How to Build a Short-Term Rental Direct Booking Website (Quick & Easy Guide)
Looking to create a direct booking website for your vacation rental business, but don’t know where to start? You’ve come to the right place.
In this guide, we cover everything you need to know about building a short-term rental direct booking website. We’ll start with why direct booking sites are essential for STR businesses, and then cover the essential elements to include in your site. Finally, we’ll review the three main ways to build a direct booking site and outline instructions for the quickest and easiest way to do so.
Use the table of contents to the left to find what you’re looking for, or keep reading for the full guide.
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Why create a short-term rental direct booking website?
Creating a direct booking website for short-term rentals is one of the best ways to ensure your business’s success. Here’s why.
Diversify your channels
You undoubtedly know the maxim “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” So why would you list your vacation rental on only one booking channel?
Diversifying your channels ensures you’re not overly dependent on any single listing site. Imagine you only list in one place, and then that channel drastically increases its fees, or even goes out of business. Where would that leave you?
While you can always list on multiple third-party channels, having your own short-term rental direct booking website enables you to do business on your own terms.
Save on fees
Booking platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are an excellent way to gain visibility for your business, especially as you’re just starting out. Their platform also makes it easy to ramp up, saving you time and hassle.
Of course, none of this comes for free: Most booking platforms charge a percentage-based fee for every booking made through their site, ranging from 3% to 30%, depending on the platform and fee structure.
You could simply consider this the cost of doing business—after all, booking platforms have to keep the lights on—or even factor the fee into your total price, passing it along to your guests. However, it’s hard to forget that you could charge the same amount for direct bookings—but keep it all for yourself.
Enjoy higher-value stays
Direct bookings put more money in your pocket in more ways than one. In addition to helping you save on third-party fees, they also simply have greater value than those made through third-party sites.
According to a VRMintel report on The Value of Direct Bookings, the average value of an Airbnb booking is around $906. The average value of direct bookings, according to the same report? $1,935. That’s a whopping $1,029 difference.
Our own internal data reinforces this. For example, consider the comparison of direct bookings and Airbnb bookings below. Everything about these bookings is the same except the source—and the value.
Why is this the case? A 2023 Digital Hotel Operations Study from h2c points out the potential for ancillary revenue for vacation rental businesses via upsells—something that’s possible via a direct booking site, but not third-party platforms.
It’s also true that direct bookings tend to have longer stay lengths, bringing in more revenue. (More on that next.)
Promote longer stay lengths
According to data from Lodgify customers, the average length of stay from a direct booking in 2021 was 5.9 days, while Airbnb and Vrbo’s average was around four and a half days. Essentially, booking your guests directly adds more than a day to your reservations.
We don’t need to do the math to tell you that longer stay lengths mean more revenue—that goes without saying. But there are nonfinancial benefits to longer stays as well, starting with less guest turnover.
The more guest turnover you have, the more work that needs done. If you’re handling turnover yourself, you need to set aside time to clean and prepare your rental for your next guests. And if you’re using a cleaning service, you need to set aside funds for each turnover instance (not to mention the logistics of managing your cleaning staff).
Attracting longer stays simply means you have less turnover to deal with. And accepting direct bookings is a great way to promote longer stays.
Set your own rules
If you already list on a third-party channel, you’re no stranger to the rules and standards these sites expect you to follow. Whether it’s house rules or insurance, having rules in place helps booking channels create consistency for guests.
That being said, these standards can also be limiting for hosts. After all, you’re running your own business. Why not do things your own way?
Having a short-term rental direct booking website puts you in the driver’s seat, giving you full say over all aspects of your reservations and business.
Strengthen your relationship with guests
Having full control of your business inevitably improves your relationship with guests.
For one thing, you’ll be communicating directly with your guests from the moment they visit your site, with no intermediary between you. They’ll get a sense for the face behind your business and appreciate having this open line of communication, and you’ll get the chance to build positive rapport with them. All of this translates to a better guest experience, good reviews, repeat stays, word-of-mouth referrals…all positives for your business.
With a direct booking site, you can also offer promotions for holidays, discounts for the low season and repeat stays, and other deals. Guests will love knowing they’re getting the best deal possible, and you’ll keep your calendar full.
Build your brand
Branding is essential. It not only helps travelers remember (and return to) your business, but also enables you to create a brand identity that inspires trust. According to HubSpot, 71% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands they trust.
