Direct booking websites for holiday lets, B&Bs and guest houses
M1 Studio builds websites for holiday lets, B&Bs and guest houses where guests can check availability and book direct, with your deposit and cancellation rules shown clearly. It works alongside Airbnb and Booking.com, not instead of them.
By Sammy Morgan, who runs M1 Studio in Chichester. Updated .
- For
- Holiday lets and B&Bs
- Fixes from
- £800, no VAT
- Problem pages
- 2
- Group
- Hospitality
What gets in the way for holiday lets and b&bs.
- Commission on every booking
- Platforms charge a commission or service fee each time. That’s often worth it for new guests, but paying it on returning guests and people who already know your name adds up.
- Rules set by someone else
- Each platform sets its own cancellation options, payout timing and messaging rules. Airbnb, for example, doesn’t allow hosts to ask guests to take a booking off Airbnb. Your own site is where your own terms apply.
- Reviews spread across platforms
- Guests review where they booked, on Airbnb, Booking.com or Google, and each set stays on its own platform. No single place shows your full record.
- Quiet weeks between busy ones
- Summer and school holidays tend to fill themselves. Midweek stays, shoulder months and short breaks need your own marketing, and a direct booking page to send people to.
How your customers choose.
Many guests first find you on Airbnb, Booking.com or a similar platform, where they filter by dates, price and reviews and compare you with every other place nearby. Those platforms bring bookings, but they take a commission or service fee on each one and set many of the rules. Returning guests, people who search your name and people who find you through a local search or a recommendation can book direct, if your own website makes that easy. They want good photos, what’s included, the location, prices for their dates, your cancellation policy and a secure way to pay. Demand follows the seasons and the school holidays, so shoulder months and midweek gaps are where direct bookings matter most.
Problems, answered for holiday lets and b&bs.
What fits holiday lets and b&bs.
Fixed prices, or a fixed quote before any work starts. No VAT is charged.
- Online Booking & Deposits £1,800
Guests book on your own website and pay a deposit, with reminders and your cancellation rules shown when they book.
Bookings taken online, with a deposit paid up front.
- Foundation Build from £3,500
A site with proper photos, what’s included, the local area and a clear booking route, plus a Google profile set up where Google allows one.
Show up locally, look the part.
- Website Chat Assistant £1,800
It answers guests’ questions about parking, dogs, check-in times and what’s nearby at any hour, then hands them to you on WhatsApp.
Questions answered day and night, then passed to you on WhatsApp.
- Local Search Fix £800
For B&Bs and guest houses where you meet guests in person, your Google profile filled in properly and review requests to every guest.
Look right when locals search for what you do.
Before you decide.
Something else? Ask Sammy on WhatsApp.
Can I get guests to book direct instead of through Airbnb?
Not by moving Airbnb guests. Airbnb’s rules on paying and communicating through Airbnb say hosts mustn’t ask guests to take a booking off the platform. Direct bookings come from your own website, your Google presence, local searches and word of mouth. See why holiday let websites get few direct bookings.
Can a holiday let have a Google Business Profile?
It depends how you run it. Google’s eligibility guidelines say a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours, and list rental properties such as vacation homes as ineligible. A B&B or guest house where you meet guests is a different case. See Google Business Profile in the glossary.
Do you give advice on holiday let tax or planning rules?
No. Tax, business rates, planning and any local registration rules are for your accountant, your council or the relevant official body. M1 builds the website, booking and follow-up. A Blueprint looks at where your bookings come from and what to fix first.
Also useful.
Know what to fix. Then decide.
Sammy writes down what’s holding your business back and what to fix first. The Foundation Blueprint is yours within 5 working days of your answers.
From £200No VAT, one payment through Stripe
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