Tired of High Booking Fees- So I Built My Own Direct Booking Site.
Booking platforms eat at a large portion of short term rental profits. So I built my own website for my rental, Seaview Apartment Xlendi. It should save me money and give me a direct connection with my guests. Here's my story.
For three years, I’ve loved renting out my apartment in Xlendi, Gozo. While platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com are great for visibility, I hated the ever-increasing hefty commission they charge for each booking (15 -25%).
It felt like I was losing a huge chunk of my hard-earned money for just a listing. As a software developer, I knew there was a better way: a direct booking website.
The Math Just Makes Sense
Let’s talk numbers. The savings are real.
My apartment is booked for around half the year. For an average 4-night stay, the guests will pay around €350 - €400. Booking platforms take up to €100 from that single booking.
By getting just a few direct bookings, I save hundreds of euros a year. It’s not just about the money; it’s about building a sustainable business, one guest at a time.
How Do Guests Find Me?
A website is useless if no one sees it. In the first week, people started finding the site. Here’s how:
- Google Business Profile: This is essential for any local business.
- Direct Searches: Some guests, find my apartment on big platforms, then search for it directly to get a better price.
Next, I’ll look into targeted ads and social media to bring in more visitors.
Why I Chose Astro
This project was also a chance to learn something new. I picked Astro, a modern web framework.
I chose it for one big reason: speed.
Astro helps build incredibly fast websites. This means a better experience for my guests and a nice boost for my Google search ranking. It lets me build a simple, content-focused site that just works.
Hosting it on Cloudflare Pages, means that I’ll also get some advantages from Cloudflares’ caching.
I’d love for you to take a look at Seaview Apartment Xlendi and get back to me with some improvements.
What’s Next?
This is just the beginning. Here is the roadmap:
- Make it Beautiful: The current design is simple. I want to improve the user experience to make booking a breeze.
- Make it Reusable: I plan to turn this site into a theme. Other hosts could use it to launch their own direct booking sites quickly.
- Add a Booking Engine: The final goal is a full booking system. It will sync calendars with other platforms and let guests pay directly on the site. A smooth process means more happy guests.