you have adjacent properties, you can easily create your direct bookings site in such a way that travelers will see that they can book both properties together. Perhaps you want to rent out only an individual room? While Airbnb allows you to list shared spaces, not all vacation rental platforms give you this flexibility… 

5. Better communication with your guests

With your own booking site, you are not restricted to the character limitations set by the OTAs. This means that you will have more space to tell potential guests about your business and property listings and answer questions like: 

• How did it start? 
• What is your mission and vision for your short-term rental business? 
• What makes the neighborhood a popular attraction?

What’s more, you can also give website visitors the option to sign up for email. This eliminates the need to use third-party platforms like the Airbnb app and offers another channel you can use to keep them informed about specials, upcoming events, etc. This way, they can be the first to know when you are running a promotion or your town has a special attraction

6. Lower pricing for guests

When you have your own direct booking website, you can potentially consider lowering your price as your costs and fees will be lower. For example, if you chose to increase the Airbnb nightly rate to cover the extra fees, you can now lower your pricing again, which will help to attract more direct bookings.

How to Build a Website to Attract Direct Bookings

When you’re ready to start building your own vacation rental website for accepting direct bookings, you have a few options. You can use: a vacation rental website builder, a third-party website builder, or a private website developer. 

Through a vacation rental website builder

Some vacation rental management software solutions also include a vacation rental website builder feature. You can, for example, check out the iGMS website builder to have your own website ready in minutes. 

When opting for this route, you can essentially create your own vacation rental website in just a few clicks. Plus, you don’t need to boast any coding knowledge or have a developer on speed dial. 

All you need to do is click on the “Create a website” button. The software will then convert your current Airbnb listing into a website. It will add all the photos, pricing, and descriptions straight from your listing. 

Plus, you can still continue listing on third-party vacation rental sites like Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo without worrying about double-bookings. Not only will it take care of the calendar synchronization, but it will also bill your guests and create invoices. Thanks to its ability to integrate with your Stripe account, everything is also kept secure.

Create Your Direct Booking Site

Through a third-party website host and website builder

A second option is to use a third-party website host. Though this requires more time and web design knowledge. 

When going this route, your first step will be to register with a hosting provider, like: 

• GoDaddy 
• Bluehost
• One of the best Django hosting services  

Then, you will still need to buy your property domain too. Depending on your hosting provider, you will be able to do this via its page.

When selecting your own domain name, the secret is to find something that is unique, yet easy to spell and remember. It does not have to be your property name, but it should be relevant to the brand that you are trying to create. 

Once you have your website host and domain name sorted out, you can finally start building your actual direct booking website. You can, for example, use WordPress or Wix, which are intuitive to use. 

With the help of themes, plugins, and drag-and-drop editors, you can customize your website so that it fits in with your branding. Though when selecting a theme, it is important to select a vacation rental theme.

Then, in order to be able to accept payments, you will need to select a booking engine plugin or widget and a payment gateway solution. You can, for example, use a Stripe account, which is one of the most popular payment gateways. 

While you can go this route, it just takes more time and skill. Plus, you will still need to invest in a vacation rental management software solution to help you sync your booking calendar to avoid double-bookings.

Through a private website developer

While tools like Appy Pie website builder, WordPress, and Wix are relatively easy to understand and use, it does take some time to get familiar with how it works. If you do not have the time or still find it too difficult, an alternative is to get a private website developer from the start and entrust them with designing your website from scratch.

That said, it can be costly. Also, if you want to make changes to your website or upload new content, you will probably have to work through that person again. 

Let’s compare these different options:

1. Build a mobile-friendly and easy-to-use website

More website traffic gets generated by means of mobile devices than desktops, making it key that your website is mobile-friendly and optimized for mobile devices. 

Visitors should not have to zoom in to read content or struggle to click the correct button. After all, the last thing you want is for guests to be unable to click on that ‘Book Now’ button because the icon is too small.  

Not only will it help you to cater to travelers who prefer using their smartphone over their PC, but it can also help you to rank higher in Google’s search rankings. Search engines like Google primarily use a website’s mobile version for ranking and indexing purposes. So, if your site is not as mobile-friendly as it should be, it will penalize you by dropping your site in its rankings. 

2. Direct traffic from your listings on OTAs

Listing sites, like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com will already generate loads more traffic than your own direct booking website. To give you an idea, Booking.com attracts more than 100 million users per month to its website. 

