The pros and cons of direct booking websites, why it's ideal to maintain presence on third-party sites like Airbnb, and best practices for multi-channel listings.
Third-party sites like Airbnb, Stayz, Vrbo, and Booking. com help maximise visibility and occupancy for your property, but you might be earning less than expected after platform fees are taken out. Meanwhile, direct bookings can help increase your take-home pay, but you'll have to pay for additional costs such as channel managers, website fees, payment processors, insurance, and marketing.
For the best results, it's ideal to host your property on your own website along with third-party sites.
Most short-term rental hosts today rely on online travel agencies (OTAs) and STR websites like Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo to fill their calendars. After all, their marketing reach can’t be beat: as these platforms have become the default for travellers searching for accommodations, your property is instantly visible to millions within minutes of posting it.
But while these websites are great for visibility, homeowners also struggle with balancing profits and increasing host fees, especially when you consider other operational costs such as cleaning, maintenance, and the like. As a result, a growing number of hosts are starting to ask themselves the question: what if I build my own short-term rental direct booking website to minimise booking fees and maximise my take-home pay?
Building your own website where guests can book without the fees and friction of OTAs sounds attractive, but the reality is more complicated: it can work, but only in the right circumstances. Here’s what you need to know before diving in.
What is a direct booking website?
Direct booking websites for short-term rentals is a custom site where guests can book your property directly, without the need for third-party vacation rental aggregators such as Airbnb, Booking.com, or similar. Always check platform terms & conditions for direct bookings, as actively soliciting and incentivising guests to book off-platform can lead to listing suspension.
Best ways to get more direct bookings
1. Build SEO for your website: If you're in a tourist area, people search for your region. Byron Bay hosts should appear in "Byron Bay holiday rental" searches. Gold Coast managers should own "luxury accommodation Gold Coast." This is SEO work, but it's targeted, achievable, and helps people find your property outside of platforms.
2. Contact existing guests: Your best source of direct bookings isn't strangers; it's people who've already stayed with you.
If a guest has already booked directly with you once, you can contact them to encourage repeat bookings. You keep more money from the booking and they get a better rate, so it's a win for both parties. For a higher chance of getting a booking, try to reach out to past guests 3–4 months before their typical travel season.
They might even tell their friends or family about their fantastic stay at your property!
Actively encouraging guests to book off-platform for upcoming or future stays is a violation of Airbnb terms. You should also avoid contacting guests off-platform, as this can lead to a scam.
3. Offer something third-party platforms can't match: Flexible cancellation, longer-stay discounts, or customised packages that actually save money are the biggest advantages to having a direct booking site. Try to offer one or two things that appeal to your repeat audience. For example, seasonal visitors will want to lock in booking for the same dates next year at this year's price.
4. Use social media: While a viral post or video can quickly turn things around, it's not the easiest thing to get. But having an active social media presence is a key aspect in managing a business these days, even for short-term rental homeowners.
Share photos and videos of your property on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get the attention of potential guests. You can also create content about your local area, such as things to do that weekend, or must-try activities for visitors.
5. Track everything and double down on what works :If you're running a direct booking strategy, measure it. Which guests book direct? What email offers convert best? Which seasons see the most repeat bookings? What discount level actually moves the needle?
Use this data to focus your effort. If 20% of your direct bookings come from past guests who stayed in October, send more emails in July targeting those guests. If a 15% early-bird discount drives bookings but 10% doesn't, use the 15% offer. Small optimisations compound over time.
Partner with a direct booking platform instead of going solo
If DIY isn't your strength, you can partner with an existing booking platform like Hometime instead. This way, you get the direct booking channel without having to drive traffic yourself. The platform handles marketing, payment processing, and guest acquisition.
Hometime’s direct booking site, which hosts Australia’s largest collection of professionally managed holiday homes, is included in our full-service Airbnb management, which includes:
Listing management and Airbnb SEO,
guest communication,
dynamic pricing strategies,
styling and photography,
Airbnb cleaning,
property maintenance,
and more.
And while you'll still pay a fee for every booking you're not spending time and money trying to build traffic from nothing. For most hosts, this is the smarter investment. On average, Hometime properties see an 11% rise in occupancy and a 9% revenue increase during peak season after implementing our strategies. This way, you're earning more while doing less.
A short-term rental direct booking site is a customisable website where homeowners can directly accept bookings for their short-term rental property, without having to use OTAs.
