How to get direct bookings for your homestay — a practical playbook for Indian hosts
Direct bookings come from five places: your own booking website, your Google Business Profile, your Instagram bio, WhatsApp, and guests who already know you. Put one booking link in all of them, price it no higher than the apps, look after repeat guests, and keep the travel apps for discovery rather than every booking.
Key takeaway: you do not need to leave Airbnb or Booking.com to get more direct bookings. You need one page where a guest can see your rooms, pick dates and book without a chat, and that link in every place guests already find you. The apps bring strangers; your own link keeps the guests who already know your name.
TL;DR
- • One booking link with rooms, prices for the guest’s dates, a calendar and your policies.
- • Google: put that link in your Business Profile’s Website field and add WhatsApp chat.
- • Instagram and WhatsApp: link in bio, a quick reply that sends the link, a status before long weekends.
- • App guests: follow each app’s rules; make your stay easy to find by its own name instead.
- • Repeat guests: two to four personal messages a year, only to people who said yes.
- • Price parity: never dearer direct; win with a perk, and read your app contracts first.
Why direct bookings are worth the effort
Travel apps such as Airbnb, Booking.com, MakeMyTrip and Goibibo (the trade calls them OTAs, short for online travel agencies) are very good at showing your rooms to people who have never heard of you, and they charge for it on every booking. Airbnb’s help centre (October 2026) says most hosts on its single host-only fee pay 15.5% of the booking, and some pay 14–16%. Booking.com, MakeMyTrip and Goibibo charge a commission set in your agreement with them.
On a three-night stay at ₹4,000 a night, 15.5% is ₹1,860. Twenty such stays a year is ₹37,200. The goal is not to leave the apps; it is to stop paying a middleman for guests who already know you: returning guests, their friends, and people who found you on Google or Instagram.
1. Your own booking website
A guest should be able to book without sending a single message. That needs photos of each room, who it sleeps, the price for their dates with the total including GST, a calendar of free nights, house rules, the cancellation policy, how to get there and a button for questions. When something is missing, the guest asks on WhatsApp, and many of those chats go quiet.
The Homestay & Stays template on SitesPlaced is built around that list. The guest picks dates on a calendar showing each night’s price, sees every room with the total for the stay, and enters a name and WhatsApp number. You choose to confirm each booking yourself (rooms are held while you decide) or let bookings confirm instantly, and whether guests pay at the property, a deposit first or the full amount first. There is no online payment on the booking page yet; you collect a deposit by UPI or bank transfer after confirming.
New bookings reach you by email and as a push notification on the SitesPlaced phone app. It is free with 0% commission; your own domain is from ₹199 a month. See the live demo, or read about the homestay website builder and the free booking engine. Whatever you use, have one link; every step below puts it somewhere new.
2. The booking link in your Google Business Profile
People search “homestay in Jibhi” or your stay’s name on Google Maps, and the first thing they see is your Google Business Profile. It is free, and it has a Website field. Put your booking page there, not your Instagram. Add WhatsApp as the chat option, upload real photos, and fill in check-in and check-out times. Our step-by-step guide is how to add your homestay to Google Maps.
Separately, since 30 July 2025 Google’s hotel price list with “free booking links” has needed a connectivity partner (booking software connected to Google). SitesPlaced is not one, so your rates will not appear there through us. Your SitesPlaced site does publish your rooms and prices in a format Google can read, with a sitemap of every room page.
3. Instagram bio and WhatsApp
For many Indian homestays, Instagram is the shop window. Put the booking link in your bio, end every post with “Dates and prices: link in bio”, and keep highlights for Rooms, Food and How to reach. Before a long weekend, post a story with a link sticker and the nights still free.
On WhatsApp Business, save a quick reply: “Thank you for asking! See every room, the price for your dates and book here: [link].” The guest sees the total themselves, and the twenty-message chat about “is the 14th free, how much for two adults and a child” disappears. Post the same link on your status before every long weekend.
4. Turning app guests into direct guests, inside the rules
Careful here. Airbnb’s policy (help centre, October 2026) says hosts may not offer discounts to book off Airbnb, rebook an Airbnb reservation elsewhere, or put links in listings or messages that take people off Airbnb. Other apps have their own terms, and breaking them can cost you the listing.
