TL;DR:
A vacation rental website (direct booking site) lets guests book your properties without going through OTAs. Done right, it builds your brand, cuts commission costs, and grows repeat business. This guide walks through the benefits, setup steps, and real-world examples of effective direct booking websites.
Maximizing direct bookings is an ongoing pursuit. As a property management company, you want to create the best vacation rental website possible to drive more traffic and capture more direct bookings.
While online travel agencies (OTAs) like Airbnb and Booking.com play a crucial role in your rental business, having a strong short-term rental website of your own allows you to truly grab the attention and loyalty of your potential guests.
Your own direct bookings website gives you the ability to showcase your unique properties, tell your brand’s story, and establish a direct connection with your target audience. By creating a strong online presence, you can inspire trust, build relationships, and drive more direct bookings.
In this post, we’ll explain how you can create the best vacation rental website possible, explore the benefits of your own direct bookings website, and explain how to set one up. We’ll also take a look at some examples of the best vacation rental websites that we’ve seen, and explore how they serve as powerful marketing tools.
What is a vacation rental (or direct bookings) website?
A vacation rental website (or direct booking website) is your own site where guests can browse your properties and book stays directly, without going through OTAs like Airbnb or Booking.com. It gives you more control over branding, pricing, guest communication, and the end-to-end booking journey.
By pairing your short-term rental website with a direct booking engine, you control both your vacation rental brand and how guests move through the booking flow, instead of relying only on OTAs. The website provides all the same listing information that an OTA does, but gives property managers more control over the entire booking journey and stay.
By bypassing OTAs, property managers can build trust, foster guest loyalty, and create a more personalized booking experience, resulting in increased direct bookings and greater profitability.
The benefits of a vacation rental website
The best vacation rental websites don’t just look good—they grow revenue, strengthen your brand, and give you data OTAs never share. Here’s how a strong direct booking website benefits both you and your guests.
Complete control
A direct bookings website grants property managers full control over the entire booking process and eliminates any dependency on third-party OTAs:
- Control your branding and messaging
- Set your own rates, fees, and discount offers
- Design the guest journey from search to checkout
By managing reservations directly, you can optimize your revenue streams and maximize profitability.
Avoid fees
OTAs charge a percentage of the booking cost for reservations booked through them as a commission. This can range anywhere from 4% to 30% per booking.
When guests book directly through your vacation rental website, you avoid paying these fees. If you pay ~15% in OTA commission on $200,000 in bookings, that’s $30,000 a year. Shifting even 20–30% of that volume to direct bookings keeps thousands in your pocket.
Direct communication
A direct bookings website provides a platform for direct communication between guests and property managers. This direct interaction allows guests to ask questions, seek clarifications, and receive prompt responses.
With direct email and SMS, you can send tailored pre-arrival info, upsell offers (early check-in, local experiences), and post-stay promos to turn first-time guests into repeat bookers. Connect your direct booking website to your PMS (property management system) and channel manager so calendars, rates, and guest data stay in sync across OTAs and direct.
Brand identity
Your direct bookings website is your place to show potential guests who you are and what you stand for. And building and promoting your brand identity is your number one tool to stand out amongst your competitors.
With a dedicated website, you can showcase your unique selling points, highlight your commitment to quality and customer service, and establish a distinct online presence. For example, an eco-focused brand can highlight local partnerships, green amenities, and low-impact stays across copy, images, and guest offers.
By showcasing your brand values, whether that be sustainability or supporting local communities, you can resonate with travelers who are aligned with your brand and begin cultivating guest loyalty.
Guest data
A vacation rental website allows you to collect valuable guest data and feedback:
- Collect guest emails and stay history
- Learn preferences (e.g., pet owners, remote workers, wine lovers)
- Use this data for remarketing and loyalty campaigns
You could ask your guests whether they prefer red or white wine, and then surprise them with a bottle in their room for when they arrive.
How to set up your own vacation rental website
Building a vacation rental website takes planning, but it doesn’t have to be slow or expensive. You can either build on a CMS like WordPress or Squarespace, or use a purpose-built vacation rental website builder like Guesty Websites that connects directly to your PMS.
