Key Takeaways
- How to use social media, hashtags and email marketing to drive direct bookings.
- Why guest relationships and a high‑converting direct booking website matter.
- How Bookster tools help you attract direct bookings and still use OTAs wisely.
Attracting direct bookings to your holiday rental website takes time, consistency and the right tools.
This article shares five simple, practical ways to get more guests booking direct: social media, smarter hashtags, email marketing, relationships and a website that actually converts.
We also show how Bookster supports your direct booking strategy alongside OTAs / Channels like Airbnb.
Direct bookings are a long‑term game – small, consistent actions in marketing and guest experience add up to more profit and more control over your business.
Get more direct bookings for your holiday rental
A crucial part of your self-catering business is to attract bookings to your holiday lets.
In recent years, more and more attention has been applied to attracting direct bookings. So where do you start?
The first key point is that attracting direct bookings begins with a great website.
The website will educate, inform and encourage your guests to book a stay with you.
But how will guests find out about your website?
That takes time, effort, and energy.
To help, we've broken down 5 steps that you should be taking if you're interested in attracting direct bookings to your holiday rental website.
Let's begin.
5 tips for more direct bookings for your holiday let
1. Use social media to be seen
Love it or hate it, social media is where many guests discover your brand and then search for your direct booking website.
Choose the platforms your ideal guests already use (for example Facebook) and post consistently about your properties, area, and offers.
Your guests will probably focus on just one or two, so that should be your plan too.
There are growing numbers of social media channels to use, but you don't need to use them all.
Great social media platforms for holiday rentals:
- TikTok
Action:
1. Identify which social media channels your potential guests use.
2. Plan a weekly post to communicate with your potential guests.
2. Use hashtags to increase visibility
Hashtags help the right people find your content when they search for terms like “dog friendly cottage in Cornwall” or “family‑friendly lodge Scotland”.
Mix location tags, niche tags and a branded hashtag so your posts appear in more of the searches that lead to direct bookings.
Here's a quick guide on building your selection of hashtags:
- Your clients: digitalnomads, familylife, honeymooners, MomAndPops
- Your type of business: self-catering, holidaylets, holidaycottage, vacationrental, cleaning services
- Your location: Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, Europe
- Your features or brand: quirky, inclusive, teamwork, romanticbreaks, citybreaks, adventure, beach, holiday
- Unique hashtag for your brand: BooksterExperience
- The topic if you’re writing about something specific: WeekendGetaway, Cleaning, Valentines
- Look at competitors and other industry like-minded people: what do they use that you could try?
Action:
1. Identify hashtags you can use in each social media channel.
2. Create your list of hashtags for each channel / message
3. Email marketing to stay in touch
Your past guests and enquiries are your warmest audience for repeat and direct bookings.
Use email marketing to send occasional updates, seasonal offers and useful content, always respecting GDPR rules and making it easy to book direct from every message.
Here's a 60-second video on why to use Email Marketing.
GDPR does impact who you can contact and when, so if you're not aware of these regulations, it's important to brush up on them.
Many Email Marketing tools are available, with varying prices, complexity, and options. Bookster offers an Email Marketing tool within all packages.
There are many options for sending automatic emails or sending campaigns, such as:
- An e-Christmas card.
- Automated emails before, during, or after their stay.
- A monthly / bi-monthly / regular newsletter.
- A change in the property or the local area, such as a concert.
Action:
1. Check the GDPR guidelines which may affect you.
2. Plan when you can get in touch with your contacts and what you want to say.
4. Build strong relationships
Direct bookings grow fastest when guests trust you.
Reply promptly, share stories about your properties and team, and show social proof with reviews and membership logos across your website and social channels.
There are lots of different ways to engage and build relationships. Here are some examples:
- Ask opinions. Thinking of a new coffee provider? Ask on social media for opinions about the different options. Considering adding a Matterport? Talk to your contacts about it.
- Ask for advice. Unsure of what to add in your videos? Ask for advice.
- Provide updates. When you've made a change, from painting a wall to add new T&Cs, communicate it.
- Tell stories. Talk about the history of your property. The local area. Local heroes. How you came to manage it.
- Add background to the team. Introduce your individual team members.
- Showcase your partners. Your company is strong because of the quality of your sheets, your cleaning standards, your guest welcome basket. So talk about the partners who provide them.
- Add photos. Images are powerful. So add images of your properties, the local area, and activities to do whilst at or near the property.
Action:
1. Take time to consider how you can build relationships.
2. Put aside time each week to do this.
5. Use a website that converts.
Not all holiday rental websites are built for direct bookings.
Your site should load quickly, look modern, be easy to book on mobile and answer key questions so guests feel confident paying you directly.
Bookster offers websites, a Book Direct Toolkit and SEO services to help your site rank and convert.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I start a direct booking website?
- How to start a direct booking website:
1. Choose software that shares your property and bookings information with your website.
2. There are 3 options to build the site:
- Build your own website with a tool like Wix or Squarespace.
- Employ a web developer's or designer's services.
- Use the software's website builder or design service.
4. Register and pay for the Domain address.
5. Share your Domain details with your Hosting company. - How do I get more direct bookings from Instagram and Facebook?
- Post consistently with high‑quality photos, location‑based hashtags and clear “book direct on our website” calls to action.
Add your website link to your bio and stories, then share guest reviews and short videos that show what it feels like to stay, not just what the property looks like. - What is a good direct booking percentage for a holiday rental business?
- There is no fixed “right” number, but many small holiday rental businesses aim for 30–50% of bookings to be direct over time.
The key is to grow your direct share each year while still using OTAs strategically for visibility, then track the mix inside your Property Management Software / Marketing Software or channel manager. - Are direct bookings really cheaper than OTA bookings once you add marketing costs?
- Yes, in most cases direct bookings cost less than OTA bookings over the long term, especially for repeat stays. You pay upfront in website, SEO and email tools, but each repeat guest who books direct again reduces your effective cost per booking and keeps more revenue in your business.
You do not need to abandon OTAs to grow direct bookings. Start by improving your social media, hashtags, email, relationships and website, then use Bookster to connect OTAs, manage bookings and steadily shift more revenue to your own direct booking channels.
