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.
What each one costs
Listing platforms charge per booking, every booking, for the lifetime of the property. Webkio is 14.99 a month on Starter, which covers 50 properties and 200 stays a month, with a 2% platform fee on online payments and 1% from Growth Business. For a single cottage taking a handful of bookings a year the platforms are hard to beat. For an owner with repeat guests, the fixed fee stops growing while the commission does not.
What moving involves
Nothing comes down. Your listings stay exactly where they are, earning you the new guests they are good at finding. What you add is a direct address to put on the welcome book, the keyring and the follow-up email, so a guest who wants to come back has somewhere to go that does not charge you for the privilege.
When to choose them instead
In a first season with no reviews and no audience, a listing platform is very hard to beat. Its guest base, its review system and the trust a stranger places in a familiar checkout are all things a new direct site simply does not have yet. Build the direct channel alongside it, and let the platform keep doing what it is good at.
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