Websites for B&Bs and holiday lets: get more direct bookings

If you run a B&B, guest house, holiday cottage or self-catering let in the Borders, you know the feeling of watching a slice of every booking go to a booking site. A good website for B&Bs and holiday lets won't replace those sites, but it can win you more direct bookings, especially from returning guests and people who've already found you. Here's what it needs.

Booking sites or direct bookings? Use both

Let's be fair to the big booking sites. They bring you guests you'd never reach on your own: someone in Germany planning a walking holiday, or a couple from London who've never heard of Kelso. They handle payments and they're trusted. For most places, turning them off would be a mistake.

The problem is the commission on every booking, including the guests who'd have booked with you anyway. Returning guests, people who drove past and liked the look of the place, and people who searched your name after a friend recommended you. Those are the bookings that should come to you direct.

So the sensible plan is both. Let the booking sites find new guests. Let your website catch everyone who's already looking for you, and give them a reason to book direct: a better rate, a free late checkout, a welcome basket, whatever suits you. Check your agreements with the booking sites first, as some have rules about the prices you show elsewhere.

What a website for B&Bs and holiday lets needs

Guests are deciding where to spend their holiday and their money. They want to picture themselves there. Your site should answer everything before they have to ask:

• Rooms or properties, one section each: how many it sleeps, bed sizes, bathroom, what's included.
• Prices, or at least "from" prices by season. Hiding them makes people assume the worst.
• Availability, so nobody has to email to ask if August is free.
• The practical bits: check-in and check-out times, parking, dogs, Wi-Fi, breakfast times, minimum stay.
• A clear way to book or enquire, on every page.

Most of your visitors will be on a phone, often in the evening, often comparing you with two or three other places. Make it easy for them and you're halfway there.

Photos and what's nearby

Photos sell rooms. Take them in daylight, with the lights on and the clutter gone. Show the bedroom, the bathroom, the breakfast table or kitchen, the view from the window, and the outside of the building so guests recognise it when they arrive. If you have a garden, a log burner or a hot tub, give it its own photo.

Then sell the area, because people book the Borders as much as they book your rooms. Say what's nearby and how far it is, in plain terms. Ten minutes' walk to Floors Castle. On St Cuthbert's Way. A short drive to the abbeys at Melrose and Dryburgh. Close to the Tweed for salmon fishing, or to Glentress for mountain biking. Half an hour from the Berwickshire coast. Pick what genuinely applies to you and let guests imagine their days.

Local events matter too. If you're full every year for the Melrose Sevens or a Common Riding, mention it so people book early. My page on websites in Melrose has more on the local side.

Booking online or by enquiry

You have two choices. You can let guests book and pay online straight from your site, using a booking system that keeps your calendar up to date. Or you can use a simple enquiry form, where guests ask for dates and you reply to confirm.

Online booking is easier for guests and fills gaps while you sleep, but it needs a system that talks to your booking site calendars so you don't get double bookings. Enquiry forms are simpler and fine for smaller places, especially if you like to chat to guests before they come. I set up an enquiry form as standard; online booking is an extra that I quote in writing first, depending on which system suits you. My post on online bookings and deposits goes into the options.

Your short-term let licence

Scotland has a licensing scheme for short-term lets, which covers many holiday lets and B&Bs. If you need a licence, there may be rules about showing your licence number in your listings and adverts, and that would include your website. I won't pretend to know the detail of your situation: check with Scottish Borders Council about what applies to you and what you need to display. Once you know, I'll put it where it needs to be.

A real example: Kaizen Service Accommodation

One of the sites I've built is for Kaizen Service Accommodation, which lets houses to contractors across England. The whole point of the site is direct enquiries: people can see the houses, check what's included and get in touch direct rather than only through the booking sites. There's a page for every town they cover, so they show up when someone searches for a place to stay there.

The same thinking works in Peebles or Coldingham. A site that looks as good as the place, shows everything a guest needs, and makes booking direct the easy option. Returning guests are the easiest win: put your web address on the welcome card, the receipt and the thank-you email, so next year they come straight to you instead of searching the booking site again.

A checklist for your holiday let website

1. One section per room or property, with sleeps, beds and bathroom
2. Prices or "from" prices by season
3. Availability shown, or a clear way to check it
4. Daylight photos of every room, the outside and the view
5. What's nearby, with distances
6. Check-in times, parking, dogs, Wi-Fi and breakfast
7. A booking button or enquiry form on every page
8. A reason to book direct
9. Your short-term let licence number, if the council says it's needed

If you'd like more guests booking with you directly, ask for a free concept. I'll show you what your site could look like within 7 days, and if it's not right for you, you pay nothing. You can ask for yours here.