Booking platforms bring reach, but they take a cut of every booking and decide how you communicate with your guests. That's why many hosts run two channels: new guests arrive through platforms, while returning guests and referrals book directly. The foundation for this is a website of your own that you can point guests to.

Combine platforms and direct bookings

Taking direct bookings doesn't mean leaving platforms straight away. Especially at the start, they are often the main way to be found at all. Your own website complements them:

  • For returning guests: anyone who has stayed once can enquire directly next time.
  • For referrals: friends and family of your guests get a link instead of a platform listing.
  • For searches by name: people who already know your place and look it up land on your site.
  • As a safety net: if a platform changes its fees, ranking or rules, you still have your own contact channel.

Check your platforms' terms before actively pointing guests to your website. Links to outside sites are usually not allowed in listings or in messages sent through the platform.

How guests find your website

A website alone doesn't bring bookings. Guests need ways to get there – and the most effective ones cost nothing:

  • Guest folder and welcome card: your website address belongs in every document in the property.
  • After the stay: a short thank-you email with a link, as long as the guest gave you their address directly.
  • Google Business Profile: with photos and a link to your website, your rental appears in local searches.
  • Social media and email signature: a link in every profile and every message.
  • Business cards and notices: at partner businesses nearby, such as the bakery or bike hire.

What the website needs to do

Guests who book directly don't have a platform backing up reviews and payment. Your website has to build that trust on its own:

  • Real photos of every room and the surroundings
  • Amenities, sleeping arrangements and location at a glance
  • Prices with seasonal logic, minimum stay and extra costs
  • Who you are and how to reach you
  • A privacy policy and the legal information your country requires

Our guides on holiday home website content and on prices and enquiries for holiday apartments show how to build this content in detail.

Enquiries instead of a booking calendar

You don't need a booking system to get started. An enquiry form with travel dates, number of guests and contact details is enough if you reply quickly and clearly. The process can look like this:

  1. The guest enquires through the form.
  2. You check availability and send a specific offer with the total price.
  3. The guest confirms, and you send the booking confirmation with payment details.
  4. Once the deposit arrives, the dates are booked.

Keep your calendar up to date on every channel. If a platform booking and a direct booking land on the same dates, you lose trust either way.

Put your terms in writing

With direct bookings, your own terms apply instead of a platform's. Write them down once and link them on your website: deposit and balance payment, cancellation, security deposit, check-in and check-out times and house rules. Also find out which registration requirements and local taxes apply where your rental is, and get advice if you're unsure.