So do not message app guests about booking direct or hand them discount cards. Instead, use the same stay name on the gate, your Google profile, Instagram and your website, so a guest who searches for you next year, or tells a friend, finds you directly. Guests who came to you directly (Google, Instagram, a friend, a walk-in) are yours to stay in touch with.
5. Repeat-guest messages
The cheapest booking is a guest who has stayed before. At check-out, ask guests who booked directly: “Can I message you when we open bookings for the season?” Then message them two to four times a year: season opening, a few weeks before Diwali or Christmas–New Year, and when off-season prices start. Keep it short:
Send these yourself, one by one or to a broadcast list of people who said yes; SitesPlaced does not send automatic WhatsApp messages, but the Bookings tab keeps every guest’s name and number. Never add people to groups they did not ask for; reports and blocks hurt your WhatsApp account.
6. Pricing parity: never dearer direct
Pricing parity means the same price everywhere. Guests who find you on an app often check your website next, so the one fixed rule is: your own site is never dearer than the apps.
Going lower depends on your contracts: some app agreements have asked properties not to sell cheaper anywhere, including their own website. In October 2022, the Competition Commission of India directed MakeMyTrip-Goibibo to drop such price and room-availability parity terms, but read your own agreements first.
The safest win is the same price plus something extra for booking direct: breakfast included, a pickup from the bus stand, a late check-out. On SitesPlaced you set weekday, weekend and season prices, minimum nights and extra-guest charges, and GST is added to the total if you are registered.
The direct-booking checklist
| Where | What to put there |
|---|---|
| Your own website | Every room with photos, who it sleeps, prices for the guest’s dates, a calendar, policies and a WhatsApp button |
| Google Business Profile | Your booking page in the Website field, WhatsApp chat, photos, check-in and check-out times |
| The booking link in your bio, “dates and prices: link in bio” on every post, highlights for rooms, food and how to reach | |
| WhatsApp Business | A quick reply that sends the link, and a status before every long weekend |
| Past direct guests | Two to four personal messages a year, only to people who said yes |
| Travel apps | Keep them for discovery, follow their rules, never price your website above them |
For the full picture of what each app costs and gives you, read Airbnb vs Booking.com vs direct booking. Once bookings come from several places, keep one calendar as the truth; how to avoid double bookings explains the routine.
Frequently asked questions
How can I get direct bookings for my homestay?
Make one booking link that shows your rooms, prices and free dates, then put it everywhere guests already look for you: the Website field of your Google Business Profile, your Instagram bio, a WhatsApp quick reply and your WhatsApp status. Price it no higher than the travel apps, look after guests who booked you directly, and message them a few times a year with their permission.
Can I ask Airbnb guests to book directly next time?
Not through Airbnb, and not with a discount. Airbnb’s policy, as listed in its help centre in October 2026, says hosts may not offer discounts to book off Airbnb, rebook an Airbnb reservation elsewhere, or put links in listings or messages that take people off Airbnb. Other apps have their own terms. What you can do is make your stay easy to find by its own name, on your signboard, Google profile and Instagram, so a guest who wants to come back can find you.
How much does Airbnb charge hosts?
Airbnb’s help centre (October 2026) says most hosts on its single host-only fee pay 15.5% of the booking, taken from the payout, and some pay between 14% and 16%. An older split fee, where the host paid about 3% and the guest paid a separate fee, is being phased out. Check the earnings page in your own account for the rate that applies to you.
Do I need a website to get direct bookings?
You can take bookings on WhatsApp alone, but every booking then costs you a long chat about dates, prices and rooms. A booking page lets the guest pick dates, see the total for the stay and send the booking themselves, and it gives Google and Instagram something to link to. On SitesPlaced the website and booking engine are free, with 0% commission.
Can guests pay a deposit online when they book on my SitesPlaced site?
Not yet. You choose how guests pay: at the property, a deposit percentage first, or the full amount first. The guest sees that rule before booking, and you collect the deposit or full payment yourself by UPI or bank transfer after you confirm. You can then record the payment against the booking in your dashboard.
Should my direct price be lower than on Airbnb or Booking.com?
It should never be higher, because guests check your website after finding you on an app. Before going lower, read your agreement with each app, since some have asked properties not to sell cheaper elsewhere. The safest way to win the direct booking is the same price with something extra: breakfast included, a free pickup from the bus stand or a late check-out.
Make the one link guests can book from
A homestay website with a booking engine: rooms, a price calendar, the total with GST, request-to-book or instant booking. Free to publish, 0% commission on every booking.
