How to start a hotel booking website: Step-by-step guide

With traditional travel agencies increasingly falling behind more modern ways of planning holidays, having a well-designed hotel or B&B website is now essential for any business looking to attract guests and boost their bookings.

A hotel or B&B website is your digital storefront, providing potential guests with a glimpse of the experience they could expect if they book to stay with you. It can act as a marketing tool as well as a support for your sales activities.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps you need to take to launch your hotel or B&B website.

What is a hotel website?

A hotel website can come in a few different forms. One of the most common types of sites includes the hotel booking website.

These websites can be a marketplace where a person can choose a hotel from an index of other hotels, or it could be the website of a specific hotel.

There are review websites for hotels too, where users or experts provide feedback on the experience they have. Increasingly though, these review websites include a booking function.

Whether you’re in charge of a chain of restaurants with locations around the country, or of a single, small countryside B&B, having a website for your hotel can help you grow your business in several ways.

Types of hotel website

We’ve talked a little bit about what a hotel website is above. But it’s worth bearing in mind the huge range of websites out there.

Luxury hotel websites – catering to customers looking to spend more, these websites will often focus on promoting the quality of their service. High-quality imagery and a focus on amenities will likely form the core of the website’s approach.
Budget-friendly hotel websites – for the more frugal traveller, these sites are still going to focus on the quality of service for the money paid but may spend more time talking about the local attractions or activities that bring the traveller to the area.
Resort websites – often focusing on the range of activities available in the resort, these hotel websites often focus on high-quality imagery, with time spent highlighting the fun that visitors can have.
B&B websites – generally more quaint, B&B websites will typically feel more cosy than some of the other sites on this list. Depending on where the B&B is, the website might focus on local attractions or popular hiking spots, for example.
Glamping websites – for campers looking for a more luxury experience, glamping sites will often promote the benefits of being outdoors, while also highlighting the range of amenities offered in the glamping world.

There are, of course, a number of other hotel website types. When you begin planning your own hotel website, it’s worth spending some time defining exactly what sort of tone your audience will expect from your site.

Step 1: Define your hotel or B&Bs brand

Before you start building your website, it’s important that you have a clear understanding of what it is that your hotel or B&B offers to potential guests.

Consider what sets you apart from the competition, whether that competition is local or further afield.

Think about the unique features you offer and the amenities and experiences that your guests can enjoy.

Are you based in the perfect location for nearby attractions?
Do you offer the best customer service compared to other local options?
Are you providing a luxury experience or a budget experience?

Understanding what makes your establishment stand out will help to form the foundation of your site, particularly when it comes to design, content and marketing.

You can get some more tips on defining your brand from our page on how to create a business plan.

Step 2: Conduct market research and define your customers

Once you understand your brand, the next step is to understand the sort of customer you are likely to attract. This will help you to tailor your website experience to them.

You should conduct market research to identify:

Demographics – what age or gender are your customers likely to be? Where are they coming from?
Preferences – what sort of accommodation does your target customer prefer?
Interests – outside of your accommodation, what are your guests looking for? Are there local experiences you should be promoting?

Once you begin to build a picture of the sort of customer you expect to cater to, you can consider how your website and content can reflect their interests.

Step 3: Choose a domain name

If you are already running a hotel or B&B, then your domain name should match your brand as closely as possible.

You can use a domain registrar such as GoDaddy to check whether the name you want is available. If it isn’t, most registrars will also provide similar names for you to choose from.

For more tips, take a look at our page on how to choose a domain name.

Step 4: Set up web hosting and a content management system (CMS)

For your hotel or B&B website to be accessible to potential customers, you’ll need both website hosting and a content management system (CMS) in place.

How you approach setting these up will depend on the route you plan to take in building your website. If you plan to create a bespoke site, you’ll need to go to a hosting provider such as Bluehost or HostGator to sign up for the plan you need – you can check out our best website hosting provider page for more advice.

However, if you are planning to start your site using a website builder like Wix or Squarespace, you don’t need to worry about hosting as it will be included in your plan.

Best hotel and B&B website builders

If you are planning to use a website builder to get started, you should think carefully about the features, functions and design elements you want to incorporate into your online platform.

You will probably want to create content on your site that showcases your rooms, amenities and local attractions; for that, you’ll require an easy to use builder that can host high-quality images and maybe videos.

You’ll also probably want to be able to manage guest bookings through your site – or at the very least, you’ll want to offer contact information for your users. Make sure that the plan you choose provides the range of options you need.

The website builders below are great all-rounders that offer a range of quality services. For more options, visit our best website builders page.

Brand	Plan	Cost
Wix	Lite	£9/month
Squarespace	Personal	£12/month
GoDaddy	Basic	£6.99/month

Step 5: Design your website

The design of your website is important. It is likely to be one of the first impressions your potential customers get about your hotel or B&B. For that reason, you want to design your website to match your establishment as closely as possible.

On a more practical level, you need to use a responsive theme for your site that works across a range of devices. Make sure to prioritise user-friendly navigation, with high-quality images, videos and text to ensure that readers can find exactly what they’re looking for.

You also want to make sure to design your website, as well as the individual pages within it, in the best way possible to showcase your accommodation and amenities. Think about what your audience will want to see and make sure those features are central to your design efforts.

