A page per place, built from what you have
Photos, the write-up, amenities, house rules, sleeps and beds, with a live price from the property’s nightly rate and stay rules. Your colours, fonts and logo; five layouts to pick from.
DIRECT BOOKING WEBSITE
A direct booking website for your Airbnb, included with Pro.
Guests who found you once can book you again without the platform fee. A booking site at your own address with your photos and reviews, a calendar shared with Airbnb so the two never double-book, and card payment straight to your bank. Included with Pro at $19 a month per short-term rental; each direct booking costs 1% plus card processing.
- Payouts to your own Stripe account
- Your own domain
- No double bookings with a connected Airbnb listing
WHAT YOU GET
A real website, built from what is already in your account.
The photos, write-up, prices and rules you keep in Rentalhand become the site. Change a nightly rate once and it reaches Airbnb and your site together.
One calendar with Airbnb
A paid direct booking blocks those nights on your connected Airbnb listing within seconds, and an Airbnb booking blocks them on your site. No double bookings between the two.
Card payment straight to you
Guests pay by card into your own Stripe account. Stripe takes its card processing fee, Rentalhand keeps 1% of the stay, and the rest pays out to your bank. Rentalhand never holds your money.
Your reviews, your trust badges
Paste the reviews your places already have on Airbnb or Vrbo, show Superhost and other badges, and add a meet-your-host section with a photo.
Your own domain
Show the site at an address you own, like book.yourname.com: type it in, add one DNS record at your registrar, and it is live with https within minutes. The rentalhand.com address keeps working.
A chat assistant, if you want it
An “Ask a question” button that answers guests from what you wrote and checks dates against your calendar. It never invents prices or availability and never gives out the street address.
AFTER A BOOKING
A direct stay runs like any other stay.
What happens when a guest pays
- The booking appears on your calendar as a direct stay with a turnover for your cleaner, like any other booking.
- The guest gets a confirmation and their check-in page: house rules, Wi-Fi and parking, and the door code when it is time.
- Any connected Airbnb listing is blocked for those nights.
- Your financials record the stay, the fees and the payout.
What it costs, worked out
A $600 stay paid by card: Stripe keeps about $17.70 in card processing, Rentalhand keeps $6 (1%), and about $576 pays out to your bank. On a platform the same stay would usually carry a host service fee and a guest service fee on top of the price.
Pro itself is $19 a month for that rental, whether or not the site takes a booking that month.
IS IT FOR YOU
When a direct booking site pays off, and when it does not.
Worth it when
- You already have repeat guests, a social following or a local reputation and want them to book you without the platform fee.
- You host on Pro, or would for the direct connection and automation anyway, and want the site included rather than paying for a separate website builder.
- You are comfortable taking card payments yourself: refunds, cancellations and disputes work like any card payment you take.
Know before you start
- The site needs Pro ($19 a month per short-term rental). It is not sold on its own.
- It brings no guests by itself. Rentalhand is not a marketplace; your site is found through your own links, your Google Business Profile and past guests.
- Taxes you enter are added to the booking and paid out to you to remit; Rentalhand does not file them.
- Payouts need a Stripe account in a country Stripe supports, in your name or your business’s.
QUESTIONS
What hosts ask about direct bookings.
What does a direct booking cost me?
Stripe’s card processing fee (about 2.9% plus 30 cents in the US) and 1% of the stay to Rentalhand. There is no listing fee, no setup fee and no monthly charge for the site beyond Pro itself. Compare that with the host and guest service fees on a platform booking.
Will it double-book with Airbnb?
Not when the property is connected to Airbnb directly (Pro). A paid booking on your site blocks the nights on Airbnb within seconds, and an Airbnb booking blocks them on your site. With a calendar (iCal) link instead, the two sides refresh every few minutes, so a block can lag by that much.
Do guests need an account?
No. They pick dates, see the price with your cleaning fee and any taxes, pay by card and get a confirmation email with their check-in page. You can choose instant booking or ask-first, a cancellation policy and a deposit.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes, on Pro. Buy a domain at any registrar or use one you have, type it on the Settings tab, press Connect and add the one DNS record shown. A subdomain such as book.yourname.com is easiest and leaves your main website alone.
How do I get bookings on it?
Put the link in your Airbnb and Vrbo profiles where allowed, your Instagram and Facebook, your email signature and your guest messages after checkout; add it to your Google Business Profile; and ask past guests to book direct next time. The site is designed to be found by Google, with a page title, description and structured data per place.
Who handles cancellations and refunds?
You do, from the booking, under the cancellation policy you set. Refunds go back to the guest’s card through Stripe; card disputes are yours to answer, as with any card payment a business takes.
What if I only have one place?
Then the front page is that place: its story, photos, amenities and reviews beside the booking card, with no list and no search. With two or more places, the front page has a date search and a card per place.
See the sample site, then build yours in an afternoon.
Pick a layout, upload photos, paste your reviews, set the address and publish. The help guide walks through every tab.