Unfortunately, third-party booking channels don’t give you much opportunity to develop or show off your brand. Direct booking sites, on the other hand, do: You can include your logo, color scheme, and content and images that depict your company values.
It’s also worth noting that, without a website, some travelers may not even take your business seriously in the first place. According to research from BlueCorona, 30% of consumers won’t even consider purchasing from a business without a website. To these consumers, a business without a website simply isn’t credible.
Pro tip: Lodgify’s website templates are 100% customizable to match your brand.
What to include in your short-term rental direct booking website
STR direct booking websites can be fairly simple, but there are certain things you have to include no matter what.
Domain
The most important thing to decide before creating your booking site is your domain name. It’s a key element of your brand, so be sure to choose carefully.
Here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Use an appropriate extension (for example: .com).
- Don’t be generic—you want your brand to stand out and be findable on Google.
- Keep it short and catchy.
- Make sure it’s easy to remember and type.
- Avoid hyphens, numbers, symbols, and double letters.
Pro tip: All Lodgify plans include a custom domain name, completely free of charge.
Logo
An attractive logo is a very important piece of the puzzle when creating a website for your vacation rental. Your logo is the visual representation of your brand, and is generally what visitors to your site will remember most easily.
As an example, think of social networks such as Facebook or Instagram. Would you be able to draw their logos from memory? Chances are you would, and it’s no coincidence: They’re unique logos that are easy to remember. Simple yet iconic.
If you want your website to stand out from the competition, you’ll need to create a memorable logo and display it consistently throughout your website.
Need some help creating a logo? Explore some free logo makers.
Branding
If you’ve chosen a domain name and created a logo, you’ve already done some of the work involved in branding your site. Branding doesn’t end there, though: You’ll need to choose a color scheme, fonts, images…even a voice in which to speak to your site’s visitors.
The ability to control all of these aspects is what sets websites apart from vacation rental platforms, so make sure you make the most of it!
Check out our website branding checklist to ensure you cover your bases.
Hero title and image
When you visit a website, the first thing you notice is typically the hero title and image, or the main title and image on the homepage. These elements will immediately capture your visitors’ attention, so it’s important that they make the right impression.
When it comes to the hero image, you want it to show your property in all its glory. Consider a photo that showcases your property’s unique selling points (more on that in the next section). You could even add multiple images using a slideshow.
As for your hero title, you want it to be descriptive of your vacation rental but also catchy.
Unique selling points
A unique selling point, or USP, is a unique feature that makes you stand out from the competition. Your property’s USP will be what sets it apart from the rest and makes potential guests choose it. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes: Why should they choose your vacation rental over another?
A good website will put its USP front and center—typically via your hero title, hero image, and other content and photos on your homepage. For example, if your guests tend to book your property because it’s just minutes from the beach, you’d want to communicate that in your hero title, and use your property’s view of the ocean as your hero image.
Call to action
A call to action, or CTA, is the action you’re prompting your visitors to take.
While you may have various CTAs on your site, such as a call to subscribe to your newsletter or reach out for more information, your primary CTA will be something along the lines of “book now.” You want it to be 100% clear that you accept direct bookings by including a “book now” CTA and button prominently on your homepage and other key pages.
Promotions
Promotions are one of the most powerful tools at your disposal to increase your bookings. If you’re offering a 10% discount or four nights for the price of three, make sure these are featured on your website’s homepage.
After all, promotions can persuade even the most hesitant of travelers.
Guest reviews
We’ve all opted for a product or service based on someone else’s recommendation, and it’s no surprise: Reviews and word of mouth are some of the best ways to promote your property and encourage bookings.
You can take advantage of this phenomenon by adding positive customer reviews to your content, or even creating a specific page on your website for guest reviews. Integrating reviews from external booking sites and other platforms will lend even more legitimacy to your business.
Badges and certifications
Has your business received any recognitions or certifications? If so, ensuring they appear prominently on your website can lend you credibility.
Maybe you’re an Airbnb Superhost or have earned a Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence. Either way, showing off a little will only help convince travelers to book you.
Press mentions and partners
If your vacation rental has been around for a while, you may have appeared in the press or partnered with a local business. People are more likely to trust businesses that other organizations regard as trustworthy, so this is further social proof to highlight on your site.
Consider creating specific pages on your site for press mentions and partners, with links to the relevant articles and businesses.
