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How to Connect a Custom Domain to Your Site

Use your own domain so guests can access your direct booking site through your branded URL

Written by Dawn Ginie Santoyo

After publishing your direct booking site, you can connect your own domain so guests can access your site using your branded URL instead of the default Hospitable subdomain.

This article explains how to connect a custom domain and what to expect during setup.


Before You Start

Make sure:

  • Your direct booking site is published

  • You own a domain (e.g., through GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains)

Custom domains can only be connected after your site is published.


How to Connect a Custom Domain

To connect your domain:

  1. Go to Direct Bookings → Websites

  2. Select your site

  3. Open the Domain section

  4. Click Add your own domain

  5. Follow the setup instructions shown in Hospitable

Domain settings page in Hospitable with Add your own domain button


Choose Your Setup Method

When connecting your domain, you’ll choose how DNS is managed:

Option 1: Let Hospitable manage DNS (recommended)

  • Hospitable configures DNS records for you

  • Faster and simpler setup

  • You can manage DNS directly within Hospitable


Option 2: Manage DNS yourself

  • You update DNS records with your domain provider

  • Requires manual configuration

  • Gives you full control over your DNS

If you manage DNS yourself, you’ll need to add the correct records exactly as shown in Hospitable.


Domain Types

You can connect:

Root domain

  • Example: yourdomain.com

Subdomain

  • Example: book.yourdomain.com

Subfolders (e.g., yourdomain.com/book) are not supported.


What Happens After Setup

After connecting your domain:

  • DNS changes begin to propagate

  • Your domain starts pointing to your direct booking site

  • Hospitable provisions an SSL certificate automatically

This process may take:

  • A few minutes to several hours in most cases

  • Up to 24–48 hours in some cases

During setup, your site may show a temporary security warning until SSL is fully configured.


Common Issues

If your domain is not working:

  • DNS records may be incorrect or incomplete

  • There may be conflicting records (e.g., existing A or CNAME records)

  • DNS propagation may still be in progress

Also see: Troubleshooting Domain Connection Issues


Important Things to Know

  • Your site must be published before connecting a domain

  • You can use either a root domain or subdomain

  • Subfolders are not supported

  • DNS changes may take time to propagate

  • SSL certificates are automatically created by Hospitable

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