Showcase your hotel or B&B's features

Within the design of your website, make sure to highlight the unique features of your establishment. Whether that means showcasing the rooms in your hotel, the dining options you offer, or the spa, pool or gardens.

Make sure to provide detailed descriptions about all of the features you have, providing high-quality images or videos too so that your guests can get a real feel for your venue.

Provide online booking features

Providing online booking options will make it easy for your guests to book to stay with you and, when done well, can make it easier for you to manage bookings too.

Integrate a user-friendly – for you and your customers – booking engine or reservation that will allow your guests to check availability and prices, and to book securely.

Make sure you test this process thoroughly, while also ensuring that the online booking portal is easy to get to from anywhere on the website.

Step 6: Optimise for search engines

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is an important process if you want to make sure that your hotel or B&B website can be found on indexes like Google.

Make sure to conduct keyword research related to your location and business so that you can target people searching those terms with the content you create. Use your research to inform the content you produce.

For example, if you know that a lot of people search for a local attraction near to your hotel, a page on your website that provides information on that attraction – and highlights how close it is for your guests – could be a great way to boost traffic to your site, and the bookings you generate from it.

Take a look at the articles below to find out more about SEO.

What is Google Search Console? Definition, features & benefits

What is Google Analytics? Definition, features and benefits

What is keyword tracking? Definition & tips on how to do it

What is SEO? An introduction to search engine optimisation

Step 7: Market your hotel or B&B

Building a website for your establishment is one part of a larger puzzle. To build an effective online presence, you’ll also need to invest in other forms of marketing.

Remember to bear your target audience in mind so that you can create ads that match their interests, on the platforms they are likely to be using.

Take a look at the guides below for more advice on marketing.

What is email marketing in 2024? Definition, benefits & strategies

Social media marketing in 2024: What is it and how does it work?

What is search engine marketing (SEM)? Definition, types & tips

How to market your website in 2024: Step-by-step guide

Step 8: Gather feedback

As a hotel or B&B owner, feedback should be constant. Make sure to learn from the tools you have online how people are finding and interacting with your website. Monitor your marketing efforts to see what does work and what doesn’t.

And, most importantly, speak to your guests. Get feedback from them on your whole business to make sure that you can keep improving. Ask them about how they’ve found their accommodation, but also find out if there are any improvements you could make to your website.

Gathering this information is essential if you want to thrive in the competitive hospitality space.

Most important hotel website features

Now that you’ve run through our step-by-step guide, it’s time recap on those most important website features.

High-quality videos and photographs – you want your potential customers to see how nice your hotel is. Make sure you have high-quality photos and videos that highlight the best bits of your hotel! Make sure to include images of your accommodation as well as any amenities that customers might be interested in.
Ease-of-use – you could have all of the information a customer could need on your site, but if they can’t find it easily, it’s useless. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and easy to use; pay attention to how your site appears on different devices too!
Booking options – if you want to take bookings, it goes without saying that you need options on-site for customers to book rooms. Make sure you choose a reliable booking provider that can help you to automate the booking process as much as possible.
Reviews & testimonials – people like to know what they can expect from a hotel before they arrive on the day. Have a page on your website dedicated to positive reviews and testimonials from previous customers.
About Us & Contact Us – let people know a bit more about your hotel. What is the vibe? What is the history? You can also focus on highlighting your staff – if your restaurant is overseen by a well-known chef, for example, you should let people know!
Directions – even though most people will now use GPS or online maps to find out where they need to go, it’s important to provide directions for your hotel.

How much does it cost to build a hotel website?

How much you spend on your website will depend on a few factors. The first factor is how you build your site. Will you choose to use a website builder and do it yourself, or will you opt for custom website design?

If you decide to go down the web builder route, the cost will depend on which brand you choose to go with, and which plan you choose. Take a look at some example prices here:

Wix – £9/month
Squarespace – £12/month
GoDaddy – £6.99/month

With a website builder, you’ll get everything you need included in one plan. Of course, the prices above may not reflect what you end up paying if you need more advanced features.

However, with a website builder it is very easy to keep track of your outgoing website costs. On the other hand, if you choose to go down the custom web development route, you may have more variable costs.

Domain hosting – £7 to £40/year
Website hosting – £3/month
Web design – £50/hour
Web developer – £50 hour

While there are more potential costs to consider, custom development can provide a lot more flexibility.

Bear in mind that you’ll probably also need monthly plans that allow you to take bookings and accept payments. There are usually additional payments attached to these features.

How to start a hotel or B&B website: Final thoughts

Starting a website for your hotel or B&B is an important step in establishing a strong online presence for your business. It’s also an excellent way to drive interest and bookings if you manage things well.

By creating a strong plan, built on a good understanding of your target audience, you can create an engaging online space that showcases your property and drives bookings.

Remember though, that to be truly successful, your website will need to be maintained for the long-term. Don’t just assume that once it’s built the work is done; you need to keep on top of things to keep information up-to-date, and to ensure your design is fresh and exciting for your would-be guests.

Bryn Glover

Bryn is the founder and editor of WebsiteJumpStart. He has worked in the digital field for over a decade and was editor for Startups.co.uk - the UK's leading small business website - and for NerdWallet UK before launching WebsiteJumpStart to help people and businesses get online with ease.

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