Use this playbook to quickly improve your Booking Website setup, strengthen direct booking readiness, and review practical steps for launching or optimizing your site.
Welcome to your interactive guide to securing your first direct bookings! This playbook gives you a three-step action plan to launch your direct booking site and drive reservations.
Each step builds on the last, so just work through them in order, and you will be set for a successful launch. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes.
Note: This is an interactive guide. Each step requires you to take action, and some steps will direct you to your Hostaway dashboard to complete the task before moving on.
Overview of the 3-Step Action Plan
- Verify Technical Readiness: Ensure your website is technically capable of processing a reservation.
- Build a Compelling Launch Offer: Create a promo code to drive immediate action.
- Generate Content: Create the social media content and emails you need to get the word out.
Step 1: Verify Technical Readiness
Before driving traffic to your site, we will help you verify if your site can actually accept a reservation. Don't waste your launch! Complete the following checks in your Hostaway dashboard:
A. Payment Processing
Prepare to charge your guests by ensuring your payment gateway is fully operational.
- Connect your Payment Processor: Verify that your payment processor is successfully connected.
- Set up Auto Payments in Hostaway to automate charging guests directly from your channel website.
B. Website Ready
Confirm your site is live and grab your direct booking link.
- Publish your Website: Check if your website is published and accessible.
- Direct Booking URL: Copy your direct booking URL so you are ready to share it with your audience.
C. Calendar Open
Ensure guests actually have dates to book.
- Check Availability: Verify that the dates are available to book in the near future on your multi-calendar.
Step 2: Build a Compelling Launch Offer
Give your audience a reason to act immediately. A strong discount limited to the first few bookings creates urgency.
Make sure your booking engine supports entering discount codes, then create your promotional coupon in Hostaway so guests can redeem it at checkout.
- Strategy Example: Offer a 20% discount on their entire stay, but limit the offer to the first 3 bookings using the promo code LAUNCH20.
- Customizable: This discount is entirely customizable to fit your strategy. You can easily adjust the discount percentage, the number of limited uses, and the text of the promo code to suit your specific property and launch goals.
Action Item: Create your coupon in Hostaway.
Step 3: Generate Social Media and Emails
Once your website is ready to accept payments and your launch promo code is active, it is time to get the word out! Step three involves generating the social media content and promotional emails you need to announce your site, share your custom booking URL, and promote your limited-time discount code.
Action Item: After generating your promotional content, you need to actually distribute it to your audience! You should:
- Post your content on Instagram.
- Post your content on Facebook.
- Send the promotional emails to your mailing list.
- Preferably, do all of them to maximize your reach and guarantee a successful launch!
(Complete Steps 1 and 2 before moving on to generating and posting your promotional content!)