The core setup steps: Choose a domain → Design your site → Add listings → Connect a booking engine and payments → Define policies → Set up contact options → Optimize for search.
Here’s each step in detail:
1. Choose a domain name: Select a memorable and relevant domain name for your website, ideally incorporating your property management company’s name or a keyword related to your offerings.
2. Web hosting and design: Find a reliable web hosting provider and select a design platform or content management system (CMS) that suits your needs. Platforms like WordPress or Squarespace offer user-friendly interfaces and customizable templates to help you create a visually appealing website. Smaller portfolios may be fine with a simple CMS. Multi-property managers usually benefit from a dedicated vacation rental website builder that auto-syncs listings from their PMS.
3. Property listings: Create detailed listings for each of your vacation rental properties. Each property page should include:
- A clear headline
- A scannable description (who it’s for, what’s special, where it is)
- Comprehensive amenity list
- House rules and policies
- Reviews or testimonials if available
- High-quality photos
4. Booking engine: Implement a secure and user-friendly booking system that enables guests to check availability, make reservations, and process payments directly on your website. Look for live availability, a simple 2–3 step checkout, and direct integration with your PMS so rates and calendars stay in sync. Pair it with a hospitality-focused payment solution like GuestyPay for secure, automated transaction processing.
5. Policies and terms: Clearly outline your booking policies, cancellation terms, and any additional rules or regulations for guests to review and agree to during the booking process. Transparency and clarity are key in establishing trust with potential guests and ensuring you’re covered in the event of property damage.
6. Contact and support: Provide multiple contact options, such as email, phone, or live chat, so guests can easily reach out with inquiries or requests in a way that suits them.
7. Search engine optimization (SEO): Optimize your website so that it appears higher on Google search results:
- Target phrases like “[city] vacation rentals” and “direct booking [destination]”
- Align SEO title, H1, and copy around your main keywords
- Link between related pages (neighborhoods, property types, FAQs)
- Publish content that answers common guest questions
If that all seems a little daunting, Guesty Websites is an in-house, no-code, user-friendly vacation rental website builder that allows you to do this entire process in just a matter of minutes. A 40-unit PM can launch a direct booking website quickly with Guesty Websites, pulling property data straight from Guesty instead of rebuilding each listing by hand. No designers or engineers needed.
Examples of the best vacation rental websites
As you review these vacation rental website examples, focus on what you can adapt: how they show location, highlight benefits, structure navigation, and surface social proof. We’ve put together our pick of the best vacation rental websites out there right now.
Casual Nomad
Casual Nomad is a boutique accommodations company that caters to the modern traveler — think Gen Z, digital nomads, etc.
What they do well:
- Clear brand positioning for digital nomads and remote workers
- Strong lifestyle photography showing guests enjoying properties
- Prominent Wi-Fi and remote-work amenities featured upfront
- Tech-forward, modern UX that matches their audience
Their website is beautifully designed with high-quality pictures and videos. Everything from the slogan “Home without Boundaries” to the slick interface shows that Casual Nomad really understands their audience and what they are searching for: a tech-forward, modern experience. Small touches like “Superfast WiFi” exemplify this perfectly.
The website also highlights the convenience of a fully digital check-in process and 24/7 hospitality concierge support, signaling their commitment to a smooth, modern guest experience.
Urban Furnished
Urban Furnished is a property management company that caters to business travelers in the New York City and Brooklyn area.
What they do well:
- Emphasis on prime locations for business travelers
- Individual listing pages with dedicated image galleries
- Exact location information that builds trust
- Clean, professional design that matches their corporate audience
Their website emphasizes their properties’ excellent locations. This resonates strongly with their target audience, who are looking to stay in a prime location that is close to where they will be conducting their business.
They also have a listing page for each property. Each page has a dedicated image gallery, as well as an exact location. This makes it crystal clear to the audience the style and location of the property, building trust and ensuring no surprises.
Capitalia Living
Capitalia Living is a luxury vacation rental company based in Mexico.
What they do well:
- Service-forward messaging highlighting personalized experiences
- Multiple contact options for guest convenience
- Stunning property photography that backs up their luxury positioning
- Clear “luxury” branding throughout copy and visuals
Their website highlights the importance of service to them by showcasing the company’s commitment to a comfortable, memorable, and personalized experience for guests. They also have a button in the bottom corner with multiple ways that visitors can contact them, allowing them to choose the method that suits them best.
