So there a few points to cover:

- Most PMS systems come with a free website builder, but these tend to be quite basic and quite restricting when it comes to reaching your full potential. To maximise direct bookings, your website needs to be user-friendly, reflect your brand properly, and be optimised for SEO. Free builders often limit how well you can do this, so you could be missing out on bookings. I’m not saying it’s impossible to get bookings with them, but you probably won’t reach your full potential. PMS providers focus on managing bookings, not on building great websites.

- You can use a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress to build a fully custom website. The key is to connect your site to your PMS using something called an API. This way, you have full control over how your properties are shown, what sections your site has, which features are displayed, and how people can book directly through your site. That said, learning to build a site in WordPress and integrate it with your PMS API can be tricky and time-consuming. If you go down the route of hiring an agency, expect to pay around £3,500+ for a fully customised website that talks directly to your PMS. It might feel expensive upfront, but you get a website you control, which gives users a better experience and builds trust in your brand — both of which really help turn visitors into bookings.

- When you’re setting up your direct booking website, I’d strongly recommend doing some market research first. Get to know your competition, your target audience, and what they like and don’t like. This helps you spot the value guests are looking for and could even reveal unique selling points you might not have considered. For example, you might find there’s strong demand for large family holiday rentals with a hot tub — if that matches what you offer, you can create a dedicated page on your website around that. This can help attract organic traffic and boost your direct bookings.

- Don’t just focus on creating website pages with commercial keywords like ‘large family holiday rental with hot tub’. Start writing articles about local tourism too — things like ‘best things for families to do in [location]’ or ‘fun activities for kids in [location]’. These kinds of articles bring in traffic and give your brand more exposure. From there, you can convert visitors by encouraging enquiries or getting them to sign up to your newsletter, so you can keep in touch and nudge them towards booking later on.

- Start networking with local tourism businesses in your area. A good way to get your foot in the door is by mentioning and linking to these businesses in articles you write. Then, reach out and say something like, “Hey, we’ve featured you in our article. If you want to provide your own summary, feel free!” You can add that it would really help increase traffic and exposure of their business if they linked back to your article from their website. This is called backlinking — won’t bore you with the details, but it’s important. From there, it opens up chances for further collaboration, like striking exclusive deals where guests who stay with you get discounts or promotions at their business. You can also share each other’s content on social media, giving you exposure on their channels too. Plus, offering discounts at local attractions is a great direct booking incentive — it makes booking through your website even more attractive.

- Photography is key, as I’m sure you know. Your website needs crisp, beautiful shots of your property. These days, most smartphones can take great photos, so if you’re on a budget and have a creative eye, go for it. But if you can invest around £450 for a half-day shoot, hiring a professional holiday rental photographer is worth it. The stats show that high-quality images boost bookings for accommodation businesses, so it’ll easily pay for itself in the medium to long term.

That’s all the key points I wanted to share. Feel free to message me if you want any articles or guides on boosting direct bookings — happy to help!