Small hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs and homestays pay online travel agencies 15–20% of every booking, including guests who searched the property's own name and clicked the first link. A direct booking engine on the property's own website converts that search into a commission-free booking. This is the one we build for small properties.
The problems
- Commission on guests who were looking for you by name.
- Enquiry forms ("is 12–14 March available?") answered a day later, after the guest booked elsewhere.
- Double bookings between the OTA calendar and the notebook.
- No deposit, so last-minute cancellations cost the night.
What a direct booking engine should do
- Rooms and rates: room types, occupancy, nightly rates by season, minimum stays, extras (breakfast, airport pickup).
- Live availability search on the site, instant confirmation, no enquiry step.
- Deposit or full payment through Stripe in the guest's currency; balance on arrival if you prefer.
- Calendar sync (iCal) with the OTAs you keep, so a booking anywhere blocks the dates everywhere.
- Confirmations from your own address with directions and check-in details; a reminder before arrival.
- Bookings inbox for the owner: arrivals today, departures, balances due, notes per guest.
- Guest list and CSV export for the return-guest offer in the quiet season.
What changes
Name searches convert on your site, repeat guests book direct, the calendar stays consistent, and OTAs become what they should be: a discovery channel for strangers. Google's free hotel booking links can point straight at your engine.
What it costs
Our Booking Panel ($500) adds all of the above to the website you already have — booking form, inbox, confirmations, reminders, rules, calendar, export — in about a week, on your own hosting, with no monthly fee and no per-booking commission. A property paying OTA commission on even two direct-worthy bookings a month has covered the cost in the first quarter. If you later need staff calendars, deposits or a client portal, it grows into a full admin panel. Compare it with what a subscription costs you over a year in build vs subscribe, or ask for a free demo with your own branding.