What are the advantages of a short-term rental direct booking site?
The main advantage is lower or no commission fees at all; since transactions take place outside of OTAs, you will be able to take home almost the entire fee (after payment processing fees). For example, with Airbnb's new host-only 15.5% fee structure:
Nightly rate: $114.50
Airbnb fee: $17.50
Take-home after fees: $97
With a direct booking site, you'll be able to take home most of the $114.50 nightly rate that you set, if not the entire thing.
Other benefits include:
Diversifying channels: More channels = more visibility = more bookings. This also means less reliance on external OTAs and their sudden policy changes like higher fees or even platform shutdowns.
Building brand and guest loyalty: With your own site, you can connect directly with guests, capture their email addresses, and make it easier to encourage them to rebook in the future.
Greater control over policies and branding: OTAs impose strict rules on cancellation, refunds, and communication. A direct booking site allows you to tailor policies to your needs and present your property exactly the way you want.
Flexibility in promotions and packages: A self-managed site lets you offer deals and packages that OTAs and connected pricing tools don’t always support.
What are the disadvantages of a short-term rental direct booking site?
While direct booking sites can lead to higher income, this also means that you’ll have to do extra work, such as setting up the website itself, marketing, and the like. You'll also have to shoulder the costs of channel managers, website hosting, payment processors, short-term rental insurance, and other expenses that are typically covered by third-party platform fees.
You should also consider other challenges such as:
Marketing burden: Unlike Airbnb and other OTAs, which have millions of daily visitors, your website will start with zero traffic. To make it work, you’ll need to invest in SEO, digital ads, email marketing, and social media campaigns. That’s a big time and money commitment.
Taxation: OTAs automatically collect and remit taxes for every booking, while you’ll need to calculate and remit this yourself. You may need to work with an external accountant, which will drive up your operational costs.
Trust and credibility: Guests book through OTAs because they recognise the brand and know they’re protected by guarantees. Convincing someone to hand over their credit card details on an unknown site is much harder.
Risk of scams: Unlike hosting through OTAs, you’ll be handling everything alone: this includes protecting yourself from scams by vetting guests well and having good short-term rental insurance, or dealing with guests who may request chargebacks after their stay for no reasons.
Compliance risks: In Australia, you’re responsible for handling guest data securely, ensuring fair refund policies under consumer law, and maintaining adequate insurance. That’s a lot for a small operator to manage.
How do I know if a short-term rental direct booking site is for me?
Making your own booking website is more challenging than what you may initially expect. It’s important to assess your specific context to determine if your property can thrive outside of an OTA.
Direct booking websites can deliver results under the right conditions:
Homeowners with multiple properties: If you’re managing multiple STR listings, the savings on OTA fees can be significant, and you’ll likely have the resources to market effectively.
Regional operators in high-demand tourist areas: In seasonal destinations like Byron Bay, Gold Coast, or Margaret River, there’s strong repeat visitation during peak seasons. A localised direct booking site can make it easier to build traction.
Hosts with consistent repeat business: Corporate stays, relocations, or long-term guests are prime candidates to book direct once they’ve experienced your property.
In these cases, a direct booking strategy may increase profits and reduce reliance on OTAs. On the other hand, building your own direct booking site isn’t usually worth the effort if:
You only manage a single property: The costs and time required are rarely justified for one home.
You lack marketing or tech expertise: Without strong SEO or advertising know-how, your site may never gain traction, unless you pay to have someone else do the work. And while some channel managers do offer a setup service, you'll still need to work on the rest.
You’re in an oversaturated market: In cities like Sydney and Melbourne, OTAs dominate guest searches. Cutting through the noise with a standalone site is extremely difficult.
In these scenarios, hosts often spend money on web design and tools, only to see little or no return. This could result in you actually losing money instead of earning more.
What are my options outside of OTAs?
A direct booking website for your short-term rental or holiday home can be a valuable tool, but it isn’t a guaranteed success. For most hosts, the complexity of marketing, compliance, and guest acquisition makes it more of a distraction than a solution.
But just because your market isn’t suitable for its own direct booking site doesn’t mean a hybrid model where you list on OTAs and on a separate site is impossible. For example, you can partner with existing direct booking sites like Hometime’s DBS for lower platform fees and an additional booking channel. This way, you still increase your take-home pay without having to build your own website.
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