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Comparison

An alternative to booking every stay through a marketplace

For the guests who already stayed with you, and would book again if they could.

  • Free plan - no time limit
  • No credit card required
  • Cancel anytime
Feature Webkio Listing platforms
Commission per stay None - a flat plan plus card processing A share of each booking
Guest contact details Yours Usually withheld or masked
Nightly rates, seasons and minimum stay Yours to set Yours, within their rules
New guests who have never heard of you Your own marketing Its whole value
Reviews You gather your own Held on the platform
Deposits and cancellation terms Yours Theirs
Emailing past guests Built in Rarely permitted

Comparison reflects Webkio's built-in capabilities; competitor features vary by plan and available apps. Always check each provider's current plans.
Last reviewed 7 September 2026.

A listing platform is how most guests find a holiday let for the first time, and it charges for that. The problem is the second stay: a guest who loved the cottage goes back to the platform, and you pay again for a customer you already earned. A direct booking site is where returning guests go instead, and where you own the relationship that produced them.

The verdict

Stay listed - that is where new guests come from. Build the direct channel for the returning ones, and mention it in the welcome book, the checkout email and the listing where the platform allows. For most hosts the win is not the first year; it is the repeat guests who never go back to the platform again.

Frequently asked questions

Hosts commonly do, and most platforms restrict how you may advertise it inside their own messaging. Check your listing agreement and keep the promotion to the places you control - the property itself, your welcome book, your own email and your social profiles.

Whatever you take direct draws down your own availability immediately. Keeping that in step with a platform calendar is the real work, and it is worth deciding how you will do it before you take the first direct booking.

They will if the site looks like a business: clear photographs, exact prices for their dates, a written cancellation policy, and card payment rather than a bank transfer request. Returning guests trust you already, which is why they are the place to start.

They stay on the platform, and that is a real cost of moving. It is also an argument for staying listed rather than leaving, and for collecting your own reviews from direct guests from day one.

It can be, because the maths is per stay rather than per property. One cottage with a decent share of repeat guests saves more than most owners expect; a single peak week can cover the year.

See it for yourself

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