Ask any hotelier, and they’ll likely confess to having a love-hate relationship with online travel agency (OTA) platforms. Great for getting bookings; not-so-great when it comes to hefty commission fees.
It’s no surprise then, that successful hotels are increasingly focusing on direct bookings. Recent research* shows that direct bookings now represent 50% of all online reservations, and some even predict** that by 2030, direct digital channels will represent $409bn in bookings (compared to $333bn from OTAs).
That’s why direct booking websites are so important for hotels now.
Yet, for hoteliers without website building or coding expertise, this can feel daunting. Setting up payment, syncing availability calendars, and enabling guests to find the site — it can feel like a time-consuming, technical minefield.
That’s where hotel website builders come in. They make it much faster to build a high-converting, beautiful website.
To make it easier to choose the best hotel website builder platform, we’ve picked 10 of the best options available today. Plus, we’ve explained what hoteliers should look for when building a website — to elevate them to the next, successful stage of business — and suggested which might work best, depending on the hotel or business model.
Are you a hotel tech startup looking to build your brand’s reputation through strategic PR? Drop us a line.
Why do hotels need direct booking websites?
Every hotel business looking to grow, excel, and establish a strong brand needs its own direct-booking website.
Although a percentage of bookings may always come through OTAs, having a branded website is crucial, and a hotel website builder makes it easier than ever to design and publish an effective site that will impress would-be guests and convert site visitors to bookings.
Great direct booking websites can help you:
- Save money on fees paid to OTAs. Driving direct bookings means sidestepping OTAs and no longer needing to pay their often-hefty fees and commissions (nor relying on their fickle algorithms). This means more income for the hotel, which could pass on savings to guests, or use the extra money to improve the guest and staff experience.
- Build trust and reputation among new guests. Often, even if would-be guests first see a hotel on an OTA site, they may also check to see if the hotel has its own website, positive reviews, social media pages, and a legitimate online presence. Having a website increases legitimacy, establishes a strong brand away from the OTA, and instills trust in potential guests.
- Enable better guest data collection. OTAs often withhold guest data, making it difficult for hotels to gather personal information or re-engage guests later. Relying on OTAs means guests don’t truly “belong” to the hotel. Direct bookings, however, allow hotels to collect data and reconnect with guests — like sending tailored offers, thank-you emails, or deals. (Of course, hotels must have consent to use guest data for marketing reasons.)
- Increase repeat bookings. Using guest data in this way helps to establish a strong relationship between the hotel and its guests, which drives repeat bookings. Guests who trust and like a hotel, have stayed before, and have been sent a personalized deal or offer code are more likely to book and stay again. Repeat bookings are also up to 20% more profitable than new ones.
- Offer more creative freedom. A customized hotel website allows hoteliers to showcase their property in a style that OTAs can’t match, with photos and details front and center. This helps the hotel stand out from competitors, highlighting unique aspects (e.g. location, history, technology, luxury, sporting expertise, or eco-friendliness). In contrast, OTA pages are often generic and don’t present these features in the best light.
- Offer more ways for guests to book. Having a direct booking website offers guests yet another way for them to find the property and book. Building a website with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in mind increases the chance that guests will find the property via a search engine or other online space, in contrast to being just another identikit property on a long OTA search results page.
- Enable hoteliers to showcase their expertise. Building a proprietary website gives hotel teams a space to showcase their authority and expertise — such as via insightful blog posts, news of awards, or interesting behind-the-scenes peeks. This builds further trust with guests and the wider industry and increases bookings and reputation. Posts can also be optimized for search engines, for greater visibility online.
What is a hotel website builder, and how does it work?
A hotel website builder is a platform — usually an online tool or website service — that helps people put together a professional, functional, good-looking, and effective site without extensive coding or website-building experience.
A hotel website builder differs from a general website builder in that it specializes in helping hoteliers convert website visitors to bookings. It may offer a selection of themes or templates that are proven to work well to convert site visitors into bookings time and time again.