They advertise themselves as “luxury” vacation rentals, and show stunning property shots on their homepage, backing up this claim. By showing “luxury” shots such as swimming pools and penthouses, they establish themselves as a luxury brand.
Misfit H;omes
Misfit Homes is a vacation rental company based in Nashville, Tennessee.
What they do well:
- Strong social proof with 1,000+ five-star reviews prominently displayed
- Premium services highlighted on homepage (self check-in, 24/7 support)
- Guest testimonials with photos for authenticity
- Clear understanding of what their luxury market wants
We love their website because it perfectly combines two important components of digital marketing. Social proof—they utilize their 1,000+ five-star reviews and 4.9 overall rating to show how happy previous guests have been with their service. Social proof is a great way to get people to trust your brand, and by showing images of the people that have stayed and what they said about it, Misfit Homes does this perfectly.
Highlighting premium services—self check-in, 24/7 support, guidebooks, and complimentary coffee and bath amenities are all very important to the luxury market of travelers. Putting them on the home page highlights their commitment to providing these luxury services, and indicates an understanding of their target audience’s needs.
Mitten Housing
Mitten Housing have vacation rentals in Michigan and Indianapolis, and offer anything from urban pads to cozy cabins.
What they do well:
- Consistent color scheme and branding throughout
- Range of property styles showcased with clear imagery
- User-friendly navigation and layout
- Easy for visitors to find essential information quickly
Their website is well branded with a consistent color scheme. This creates a feeling that the owners have really put effort into the business, showing they care deeply about the service they are providing. And with a range of striking, clear images of different styles of properties, they show that they have different properties to suit different guests.
It is also user-friendly, thanks to a clear, easy-to-navigate layout that makes it simple for visitors to find essential information.
What these sites have in common
All of these sites are clear about who they serve, keep navigation simple, use strong visuals, and make it obvious how to check dates and book. Your vacation rental website is a powerful marketing tool that attracts, educates, and converts the right guests.
Conclusion
While OTAs will still be an integral part of your rental business, the best vacation rental websites are what will allow you to truly grab the attention and loyalty of potential guests.
From Casual Nomad’s modern appeal to Urban Furnished’s emphasis on prime locations, Capitalia Living’s focus on luxury experiences to Misfit Homes’ effective use of social proof, and Mitten Housing’s well-branded and user-friendly approach—these websites serve as powerful marketing tools that attract and engage potential guests.
The formula: Define your brand and direct booking goals → Build or optimize a vacation rental website that reflects them → Drive traffic and refine based on guest behavior.
By harnessing the power of direct bookings through your own vacation rental website, you can elevate your business, stand out in a competitive market, and ensure long-term success and profitability. It’s time to invest in your own platform, create a strong online presence, and drive more direct bookings to grow your vacation rental business.
Need help? With Guesty Websites, you can build your own branded booking site in a matter of minutes.
FAQs
If you rely only on OTAs, you’ll always pay commissions and won’t fully own your guest relationships or data. A direct booking website lets you build brand loyalty, collect guest emails for remarketing, and keep more revenue from each booking. Most successful property managers use both OTAs and direct bookings as part of a balanced distribution strategy.
Costs vary widely depending on your approach. A DIY site on WordPress or Squarespace is the most affordable option, though you’ll invest time in setup and maintenance. Custom-designed sites cost significantly more. Purpose-built vacation rental website builders like Guesty Websites offer a middle ground—professional results without custom development costs, and they integrate directly with your property management system.
There’s no magic number. Even single-property hosts benefit from owning their guest relationships. That said, the ROI becomes more obvious as your portfolio grows—if you’re managing 10+ units and paying significant OTA commissions, a direct booking website pays for itself quickly.
You don’t need to be. Modern vacation rental website builders are designed for property managers, not developers. Drag-and-drop editors, pre-built templates, and automatic listing sync mean you can launch a professional site without writing code. Guesty Websites, for example, lets you build a branded booking site in minutes with no designers or engineers required.