Website footer
The website footer is often overlooked, and yet it couldn’t be more important. Use this space to include your contact details (business name, address, phone number, and email) as well as links to your social networks.
This way, you make it easier for your guests to communicate with you and create a professional image. Footers are even effective at improving your local SEO, so it’s a win-win-win.
How to build a direct booking website: three options
Now that you know what to include on your site, it’s time to review how to actually create a direct booking website. You have three primary options to choose from.
Website builder
For most vacation rental owners, the easiest, most affordable way to build their own direct booking site will be to use a website builder.
Paying someone to create a fully custom website can be expensive, but going it alone might jeopardize the professionalism or functionality of your site. A website builder is the perfect middle ground, enabling you to create a professional website that accepts direct bookings efficiently and without breaking the bank.
For example, Lodgify’s website builder allows you to create your own short-term rental direct booking website in no time. It comes with predesigned website templates to get you started, but these templates are fully customizable so you can create a site that best represents your brand.
Upload your content and photos and set up your payment gateways to start accepting direct bookings instantly. You can even connect your site to your other booking channels to manage all your reservations from one place.
Custom short-term rental direct booking website
Have a very specific vision for your website, or simply don’t want to have to put any work in yourself? If you have the funds to do so, you can always turn to the professionals and have a website built from scratch.
Just make sure whomever you hire knows how to equip your site to accept direct bookings. One of the easiest ways to do so is via an embeddable booking widget. Lodgify offers this option as well, so we’ll get into the details next.
Booking widget
Maybe you already have an existing website, but no way of accepting direct bookings. Don’t worry—you don’t need to create an entirely new site.
With Lodgify’s vacation rental booking widget, you can turn any site into a direct booking engine. Whether you have a fully custom website or a simple site made through WordPress, Squarespace, or any other CMS, all you have to do is embed the Lodgify booking widget to start accepting bookings instantly. It’s as simple as copying and pasting the code we generate.
How to build a direct booking website with Lodgify
Building a short-term rental direct booking website doesn’t have to be a lengthy process: With Lodgify’s vacation rental website builder, you can get your site up and running in no time.
Don’t believe us? Just check out the instructions below.
Step 1: Start a free trial and create your rental
Your very first step is to start a free trial with Lodgify—that’s right, you don’t even have to become a paid customer to start trying out our website builder.
You can start your free trial here.
Next, it’s time to set up your rental. You have two options: You can automatically import all your rental details from Airbnb (this takes two minutes) or create a new rental manually (this takes five minutes). The video below shows how to do the manual option, which simply involves filling out details related to your rental, such as an overview, your location, contact information, and rates.
Step 2: Create your website
Now you’re ready for the fun part: actually creating your site.
This process involves the following four primary steps. For a more detailed look, you can also check out our video below.
- Set up the basics. You’ll get to choose a template and color palette and upload your hero image, business name, tagline, and logo. Don’t worry: Nothing is final, and you can make edits to these choices at any time.
- Customize. Now you’ll have the option to further customize your site, choosing specific colors, fonts, and button styles that match your branding.
- Create your content. Next, you’ll add the content for your site, including the details you want to highlight on your homepage as well as additional pages with property details, guest reviews, local recommendations, and more. You can preview your site at any time to see how it looks.
- Edit your settings. Lastly, finalize your website’s settings, including your domain, the languages you have on your site, and your linked social media accounts.
Step 3: Configure your payments
How do you want your guests to pay for their stays? Now’s the time to decide as you configure payments for your site.
You have the option to activate PayPal or a payment gateway. We recommend setting up a payment gateway, and walk you through the steps to connect with Stripe (our payment processing platform) in the video below.
Step 4: Connect your channels
You’re almost there! Your last step is simply to connect your third-party booking channels, such as Airbnb and Vrbo, so you can manage all your reservations directly from Lodgify.
You have the option to schedule a free onboarding call with a Lodgify onboarding specialist, who will then handle these connections for you, or connect manually. Learn more about this simple process in the video below.
Build your short-term rental direct booking website
As important as creating a direct booking website for vacation rentals is, many property owners and managers put it off simply because they’re intimidated by the process. If that’s how you felt before, we hope our guide has convinced you that building a bookable website doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming.
And remember: If you’re ready to get started building your own site, your first step is simply to start your free Lodgify trial.
Already have your website ready? Your next step is to improve its search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure it appears high in Google results and boost your direct bookings. Download our free SEO checklist to learn more!
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