These themes may also come ‘ready-made’ and designed for hoteliers, with common pages already built in, such as a Booking page with an in-built calendar and payment portal, an About page, and Listing or Room pages.
This reduces the work that hoteliers or site builders need to do to get their website live and working effectively, in the most efficient way for their specific business needs.
A hotel website builder will also prioritize integrations with industry-specific hotel technology, such as Property Management Systems (PMSs), for all-in-one management.
What features should hoteliers look for in hotel website builders?
When comparing hotel website builders and considering which will work best for their business, hoteliers will want to look for:
Booking
- Templates or themes designed for hotels and online direct booking (preferably ones that have proven effectiveness, e.g. high-converting pages).
- Online booking capability, including an easy-to-read, automatically-updated availability calendar and secure payment portal that guests can use easily and will trust.
- Integrations with existing tools from specialized hospitality tech companies, such as a PMS and a calendar manager, to avoid double bookings between direct and OTA reservations.
Building
- Easy-to-use tools that make it easy to build a website without coding knowledge (e.g. drag-and-drop functions for images, booking buttons, or availability calendars).
- Customizable themes that let builders tailor the website to their style and brand.
- Builders that create desktop and mobile-friendly websites as standard.
- In-built SEO to maximize online visibility.
Practicality
- Good customer service and onboarding process in case the team needs help after sign-up.
- Cost and value that fits budget requirements.
The 10 best hotel website builders for driving direct bookings in 2025
Hoteliers can compare and contrast a wide range of tools to build a high-converting, guest-impressing hotel website with one of these leading website builders.
To make it even easier to choose, we’ve considered the platforms’ specialties, their standout or key features, and the type of hotel business or operation they may suit best.
1. SiteMinder
SiteMinder’s website creation tool is part of its wider hotel commerce platform, which also includes a channel manager, payment processing, along with business analytics and insights. With a focus on integrations, widgets, and photos, it enables hotels to build attractive sites that are also highly effective.
Key direct booking features
- A booking engine to enable direct bookings.
- A payment processor to take secure payments easily.
- A range of customizable templates, all designed to convert more bookings.
- Widgets such as TripAdvisor to enable hotels to showcase good reviews.
- Websites designed to work on laptops, tablets, and smartphones smoothly.
- Integrations with a vast selection of more than 450 industry tools, including OTAs, PMSs, reservation systems, and revenue management systems.
Best for: Businesses that already use SiteMinder as a hotel management platform, and/or want a website that integrates with the majority of popular hotel management tools.
2. LittleHotelier
Little Hotelier‘s main aim is to offer a simple, easy-to-use hotel website-building solution that helps smaller hotel operations create a professional-looking website quickly. With highly customizable features, it works seamlessly with the brand’s hotel software for easy all-in-one management.
Key direct booking features
- Customizable themes with tailored payment options, colors, fonts, images, and branding.
- Multi-language and multi-currency capability for easy international bookings.
- Functionality for guest extras (such as breakfast) and other upsells, or seasonal discounts.
- Simple dashboard and management platform, with a single log-in for all Little Hotelier systems.
- Option to have a simple direct booking site or to upgrade to more advanced designs.
Best for: Small, boutique hotels that already use Little Hotelier’s all-in-one platform, looking for an easy-to-use website that will not only drive direct bookings but also provide an extra source of revenue.
3. Amenitiz
Part of Amenitiz’s all-in-one hospitality management suite, this hotel website builder connects hoteliers with professionals who build a website to the hotel’s specifications. It states that this enables hotels to have a slicker, more secure site, with a focus on SEO — but while still offering hoteliers design freedom.
Key direct booking features
- Professionally built yet simple website with customizable colors, fonts, and photos.
- A three-step onboarding process that enables hoteliers to begin the design process quickly.
- Editable and changeable content after the main design process is complete.
- Focus on SEO and Google search results, with sites that are designed to be search-friendly, to boost bookings.
- A safe and secure payment portal integrated into the website.
- Mobile-friendly pages that work on screens of all sizes.
