Set up the online booking engine
Take commission-free direct bookings: switch on your booking engine, put it on your website, choose what guests see, and offer discount codes.
What is a hotel booking engine?
A hotel booking engine is the booking page on your own website, where guests check availability, pick a room and book without going through an OTA. With no OTA in the middle there is no commission to pay, and the guest relationship is yours.
With Roomsy’s booking engine, guests pick dates, choose a room, enter their details and confirm, and the reservation lands on your calendar like any other booking, with its source set to Online Booking Engine. Prices and availability come straight from your rate calendar and inventory, so it is never out of date.
Before you switch it on
- Room types have photos, a description and the right maximum occupancy (Set up your property).
- At least one rate plan per room type has Show in online booking engine turned on (Rate plans).
- Prices are loaded in the rate calendar for every date you want to sell. A date without a price isn’t sold.
- Your reservation policy is set to show on the booking engine (Policies).
- Optional: a payment gateway, if you want guests to enter a card when they book.
Put it on your website
Open Settings → Integrations → Booking Engine. There are two ways to publish it:
- Online Booking Engine Link: a direct link to your booking page. Use it behind a “Book now” button, in your email signature, on Google Business Profile, Instagram or Facebook.
- Widget Code: a short HTML snippet. Paste it into your website where you want a booking box. Your web designer will know what to do with it.
Choose what guests fill in
The Booking Engine Fields table controls the guest form. Tick Show on Form for each field you want and Required for those you insist on. The name is always asked for. Click Save Fields when you’re done. Ask for as little as you can: every extra required field costs you bookings.
Settings explained
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Allow Same-Day Check-ins | Disable it to make the earliest online check-in date tomorrow. |
| Require Credit Card Information | Asks the guest for a card while booking. Needs a payment gateway with credentials first. |
| Mark Reservations from Booking Engine as Confirmed | Yes: online bookings arrive as confirmed Reservations. No: they arrive as Unconfirmed for your team to review. |
| Show Prices on Availability Calendar | Shows the lowest nightly “from” price on each day of the date picker. Disable it to keep your forward rates private. Room prices are always shown once dates are chosen. |
| Do Not Send Email Confirmation | Stops the automatic confirmation email for online bookings, for example if you send your own. |
| Tracking/Analytics Code | Added to the head of every booking engine page. Use it for Google Analytics, Google Ads or Meta Pixel conversion tracking. |
Discount codes
Click Add Code under Discount Codes to create a promo code for newsletters, partners or repeat guests. Guests enter the code in the booking engine search. Eligible rooms and rate plans then show the discounted price next to the original, and everything else stays at its normal price.
Control how much you sell online
- Allotment: in Rooms & Rates → Room Inventory, the Online Booking Engine tab sets the most rooms of each type offered online on each date.
- Stop sell or restrictions: use the Online, Min Stay, CTA and CTD rows in the rate editor.
- Hold a room back: untick Sell Online on the room in Settings → Rooms → Rooms.
Test it like a guest
- Open your booking engine link in a private (incognito) window
- Book a stay all the way through, using your own email
- Check that it appears on the calendar with the right room, rate and source, and that the confirmation email arrived
- Delete the test booking
Common questions
Does Roomsy charge commission on booking engine reservations?
No. Bookings from your booking engine are commission-free. See what direct bookings are worth compared with each OTA in the Booking Source report.
How do I add a Book Now button to my website?
Copy the Online Booking Engine Link from Settings → Integrations → Booking Engine and put it behind your button, or paste the Widget Code where you want a booking box. See Put it on your website.
Can guests book from Google, Facebook or Instagram?
Yes. Add your booking engine link to your Google Business Profile, your Facebook page, your Instagram profile and your email signature.
How do I create a promo code?
Click Add Code under Discount Codes in the booking engine settings. Guests enter the code in the booking engine search and see the discounted price on eligible rooms and rate plans.
Can I track booking engine conversions in Google Analytics?
Yes. Paste your Google Analytics, Google Ads or Meta Pixel code into Tracking/Analytics Code. It is added to every booking engine page.
Still stuck?
Our support team answers every message. Inside Roomsy, open Help → Support Request, or email us.