Direct bookings for holiday homes: adding your own channel next to the portals

Airbnb and Booking.com are valuable to hosts – they bring guests who would not have found you otherwise. They do take a commission on every stay, usually around 15 %. Direct bookings will not replace the portals, but they can sensibly complement them, especially for guests who come back or already know you.

How portal fees work

Portals charge a commission or service fee for bringing you guests. According to publicly available information, for both Airbnb and Booking.com it is usually around 15 % of the stay price; the exact rate depends on the country, account type and programmes you use. You will always find your current rate in your account on each portal.

Keep the portals, add your own channel

Portals are good at bringing first-time guests. The goal of direct bookings is different: returning guests, recommendations, visitors of your website and your social media should book with you, not through the portal where they found you years ago.

What a good direct booking page needs

A calendar with the price per night, so guests see straight away what each date costs.
Your rules built in: minimum stay per season, allowed arrival days (for example Saturday to Saturday in summer) and no unsellable one-night gaps.
The full price before paying: nights, cleaning, extra guests, pets, weekly discount and the tourist tax paid on site.
Online payment of a deposit or the full amount, straight to your account.
Clear cancellation terms with a concrete date until which cancelling is free.
A confirmation e-mail with all the details and a calendar file, and arrival instructions a few days before the stay.

No double bookings: sync your calendars

Every portal offers a calendar export link (iCal). Paste the portals' links into your booking system and its link into each portal, and booked dates are blocked everywhere. Resovu imports the portals' calendars every 15 minutes and again right before every direct booking, flags overlaps and can keep preparation days between stays.

One thing to know: Airbnb reads other calendars only about every 3 hours. Keep a sensible advance notice on Airbnb or turn off Instant Book there, so a direct booking has time to reach it.

Where direct guests come from

Returning guests: put your booking link in the house manual and in your arrival information. Send newsletters only with the guest's consent.
Your website and Google Business Profile: a “Book now” button that leads straight to your calendar.
Social media: photos of the season with a link to free dates.
Gift vouchers: a stay as a gift brings a new guest straight to you.
A small reason to book direct, such as a free late check-out. Check your agreement with each portal first.

Set it up in 4 steps

Add your units – each with a photo, price per night, weekend price and seasons.
Set the fees, the tourist tax with its age exemption, check-in and check-out times and the minimum stay.
Connect your Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo calendars through iCal in both directions.
Connect Stripe for card payments, choose a cancellation preset and share your booking page.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to leave Airbnb or Booking.com? No. Keep the portals for new guests and use your own page for everyone who already knows you.

Is Resovu a channel manager? No. It exchanges booked dates through iCal; it does not change your prices or listings on the portals. If you manage many listings, a channel manager may suit you better.

How much does it cost? Resovu takes no commission on bookings. Free costs nothing for 1 unit and 4 direct bookings a month. Starter is €19 a month for the first unit, €8 for each of units 2–5 and €5 for every further unit; Professional is €27, €10 and €5 and adds your own domain, a page without the Resovu logo and a 0 % payment fee. Starter has a 0.5 % fee on card payments (at most €12 a month). Prices are final and the first 14 days are free. See the accommodation pricing.