- Support for 10+ languages for international guests.
- Integrations with partners including Booking.com, Expedia, and Airbnb.
Best for: Hotels who already use the Amenitiz platform, and/or prefer to outsource the design and building of a website to a professional while still maintaining design and operational control.
4. SHR
SHR offers hoteliers a custom website design service, with a focus on offering a smooth and easy customer booking experience, as well as enabling the hotel to rank highly on search engine results pages. Its team of specialists helps hotels to create a distinctive, professional, and tailored website.
Key direct booking features:
- Customizable website designs optimized for direct bookings.
- Integration with all of SHR’s other hotel management tools, e.g. its AI-powered booking engine, for simple operations management via a single platform.
- A focus on core, effective features such as visible call-to-action buttons.
- Implementation of SEO principles to ensure the website always ranks highly on search engines.
- Security and privacy support to protect hotel data and assets from online threats.
- Multi-device support for a website that works just as well on mobile as on desktop.
Best for: Larger hotels that need a bespoke website designed by specialists, with a focus on security and strong SEO.
5. eviivo
eviivo offers a website management tool that enables hoteliers to build a new site or integrate an existing one, with the platform’s wider all-in-one booking software. It specializes in offering simple and customizable tools that look professional and attractive while driving direct bookings easily.
Key direct booking features:
- Customizable themes with an effective booking engine at the front and center of the homepage.
- Integrations with major OTAs for real-time availability updates and no double bookings.
- Seamless integration with its wider property and hotel management suite.
- Support for multiple languages and currencies for international guests.
- Secure payment processing and data storage system.
- Mobile and desktop-friendly websites as standard.
- Effective SEO focus to enable the site to be found easily online.
- Option to hire professional photographers and videographers through eviivo for polished results.
Best for: Hotels that already use the eviivo property management system and/or want a simple, do-it-yourself website builder and manager that’s highly customizable and effective.
6. WebRezPro
From the well-known property management platform of the same name, WebRezPro’s hotel website builder focuses on offering an easy-to-use booking engine for many types of properties, with a large selection of payment processor options, customizable tools, and extra features for already-booked guests.
Key direct booking features:
- Customizable themes for a fully-branded site.
- Navigation designed for smartphone users in mind, for guests on the go (also works on desktop).
- Search function to enable guests to find and select the best room for them.
- Extra features for larger hotels or those with different accommodation locations, such as the capability to let guests book via an interactive map.
- Upsells and extra options features for extra stay customization and revenue sources.
- Integrated payment option, plus a range of well-known payment options including Stripe.
- Guest reservation hub enabling guests to sign in and see past, current, and future bookings.
Best for: Hotels that already use WebRezPro and/or have multi-location or multi-type accommodation options (e.g. different buildings or types of room).
7. Cloudbeds
As part of its powerful hotel management platform, Cloudbeds offers simple and highly customizable websites built by a specialist digital marketing team, to boost a hotel’s online brand presence without hoteliers needing to take time to create a website themselves.
Key direct booking features:
- Quick set-up via Cloudbeds’ digital marketing and design team, with customizable themes.
- A six-step process to work with a designer, including a review, feedback, and final revision.
- Tailored templates designed to showcase and build a professional hotel brand.
- Focus on SEO, strong online searchability, and digital marketing tools.
- Integration with the Cloudbeds booking engine as well as its wider PMS and OTA integrations.
- Mobile-, tablet- and desktop-friendly websites as standard.
Best for: Hotels that already use the Cloudbeds hospitality management system, and who want a done-for-you website service with a focus on digital marketing, SEO, and professional brand-building.
8. Stayntouch
Stayntouch provides yet another direct booking option for hoteliers, providing embeddable widgets that enable easy bookings and payments via the platform’s own PMS, for a seamless direct booking functionality that still gives hoteliers the freedom to use their existing website.
Key direct booking features:
- Simple, user-friendly booking engine widgets that work on any website, enabling guests to check availability and pay easily.
- Integration with the Stayntouch PMS.