So, just imagine if you could tap into that traffic and drive some of it to your own direct booking website too? 

One way that you can increase the chances that travelers using websites like Airbnb and Booking.com will find your direct booking website is to give your property a searchable name in its listing. This way, when travelers perhaps Google your listing’s title, they will find it in the search results. 

Alternatively, if the OTA platform allows it, you can simply add your website address to your listing or share it in the communication that you send to your guests.

Also, after guests have booked with you via a vacation rental platform, you may have access to their email. This way, you can include your website in your email signature with the hopes that the next time they will book directly with you instead.

3. Promote your website on social media

Social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram in particular, can be great avenues to explore. Not only can you use it to attract new guests, but it can also be useful for communicating with previous guests.

After you’ve created a business profile on Instagram and a business page on Facebook, you can invest in Instagram and Facebook ads. Alternatively, if you do not want to spend anything on additional marketing efforts at this stage, you can simply use these platforms to share special promos, blog posts, user-generated content, etc. 

In short, being active on social media will show potential guests that you are actively involved in your property. What’s more, it can serve as another platform where interested guests can find more positive reviews about your property. 

4. Build guest loyalty

Online data shows that it is more cost-effective to keep a repeat guest happy than to focus on finding new guests continuously. What’s more, returning guests are also inclined to spend more. So, while a new guest might book only for a weekend, a returning guest might book for an entire week. 

One of the best ways to encourage guests to book with you again directly is to use special discounts and promos. Plus, it does not necessarily need to be a reduced rate, you can, for example, offer an early check-in, late checkout, or possibly even an extra night free of charge.

5. Offer a referral program

Once you have hosted a number of direct guests, you can consider creating your very own referral program. While sharing posts and videos on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube can do wonders for business, word-of-mouth advertising still remains one of the best forms of marketing. After all, travelers will trust the experience of a friend or family member much easier than the experience you are trying to advertise online. So, use this to your advantage. 

The easiest is to offer previous guests some type of incentive in exchange for recommending your place to people in their network. You can, for instance, offer a gift like a travel guide or a discount for their next stay.

How Can I Manage All My Direct Bookings?

It can get overwhelming using multiple channels on top of managing a direct booking website. Luckily, there are tools that can make this easier. 

Many vacation rental software solutions offer calendar synchronization to eliminate double-bookings. iGMS, for example, offers a robust set of tools for vacation rental property managers and hosts. 

In addition to a website builder, it also offers integration with the leading vacation rental platforms. So, when a guest reserves your property through your direct booking website, the dates will get blocked on all the other platforms that you manage via iGMS. It is really a win-win!

Plus, it can also help hosts and property managers to automate many of their other routine tasks like:

• Organizing your messages and email into a single feed and using automated templates and triggered messaging to improve guest communication
• Automating the whole process of guest reviews 
• Tracking your business performance on an analytics Dashboard
• Receiving guest payments and creating invoices by connecting your Stripe account to iGMS
• Sharing daily cleaning schedules with your team and auto-assigning tasks.

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Direct Booking Websites FAQs 

Will my business fail without a direct booking website?

No, creating a direct booking website is not compulsory and your vacation rental business can still be successful without one. That being said, it can significantly contribute to business success and growth. You’ll have more control over your business and eliminate service fees. 

Do I have to choose between OTAs and a direct booking website?

There’s no need to choose between listing on OTAs and running your own direct booking website. These can work well together. However, it’s strongly recommended that you invest in a vacation rental management software solution that offers calendar synchronization to eliminate the risk of double-bookings. 

How long does it take to get a direct booking website up and running

If you choose to use a third-party hosted website or entrust it to a website developer altogether, it can take anything from 60 – 120 days to get a professionally designed direct booking website up and running. However, if you use a website builder like iGMS, you can create a stunning direct booking website in a matter of minutes. 

What pages should my website have?

The most important pages for a direct booking website are: 

• An about page
• Details of the property 
• A photo gallery 
• Booking form 
• Contact details
• Blog 

Is a direct booking website worth the money and effort it takes?

Yes, if you use a website builder like iGMS, you can have a professional direct website for as little as $18 per month (along with access to the other award-winning vacation rental automation tools).  

About the Author
Callan Riddles is the Content and Social Media Specialist at iGMS. Callan has a passion for finding new ways to help vacation rental businesses thrive. In her free time, she loves to travel, read, and experience all the new things that life has to offer.