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?
It sounds attractive — a sleek site where guests can book without the fees and friction of OTAs — but the reality is more complicated. Building your own direct booking website can work, but only in the right circumstances. Here’s what you need to know before diving in.
Why hosts consider a direct booking website
Some reasons why hosts might want to make their own direct booking website 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.
- Avoiding OTA fees: Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo take around 14-19% in service fees from each booking, depending on your location and the specific OTA. With direct bookings, you get to keep more of what guests pay.
- 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 don’t always support.
Challenges of running your own STR website
On paper, the benefits of running your own direct booking website look strong. But there’s another side to the story — it’s not as simple as setting up a template and waiting for reservations to roll in. There are serious challenges that every host should weigh carefully:
- 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.
- Tech and maintenance costs: You’ll need a booking engine, payment gateway, SSL security, and channel managers to avoid double bookings. These tools come with subscription fees and ongoing maintenance.
- 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.
Partnering with Hometime can also increase your earnings from other OTAs through our full-service Airbnb management services, which includes:
- Listing management and Airbnb SEO,
- guest communication,
- dynamic pricing strategies,
- styling and photography,
- Airbnb cleaning,
- property maintenance,
- and more.
On average, Hometime properties see an 11% rise in occupancy and a 9% revenue increase during peak season after implementing our strategies.
Schedule an obligation-free chat with us below to know how we can help you earn more:
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