Hospitable offers two ways to accept direct bookings: a hosted direct booking website and an embeddable booking widget you can add to your own site. This article helps you troubleshoot common setup issues for both.
Hospitable Direct Booking Site
My website isn't showing my properties
If your direct booking website is live but properties aren't appearing:
Check that properties are enabled for direct booking. Go to Direct Bookings → Site Editor → Properties and confirm each property you want listed has direct booking toggled on.
Check your listing status. Properties that are muted, paused, or have no availability won't appear on your direct booking site.
Allow time for sync. After enabling a property, it can take a few minutes for it to appear on your site. Hard-refresh the page (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + R) to check.
My custom domain isn't working
If your custom domain isn't loading your Direct site, work through these checks:
Verify you added a CNAME record (not nameservers)
Hospitable custom domains require a CNAME record — not nameserver delegation.
Setup method | Correct? | What it does |
CNAME record | ✅ Yes | Points your domain (e.g., |
Nameserver delegation | ❌ No | Hands over full DNS control to Hospitable, which is not supported and will break your domain's email, website, and other services. |
Check the CNAME target
Your CNAME record must point to the exact target shown in your Hospitable site settings (under Settings → Custom Domain). A common mistake is pointing to the wrong value or including a trailing dot.
Wait for DNS propagation
DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate globally, though most complete within 1–2 hours. You can check propagation status using a tool like whatsmydns.net.
SSL certificate provisioning
After DNS propagates, Hospitable automatically provisions an SSL certificate. This can take an additional 15–30 minutes. During this window, your site may show a security warning — this is temporary.
Subdomain vs. root domain
CNAME records work with subdomains (e.g.,
book.yoursite.com,direct.yoursite.com). Some DNS providers don't support CNAME records on the root domain (yoursite.com). If you need to use a root domain, check whether your DNS provider supports CNAME flattening or ALIAS records.
⚠️ If you changed your nameservers: Revert them to your domain registrar's or hosting provider's defaults, then add a CNAME record instead.
You can use free tools like Google's Dig tool to check your current DNS configuration, or SSL Labs to verify your SSL certificate status.
The most common custom domain issue is a conflicting A record. If you previously pointed your domain directly to a web host, that A record may still exist and override your new CNAME. Check with your domain provider and remove any A or AAAA records for the same subdomain.
My Direct site subdomain is wrong or I want to change it
The subdomain you chose when creating your Direct site (e.g., yourname.hospitable.rentals) cannot be changed after the site is created. This is permanent.
What you can change:
Individual property URL slugs — the path that appears after the domain (e.g.,
/my-beach-house). You can edit these from the property's 3-dot menu in the site editor.
What you cannot change:
The site subdomain — the part before
.hospitable.rentalsor.directstays.com. This is set during site creation and is permanent.
If you need a different subdomain:
Delete your current Direct site.
Create a new site with the correct subdomain.
Reconfigure your site settings, properties, and branding.
Note: Active reservations from the old site are not affected — they remain in your Hospitable account. However, any existing links to your old site URL will stop working.
Alternatively, you can connect a custom domain to your site, which lets you use any domain you own (e.g., book.yourcompany.com). This effectively overrides the subdomain for your guests. See Apply a Custom Domain to Your Hospitable Site for setup instructions.
Guests can't complete payment on my direct booking site
If a guest reaches the payment step but can't complete it:
Ask the guest to try a different card or browser. Some card issuers decline transactions from unfamiliar merchants.
Check for booking restrictions. Minimum or maximum stay restrictions, advance notice requirements, or preparation time settings can block a booking at the last step if the selected dates don't meet the criteria.
(Direct Basic Users) Confirm your Stripe account is connected and active under Direct Booking → Payments.
If using Stripe, make sure your Stripe account has completed onboarding and is not in restricted mode.
My Photos or Images Aren't Displaying
If your direct booking site loads but property photos are missing or broken:
Confirm photos exist in Hospitable. Go to Properties → [Your Property] → Details and check if photos are showing there.
Enable photos for Direct. Go to Properties → [Your Property] → Details → Manage Photos → [Click On Photo] and make sure the photos are enabled for Direct as shown in the graphic below:
If photos are still missing after 24 hours:
If you've confirmed that photos exist in Hospitable and are enabled for Direct, but they're still not appearing on your site after 24 hours:
Try making a small edit to the photo set (e.g., reorder two photos, or toggle a photo's Direct scope off and back on) to trigger a fresh sync.
Wait an additional few hours for the sync to complete.
If photos are still not showing after 48 hours, contact support with:
Your property name or ID
Which photos are missing
When the photos were last updated in Hospitable
A screenshot of your photo management screen showing the photos enabled for Direct
Self-Hosted Site (Widget)
Widget doesn't appear on my website
If you've embedded the widget code but nothing shows:
Check the embed code. Go to Direct Booking → Widget and copy the embed code again. Paste it into the HTML of your page exactly as provided — don't modify the
<script>tags.Check for JavaScript conflicts. Some website builders or themes may block third-party scripts. Try the widget on a plain HTML test page to confirm it works outside your site's environment.
Check your browser console. Open your browser's developer tools (F12 → Console) and look for error messages related to the widget script.
Widget shows wrong availability or prices
If the widget is loading but showing incorrect data:
Make sure your rates and availability are up to date in Hospitable. The widget pulls directly from your Hospitable settings.
If you recently changed rates, wait a few minutes and refresh — there can be a short cache delay.
Double-check that the correct property is assigned to the widget. If you have multiple properties, each widget instance needs to be configured for the right one.
Setting Up Guest Payments for Direct Bookings
To accept payments through direct bookings, you need a connected payment processor:
Go to Direct Booking → Payments.
Click Connect Stripe and follow the prompts to create or link your Stripe account.
Once connected, set your payment terms — for example, full payment at booking, or a deposit with the balance due closer to check-in.
If you're in a country where Stripe isn't available, contact our support team to discuss alternative options.
Still Having Trouble?
If your issue doesn't match any of the scenarios above, or the troubleshooting steps didn't resolve it, contact our support team. To help us investigate faster, please include:
The URL of your direct booking site (or the page where the widget is embedded)
A screenshot of what you're seeing
The browser and device you're using
Which properties are affected (if not all of them)
Any recent changes you made (e.g., enabling a property, updating DNS, changing your plan)
Whether you're using the hosted website or the embeddable widget.