Two New Website Templates For Accommodation Rental
Nowadays, many guesthouses, bed and breakfast, and holiday rental owners rely on third-party websites like Airbnb, Booking.com and Home Away to give their accommodation a digital footprint and attract guests. Many more rely on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram to publish information and pictures about their businesses and even communicate with guests.
All these solutions are great. And although the likes of Airbnb often charge an arm and a leg for the service, they all have their place. But the problem with them all is you do not control them. They, to a certain extent, control you.
Booking.com can change their fees. Airbnb can update its terms. Facebook can (and does) change their algorithms. And all of them will heavily promote competitors to your users. This is, after all, how they make money.
So while they all can have a place in your marketing mix, nothing should replace your website.
Your website can be as complex or as simple as you want. It can be nothing more than a placeholder where guests can get basic details and contact info. It can be a more rounded website, with details about the accommodation and you, the host. It might include your most recent online reviews and a gallery too. Or it might be a full-blown website and online booking system. The choice is yours.
But what isn't a choice, but a business necessity, is that you have your own website. Controlled by you. That isn't at the mercy of a global third party who doesn't really know (or care) about your existence.
And that, as if you hadn't already worked it out, is the point of this blog post... I'm pleased to announce the recent launch of two template websites that can quickly and cheaply get your business online. What's a template website? Read this.
New Template: Guesthouse
Guesthouse has been designed for (wait for it...) the guesthouse and bed and breakfast operator. Click here to see a demo of the template (link opens in new window).
Guesthouse is a highly visual website which uses lots of pictures and minimal text. The thinking is, when someone is looking for a guesthouse, they want to see as many pictures about the property and facilities as possible, not read reams of text!
As well as the homepage, there is a dedicated "rooms" page where users can see all the rooms available. They then click on a "read more" link to see a sub-page for each room. In the demo, there is an availability calendar for each room, but this is an optional extra and doesn't have to be included.
There is also an "about us" page to tell users about you, the host, and the property in general. And a booking page that can also have an optional booking system or a simple contact form. Finally, there is a "find-us" page. So people can find you!
In the demo version, it's a nice simple but visually elegant and engaging website. It can be simplified further if required or have added additional pages and sections, as per requirements.
Prices start from only £300 / €350 for setup.
New Template: Rental
Rental is for the holiday home rental owner/operator. Click here to see a demo of the template (link opens in new window).
Rental is aimed at the holiday home rental owner and operator. Its design is super clean and works perfectly across all types and sizes of mobile devices.
While it is only a single-page scrolling website, it contains a lot of information, having everything your user needs to make an informed decision to rent your property.
The demo includes an optional booking system which can automate everything, from diary management to taking online bookings and even payments, if needed. The booking system sync's with all the popular third-party platforms, removing the risk of double bookings.
It can be replaced with a simple contact form if you prefer not to have your own booking system.
Prices start from only £250 / €300 for setup.