Answers · Direct bookings
How do I create a direct-booking website for my Airbnb?
Short answer
A direct-booking website needs four things: a page describing the property, a calendar that knows your real availability, a way to take payment, and your Airbnb dates blocked so you cannot be double-booked. Every Airflow listing gets a booking page with all four. The Website + Hosting add-on turns it into a full multi-page website on your own domain. Guests pay into your own Stripe or Paystack account, and each booking lands in the same calendar and accounts as your Airbnb bookings.
Why a website alone does not get you bookings
A website builder gives you pages. It does not know that Airbnb sold next weekend, it cannot quote a price for five nights with a cleaning fee, and its contact form leaves you to arrange payment by email. Most hosts who try end up with an attractive brochure and a form.
The parts that make a site bookable are the unglamorous ones: live availability, a price calculation, payment with a deposit and a balance, a confirmation, and the dates closing everywhere else. Those are what to check before choosing how to build it.
How to do it with Airflow
- 1
Add your property
Enter the name, location, capacity, nightly rate and minimum stay, and upload photos. If you already have a website, Airflow's assistant can read it and fill in the description, photos and branding for you to confirm.
- 2
Block your Airbnb dates
Paste your Airbnb calendar link into the listing and paste Airflow's calendar link into Airbnb. Dates now block both ways, and Airflow reads Airbnb's link every hour.
- 3
Connect payment
Connect your own Stripe account, or Paystack for cards and M-Pesa in Kenya. Set a deposit and when the balance is due. Money goes to your account; Airflow does not hold it.
- 4
Publish
Your booking page is live on a free airflowhost.com address straight away. Add Website + Hosting for gallery, about, contact and reviews pages, and point a domain you own at it; the certificate is issued and renewed for you.
What the guest sees
The booking flow on an Airflow booking page.
| 1. Dates | A calendar showing only nights that are free |
|---|---|
| 2. Price | Nights, seasonal rates, discounts, cleaning fee and extras, calculated at once |
| 3. Details | Name, email, phone, number of guests |
| 4. Payment | Card through your Stripe or Paystack account, or bank transfer |
| 5. Confirmation | A confirmation code and a link to their guest portal |
You can click through a complete demonstration site, and its checkout in a sandbox, at airflowhq.com/websites.
Already have a website?
Keep it. The Airflow booking widget embeds on any site, and there is a WordPress plugin. Your pages stay as they are and the widget supplies the calendar, price and checkout. The widget and shareable booking links are available on every plan.
Staying within Airbnb's rules
Airbnb does not allow you to use its messaging to move a guest who found you there off the platform for that booking. A direct website is for guests who find you elsewhere, and for guests who return: your name on the welcome book, the guest portal and your follow-up after the stay are the legitimate routes back to you.
Other ways to do this
Airflow is one option. These are the others, and when each is the better choice.
- A general website builder plus a booking plugin
- Wix, Squarespace or WordPress with a booking plugin gives the most design freedom. You connect the calendar sync and payment yourself, and the bookings stay separate from your accounts.
- A property management system with a site builder
- Lodgify, Hostaway and similar systems include a website builder alongside a channel manager. A good fit if you also want rates pushed to channels through their APIs; priced accordingly.
- A "paste your Airbnb link" site generator
- Several newer services build a one-page site from your Airbnb listing in minutes. Quick to launch. Check how payment is taken, who holds the money and whether bookings reach your accounts.
- A custom-built site
- A developer or agency can build exactly what you want. Highest cost, and you still need a booking engine behind it.
What Airflow does not do
- Airflow does not copy your reviews or listing from Airbnb automatically; it can read an existing website of your own.
- A website does not bring traffic by itself. You still need guests to find it; Airflow Stay, launching soon, is built to help with that, and listing on it is free.
- Card processing fees are charged by Stripe or Paystack on top of any Airflow commission.
Common questions
How do I create my own holiday-rental booking website?
Add your property to Airflow, link your other calendars, connect a payment account and publish. You get a booking page at once, and the Website + Hosting add-on makes it a full website on your own domain. It works the same whether or not you are on Airbnb.
Can I have a direct booking website and stay on Airbnb?
Yes. Most hosts run both. The calendar links keep the dates in step so a direct booking blocks Airbnb and an Airbnb booking blocks your site.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes. With the Website + Hosting add-on, on any plan including Free, you point a domain you own at your Airflow site. Without it your page sits on a free airflowhost.com address.
Who receives the guest's payment?
You do. Guests pay into your own Stripe or Paystack account. Airflow never holds the money.
What does Airflow charge on a direct booking?
A commission on bookings paid through your booking page or widget, at a rate that depends on your plan, well below the commission booking platforms charge. Card processing fees are separate. The rates are on the pricing page.
Is there a free option?
Yes. The Free plan includes your own booking page and booking widget for one listing, with commission per booking. A card is needed at sign-up.
How long does it take to set up?
The booking page can be live the same day: property details, photos, a calendar link and a payment connection. A full website on your own domain depends mainly on how quickly you update your domain settings.
Try it on your own bookings
Forward a few booking emails and look at what Airflow builds from them. A card is needed at sign-up.
Start with Airflow See plans and pricing