- Guest messaging tools like confirmation, modification, and cancellation emails.
- Capability to enable group bookings, promo codes, add-ons, or upsells.
- Optimized for mobile, tablet, and desktop.
- Customizable themes with tailored colors, logos, and fonts.
Best for: Hotels that already use the Stayntouch PMS, and/or those that already have a website design they like, but want to upgrade and simplify their booking engine.
9. Profitroom
Profitroom focuses on helping hotels increase not only the number of direct bookings but also their value, aiming to make it easy for “lookers” to become “bookers”. With three options — from predefined, simple templates for smaller properties, right up to a fully customizable, professionally-designed site for large chains. Uses the brand’s direct booking technology and hospitality management suite.
Key direct booking features:
- Customizable, professional websites personalizable to each type of hotel.
- Photo- and design-first templates to showcase hotels with stunning visuals.
- Integrations with booking engines for real-time availability updates.
- Capability for multi-site or chain hotels.
- Functionality to allow upsells and extras at the booking stage.
- Integration with Profitroom’s channel manager, CRM and email marketing tool and booking engine.
Best for: Larger and higher-end hotel businesses that want to focus on improving the number and quality of their direct bookings.
10. Cendyn
With a focus on simple design and easy-to-use website functions, Cendyn aims to engage and attract would-be guests and convert them into bookings. With a content management system (CMS) tailored to hoteliers, Cendyn aims to offer secure and fast sites that work reliably worldwide.
Key direct booking features:
- Customizable designs that aim to boost a hotel brand’s ‘personality’ and make booking easy.
- Options for extra upsells such as hotel activities and extras.
- Fast cloud hosting that ensures half-second response times across the world.
- Focus on
- Analytics collecting for useful booking insights into upsells and extra revenue.
- Focus on SEO, and Cendyn’s digital marketing platform functions to boost hotel visibility online.
- Integration with Cendyn’s booking engine for seamless bookings and payments.
Best for: International brands and those that want a simple yet functional website that attracts and secures direct bookings and upsells without fuss.
Best hotel website builders: A modern must-have
The best hotel website builder for each hotel will depend on the hotel’s existing tech set-up, its style, the team’s level of coding and website-building expertise, and budget.
From Cendyn’s simple yet powerful designs, to Little Hotelier which works best for boutique operations, and SHR which offers a professional custom design service, there’s a website builder out there that will suit all kinds of hotels looking to drive more direct bookings and establish a stronger online brand.
Direct booking websites bring cost savings, independence away from OTA fees and algorithms, better guest relationships, higher repeat bookings, and a strong online presence and industry authority.
And with direct bookings increasingly taking priority over OTAs, there’s never been a better time to build an excellent hotel website. May the direct bookings and repeat customers roll in!
Are you a hotel tech startup looking to build your brand’s reputation through strategic PR? Drop us a line.
Best hotel website builders – FAQs
What are some good platforms for building a hotel booking website?
Good hotel booking website builder platforms tend to offer customizable templates, booking engines, payment processing, and integrations with hospitality management tools to boost direct bookings. Popular, effective options include SiteMinder, Little Hotelier, Amenitiz, SHR, and Cloudbeds.
What’s the best hotel booking website builder?
The best hotel booking website builder depends on the hotel’s business needs and existing tech stack (e.g. the PMS it uses). For example, SiteMinder could be ideal for those seeking wide tool integration, while LittleHotelier suits smaller hotels. SHR offers custom design services, and Cloudbeds particularly emphasizes digital marketing and SEO.
What are some strategies for driving direct bookings to a hotel website?
To drive direct bookings to a hotel website, hotels can create an attractive, efficient, and easy-to-use booking portal. They can use a hotel website builder to implement strategies such as SEO, using customizable booking templates to build brand trust, offering a secure payment portal, integrating property management systems, collecting guest data, and showcasing the hotel’s unique features through a branded site.
*SolutionInc Ltd, April 2023.
**Hotel Distribution Outlook 2024 report, Skift Research, November 2024
