With Hospitable, you can create multiple Direct Booking sites per property, Hospitable-Hosted, Self-Hosted, or both, all at no additional cost. Here's how each option works and when you might prefer one over the other (or use both):
Quick Comparison
| Hospitable-Hosted | Self-Hosted |
Best for | Hosts who want to get started quickly without technical skills | Hosts who want full design control or already have a website |
Setup time | Minutes — choose a template, add your content, and publish | Longer — requires embedding Hospitable widgets into your own site |
Technical skills needed | None | Basic web development or a website builder (WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, etc.) |
Custom domain | ✅ Yes — connect your own domain | ✅ Yes — it's your own site |
Design flexibility | Limited — each template has a fixed font and color theme that cannot be edited; you can add your own photos and text | Full — design anything you want |
Analytics & tracking | Automatic — cross-domain tracking is handled by Hospitable, no setup needed | Manual setup required — you need to configure cross-domain tracking in GA4 or Google Tag Manager |
Maintenance | Hospitable handles everything | You maintain your own website |
Cost | Included in your Pro plan | Included in your Pro plan + your own hosting costs |
When to Choose Hospitable-Hosted
Choose this option if:
You want to start accepting Direct Bookings as fast as possible.
You don't have an existing website and don't want to build one.
You're comfortable with template-based design. Each template comes with a fixed font and color theme that cannot be changed.
You prefer a hands-off approach, Hospitable handles hosting, SSL, and uptime.
How to get started: Go to Direct Bookings → Website → Hospitable Site and choose a template. Add your property photos and descriptions, then publish. You can connect a custom domain under Direct Bookings → Website → Domain. Note that fonts and colors are part of the template and cannot be changed.
When to Choose Self-Hosted
Choose this option if:
You already have a website (e.g., on WordPress, Squarespace, or Wix) and want to add booking functionality.
You need full control over design, layout, and branding.
You want a multi-page site, e.g., an About page, a portfolio of properties, or a page on how you manage rentals. This is especially popular with property managers who want to showcase their management services, not just provide a booking page for guests.
Full analytics control is important to you, you want to manage your own page titles, meta descriptions, site structure, and tracking setup. Note: you'll need to manually configure cross-domain tracking in GA4 or Google Tag Manager to attribute bookings correctly.
You have the technical skills (or a web developer) to embed booking widgets.
How to get started: Go to Direct Bookings → Website → Custom Site and follow the setup guide to embed Hospitable's booking widget on your website. You'll get a code snippet to add to your site.
Google Vacation Rentals
If you have Google Vacation Rentals enabled, note that you can only connect one site to it. This is the main scenario where choosing between Hospitable-Hosted and Self-Hosted actually matters. You'll need to decide which site Google should redirect guests to for bookings.
Can I Use Both?
Yes, and you can have multiple sites per property at no additional cost. Many hosts use a Hospitable-Hosted site to get up and running quickly, then add a Self-Hosted site later for more control. Property managers often maintain both: a self-hosted site to present their full brand and services, and Hospitable-Hosted sites as quick landing pages for individual properties.
Still Not Sure?
If you're just getting started with Direct Bookings and don't have strong preferences about website design, we recommend starting with a Hospitable-hosted site. You can always switch to self-hosted later as your needs grow.