Website for a chalet or apartment: is your own worth it?

Your own website is worth it if at least some of your guests book directly through it. Each such booking is free of portal commission, which with Booking.com, for example, is typically 15% or more. With a SFERIN website from €249 and a price of €250 a night, about seven direct nights are enough to cover the cost of the website. But a website will not attract guests on its own: it has to be fast, up to date, have a calendar in sync with the portals, and guests have to know about it.

What a website gives you that a portal does not

• Bookings without commission. You pay nobody a percentage on a direct booking. Booking.com, for example, calculates commission on the full booking amount, including extra fees such as cleaning.
• Your own prices and terms. Since 14 November 2024, under the Digital Markets Act, the largest portal, Booking.com, must allow accommodation providers to offer better prices and terms on their own website. You can have a lower price, different cancellation terms or a discount for regular guests on your website.
• Guest contacts. Guests from direct bookings are yours; next time they can get in touch with you directly.
• Your own presentation. As many photos, as much about the area, as many answers to frequently asked questions and details about facilities as you need, in your own colours.
• Less dependence on one channel. A portal has its own rules; for example, if a commission invoice goes unpaid, Booking.com's help pages say it may temporarily close your property. With your own website, you always have a second route for guests to reach you.

What a website will not fix

Let's be honest: portals have enormous reach. Booking.com, for example, says it promotes properties on search engines in 45 languages and through more than 17,500 partner websites. A new website will not have that kind of reach. So the choice is not website or portal; the point is that:

• new guests can keep coming through the portals,
• guests who already know you, or found you via Google or a recommendation, book directly,
• the website and portal calendars know about each other, so no double booking occurs.

The numbers: when the website pays for itself

Example (illustrative figures, not yours): a price of €250 a night and 15% portal commission, i.e. €37.50 per night. As the cost, we take the price of a SFERIN website from €249.

From the table:

• With these figures, the website pays for itself at around 7 direct nights (€249 / €37.50 = 6.64), i.e. roughly two to three stays.
• For cheaper accommodation you need more nights; for more expensive accommodation, fewer.

What matters is to count only nights that would otherwise have gone through a portal. If a regular guest always phoned you directly, the website will not save you commission on them; it will save you time, though, because they can see the dates and price themselves. Work out your own figures in the commission calculator.

When your own website is not worth it

To complete the picture, there are situations where the investment will not pay back:

• you only rent out the property a few nights a year, and the commission on them is less than the cost of the website,
• you will not mention the website anywhere: without a link in your profiles, on business cards, in the property, and without looking after the content, guests will struggle to find it,
• you do not want to answer booking requests; direct bookings also mean direct contact with guests,
• you will not keep the calendar up to date: a website with outdated availability does more harm than good.

If none of this applies to you, and at least some guests come back or arrive on recommendation, the website pays for itself quickly at typical accommodation prices.

How to get guests to your website

The website is only the first step. You bring guests to it by mentioning it everywhere they might look for you: in your Google Business Profile (if you are eligible), on social media, on your business card, on a QR code in the property and in your post-stay email. You will find more tips in our article How to get more direct bookings.

What to check when choosing a website

A cheap one-off website and a website that brings in bookings are two different things. Before you decide, check:

1. Can guests book on it? A live availability calendar and price calculation by date are the basics. Without them, guests have to write and wait for a reply.
2. Is the calendar in sync with the portals? Without an iCal connection, you risk double bookings. More in our article Double bookings from a portal and your website.
3. Who looks after the website? Updates, security, backups and certificate renewal do not happen by themselves. With a one-off website without ongoing care, it will all be left to you.
4. Is it fast on mobile? Try a sample website on your own phone, ideally with a weaker signal too, the way a guest on the road will see it.
5. Does it track visitors? With Google Analytics and Search Console you will see how many people visited the website and where they came from.
6. Do you have your own domain? An address with the name of your property is easy to remember and you can put it everywhere.
7. Are the legal matters covered? Terms and conditions, privacy policy, cookies and, where needed, guest registration.
8. Can the website be extended? Another language, another chalet, a blog or new features without replacing the whole website.

What a holiday rental website should include

• an introduction with your best photo and a clear call to book,
• a description of the property, capacity and facilities,
• a gallery organised by rooms and surroundings,
• a price list with seasons and minimum number of nights,
• a calendar and booking form,
• the location with tips for trips,
• frequently asked questions (arrival, pets, parking),
• contact details and legal pages.

What it costs with SFERIN

SFERIN is your own commission-free booking system for your property. A website with a booking system costs from €249. The price includes the whole website, filling it with your content, launching it on your domain, calendar sync with the portals and looking after the website: updates, security, support and new features at no extra charge. You can see how booking works on the booking system page. If you would like to see what a website for your own property would look like, we will prepare a free preview for you.