r/airbnb_hosts • u/Downtown_ownedby3 • 13h ago

Direct Bookings

I’m very very new to Airbnb and honestly having a rental property. We close next month. Do you all have direct booking websites also or just rely on Airbnb? If you do have a website how did you get started creating one?

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u/DreamilyArrogant 13h ago

Just use airbnb til you figure out what you're doing, direct bookings add a whole new layer of stuff to manage that you don't need right now

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u/Downtown_ownedby3 13h ago

I have to figure out an additional tax I have to pay for in Florida outside of Airbnb. I fear I’m going to screw this all up! And need to up my rates to include that. My first 2 rentals I didn’t have that included because I didn’t know about it!

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u/KaleProperties 🧙 Property Manager 11h ago

What county is your place located in? In counties such as Osceola, you still need to pay their Lodging/tourist tax even on airbnb reservations.

I would start with Airbnb, then Vrbo, then the direct booking site. Then, depending on the location, look at Booking.com, but this is definitely the more complex/glitchy platform.

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u/Downtown_ownedby3 10h ago

Thank you, we are in Manatee County, I have to get a tourist tax registration number once we close.

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u/pablete_ 10h ago

I use Rental Quest for both direct (my own site) and Airbnb, Booking, etc

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u/ShitShowcase 10h ago

We use Houfy for direct bookings.

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u/Due_Local3110 9h ago

I started with just Airbnb too and added a basic site later once I had some repeat guests asking for direct options

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u/Downtown_ownedby3 9h ago

Ok, thank you. I just finished fine tuning my listing and relisted it after being scared my pricing wasn't right. Here's to hoping I did it right!! I think you're right, I'll start off slow this is all such a big learning experience for me.

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u/QuantityTrick408 7h ago

Since you're just getting started, I'd suggest looking into WordPress if you eventually want your own direct booking website.

There's a free plugin called Vachr Short-Term Rental Reservations that supports direct bookings, online payments, automated emails, and Airbnb/Booking.com calendar synchronization via iCal.

I'm involved with the project, and we've made step-by-step video tutorials to help beginners get everything set up.

There are no monthly plugin fees or booking commissions. Just keep in mind that iCal synchronization isn't instant.

You don't necessarily need to set everything up immediately, but having your own website could be useful for repeat guests later on.

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u/PropertyFantastic208 10h ago

I am seriously tempted to build a site. would it work, if I can do it?