Use this guide to understand and configure domain settings for Booking Website Pro, including the expected behavior when no custom domain is set up and the recommended configuration for the main domain and Hostaway subdomain.
For more detailed guidance on DNS records, SSL setup, and the most common domain errors, see our DNS & SSL Configuration FAQ.
To use Booking Website Pro, it is highly recommended to have your custom domain.
If no custom domain is set up:
- Some pages (the main page) will appear under the "thebookingportal.com" domain, while other pages (listing pages) will appear under the "holidayfuture.com" domain. This is currently expected behavior.
- In the Hostaway dashboard, the domain displayed at the top will be "thebookingportal.com" (because the main page is hosted there), while the editable field will still display "holidayfuture.com"
When using a business domain (recommended):
- In Hostaway, a subdomain should be configured (for example, "book.domain.com") so that listing pages open under that subdomain.
- In the Booking Website Pro editor, the main domain should be configured ("domain.com") so that the main website page opens under the main domain URL.
Pro Tip: We recommend entering www.domain.com in the configuration field. The automatically created DNS records will cover both www.domain.com and domain.com. For consistency, we also recommend referring to www.domain.com, as this matches the in-app dialog.
Important: The www record must contain only the Booking Website Pro record (the CNAME pointing to s.multiscreensite.com), and the root (@) must contain only the two Booking Website Pro A records (35.172.94.1 and 100.24.208.97). Do not add any other A records or CNAMEs to www or to the root (@) — additional records will prevent the domain from connecting correctly. For the full list of records, see our DNS & SSL Configuration FAQ.
Note: Search button behavior
- The Search button works automatically when the domain configuration is correct. No additional Search button setup is required.
- For example, if your main Booking Website Pro domain is configured in the Builder as www.testrentals.com, and your booking subdomain is configured in the Hostaway Dashboard as book.testrentals.com, the Search button will automatically direct guests to the correct booking/search experience.
- If the Search button is not working as expected, first verify that both the Builder domain and the Hostaway Dashboard subdomain are correctly configured.