Websites for Holiday Lets & B&Bs

Every booking that comes through Airbnb costs you 3% in host fees — and your guest pays up to 14% on top, making your property look more expensive than it is. Booking.com takes 15%. Vrbo charges up to 20%. These platforms were useful when you were starting out and needed visibility, but now that you have returning guests, positive reviews, and a reputation — how much of your revenue are you handing over to middlemen?

A properly built website with direct booking capability lets guests book with you directly, at a better price for them and a significantly better margin for you. On a property that generates £30,000 a year through OTAs, you could be saving £4,500 to £6,000 annually in commission. That’s not a theoretical benefit — it’s money back in your pocket from day one.

Direct booking — the real reason you need a website

The maths is simple. If a guest can book directly with you at a slightly lower price than they’d find on Airbnb, you both win. They save money, you keep more of what you earn, and you build a direct relationship that leads to repeat bookings — which OTAs actively try to prevent.

We build websites with integrated booking systems that handle availability checking, secure online payment, automated confirmation emails, and seasonal pricing. Guests can see exactly when your property is available, what it costs, and book immediately — no back-and-forth messaging, no waiting for approval. The experience is as smooth as any OTA, but the money goes to you.

If you use a channel manager like Guesty, Lodgify, Hostaway, or SuperControl, we integrate it directly into your website so your availability stays synchronised across all platforms. No double bookings, no manual calendar updates — everything talks to everything else.

Photography that fills your calendar

You already know this — the quality of your listing photos directly affects your booking rate. But on OTAs, your photos sit in a standardised grid alongside every other property, stripped of context and personality. On your own website, you control how your property is presented.

We design photo galleries that tell a story. Not just the bedroom and the kitchen, but the morning light through the window, the view from the garden, the wood burner lit on a winter evening, the walk to the nearest pub. Guests aren’t just booking accommodation — they’re imagining a holiday, and your website should fuel that imagination.

If you manage multiple properties, we build a portfolio structure that lets guests browse your collection, compare options, and book the right one for them. Each property gets its own page with full details, photos, pricing, and availability — functioning as a standalone listing but connected to your wider brand.

Local area guides — your secret weapon

Here’s something the OTAs can’t easily replicate: genuine local knowledge. A well-written area guide doesn’t just help your guests — it’s one of the most effective ways to attract new visitors through search engines. When someone Googles “best walks near Bath” or “things to do in the Cotswolds with kids,” your property website can appear in those results, reaching people at the very start of their holiday planning.

• Local restaurant recommendations — your personal picks, not a generic TripAdvisor list
• Walking and cycling routes — with difficulty ratings and what to expect
• Rainy day activities — essential for UK holiday lets
• Seasonal highlights — Bath Christmas Market, local festivals, garden openings
• Practical information — nearest shops, parking, public transport, dog-friendly beaches

This content serves double duty: it makes guests feel looked after before they’ve even arrived, and it drives organic traffic that no amount of Airbnb optimisation can match.

Reviews and trust

One of the biggest advantages OTAs have is their review system — guests trust them because they can see verified feedback from previous stays. Your own website needs to earn that same trust. We integrate reviews from your OTA listings, display testimonials from direct guests, or connect with platforms like Guest Revu or Feefo to collect and display verified reviews on your own site.

We also make sure your website looks professional and credible. A well-designed site with quality photography, clear pricing, secure payment, and genuine reviews communicates legitimacy. It tells guests they’re dealing with a serious operator, not a scam — which remains a real concern for people booking directly with unknown properties.

Pricing and availability — keep it transparent

Guests want to know two things immediately: is it available when they want to go, and how much does it cost? We build live availability calendars and clear pricing tables that show seasonal rates, minimum stays, and any additional charges upfront. No hidden fees, no “contact us for pricing” — just honest information that helps people make a decision.

If your pricing varies by season, school holidays, or special events, we build rate structures that update automatically. You set the rules once, and the website handles the rest — showing the right price to the right guest at the right time.

Keep the OTAs — but stop depending on them

We’re not suggesting you abandon Airbnb or Booking.com entirely. They’re powerful discovery platforms and they’ll continue to bring you new guests. The strategy is to use OTAs to reach new people, then convert them into direct bookers for their second stay. A follow-up email after their visit, a small discount for booking direct next time, a link to your website — this is how smart holiday let owners gradually shift their booking mix and keep more of what they earn.

Your own website is the foundation of that strategy. Without it, you’re permanently renting your business from platforms that can change their terms, raise their fees, or adjust their algorithm at any time. With it, you own your customer relationship.

If you’d like to talk about building a direct booking website for your holiday let, call us on 01225 667 977. We’re based in Bath and we understand the holiday letting landscape in this part of the world.