Do you need one?
Does a B&B need a website?
A fair question when the booking sites list you. But the honest answer turns on charm: guests choose a B&B on its character, which a platform listing can't convey, or book commission-free.
From £297, live in 7 days, on your own domain.
Does a B&B need a website?
The honest answer
Does a B&B need a website? If you are happy to be listed generically on the booking sites and pay commission on every booking, then perhaps not. But the honest answer turns on what a guest chooses a B&B for, which is charm. People pick a B&B over a chain hotel for the personal welcome, the character of the house, the location, the very things that make it special, and a platform listing conveys none of them, flattening every place into the same template. So a guest choosing on charm cannot really find yours on a listing, and every booking that does come through a platform costs you a cut. Your own website conveys your character and setting fully, wins the guests who want exactly that, and takes bookings direct, keeping the commission. The real question, then, is whether you want to win guests on your charm and keep the money, because without a website you undersell your whole appeal and pay a cut on everything.
Guests choose on charm a listing can’t convey
A B&B lives on the things a chain cannot offer, the warm personal welcome, the character of the house, the lovely setting, the sense of a real place with a real host, and those are exactly what a guest chooses it for. But a platform listing strips all of that away, presenting you in the same template as every other property, reduced to a few photos and a price among rivals, so the charm that is your whole appeal simply does not come across. A guest choosing on character, therefore, cannot really encounter yours on a listing, and a B&B that exists only there is sold as a generic room rather than the special place it is. Your own site is where your charm is properly conveyed, the welcome, the character, the setting, so a guest can feel it and fall for it, which is why many who find you on a platform then look up your own site before deciding. Being chosen on your charm means having somewhere it can actually be shown, which is your site.
Without a site, the platforms flatten you and take a cut
The strongest objection is that the booking sites already list you and bring guests, and they do bring some, but relying on them alone costs you twice. First, they flatten your character, selling you as a generic listing rather than the charming place you are, so you win fewer of the guests who would have loved you and undersell those you do get. Second, they take a substantial cut of every booking, so even the guests you did not really need the platform for cost you commission. Your own site answers both: it conveys your charm so you win guests on your character, and it takes bookings direct so you keep the money the platform would have taken, recapturing even the guests who first found you on a listing. So the platform supplements your reach, but your own site is where your appeal is properly shown and your bookings are kept commission-free, which is how a B&B stops being a generic listing and starts being chosen for what makes it special.
So the real answer to does a B&B need a website is: yes, if you want to win guests on your charm and keep the commission, because a platform listing conveys neither and takes a cut of everything, so being absent means underselling your appeal and paying on every booking. And finding out costs just £99 up front: I build the site on spec, from £297, and you see it finished before you pay the rest, so you can look at your actual site, ready to show your charm and take bookings direct, and decide from there, knowing the guests you win and the commission you keep quickly outweigh the modest cost.
How it works
From message to live in four steps.
- 01
Message me
Tell me your trade and your town on WhatsApp. No forms to wade through, no call to book.
- 02
£99 to start
A £99 deposit gets your build going and comes off your quote. It covers some of the build time.
- 03
I build it, you see it
I build the whole site, framed around your work, and send it to you finished to look at.
- 04
Pay the rest, go live
Happy with it? You pay the balance, it goes live on your own domain, and it is yours to keep.
What you get
What a B&B site from me includes.
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Built on spec
I build it first and send it finished. You see the real thing before you decide, not a mock-up.
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Live in 7 days
From the go-ahead, your site is live within a week. No months of back and forth.
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On your own domain
It goes live in your name. You own the site and everything on it, with no lock-in.
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Genuinely fast
Static pages, no WordPress. Fast pages rank better and turn more visitors into calls.
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Found on Google
Built to be found in local search, with the plumbing done properly from day one.
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Looked after
Someone looks after it and changes it when you need. Two small edits a month, your listing kept current.
What it costs
A straight price.
From £297 to build it, first three months of Care included, then £49 a month.
You own the site outright and can stop the monthly plan whenever you like. Hosting is part of Care and Grow, so one of those keeps it online after the first three months, or you host it yourself. See the full pricing.
Common questions
Questions I get asked.
Does a B&B really need a website?
If you want to win guests on your charm and keep the commission, yes, because a platform listing conveys neither. Guests choose a B&B for its character and welcome, which a bland listing flattens, and every booking through a platform costs you commission. A site conveys your charm, wins guests who want it, and takes bookings direct, so without one you undersell your appeal and pay a cut on everything.
Isn't a listing on the booking sites enough for a B&B?
A listing brings some guests, but it presents you on the platform's template, stripped of the character that is your whole appeal, and takes a cut of every booking. Your own site conveys your charm fully and takes bookings commission-free, so a listing fills some rooms but undersells you and costs you on each one. A site is how you win guests on your character and keep the money.
Why do guests look at a B&B's own site?
Because a guest choosing a B&B wants to feel its character and see the place properly before booking, which a platform listing does not convey, so many who find you on a platform then look up your own site. A B&B with no site loses those guests to the platform, and the commission, while one with a charming site captures the direct booking. Your site is where guests fall for your B&B.
Can't I just rely on the platform reviews and photos?
Platform photos and reviews help, but they sit within a template that flattens your character and among rivals, and every booking there costs commission, whereas your own site conveys your personality and setting fully and books guests direct. So the platform supplements, but your own site is where your charm is properly shown and your bookings are kept commission-free.
When could a B&B skip a website?
Realistically, only if you are happy to be listed generically and pay commission on every booking. Because guests choose on charm a listing cannot convey, and platforms take a cut of everything, most B&Bs without a site undersell themselves and lose money. For any B&B wanting to win guests on its character and keep the commission, the case for a site is strong.
Is a website worth it for a small B&B?
Often especially so, because a small B&B's charm and personal welcome, not scale, are its appeal, and a site conveys them in a way a platform listing never can, while commission hits a small operation's margins hard. A charming, direct-booking site can win a small B&B guests on its character and keep the money. A few direct bookings cover the cost.
How much does it cost to find out if a website is worth it?
Just £99 to start with me, and it comes off your quote. I build the whole site first and you see the finished thing before you pay the rest, from £297. So you are not gambling on a maybe, you are looking at the actual site for your B&B and deciding then. Given the charm you sell and the commission you keep, the risk of finding out is very low.
Tell me your town and I'll build you a B&B site on spec, so you can see it before you pay. Or read A Checkatrade alternative, see the full pricing, or get in touch.