how to choose booking engine hoteliers hosts guide by RoomRaccoon

A Guide For Independent Hoteliers and Hosts

SETTING THE SCENE

We analyzed over 3.9 million reservations from 2022 to 2024. More than half were from direct sources, including bookings processed by RoomRaccoon’s commission-free booking engine —driving significant revenue growth during this period!

This shift to direct bookings offers strategic advantages:

For travelers: Better prices, exclusive offers, and personalized service.

For hotels: Higher revenue, reduced reliance on third parties, and stronger guest loyalty.

According to Skift, 64% of hotels globally now use a booking engine, with independent properties leveraging these tools and marketing strategies to boost their online presence and maximize direct bookings.

Want to join them? Our buyer’s guide covers the key benefits, must-have features, and critical questions to ask software vendors.

WHY IT MATTERS

A booking engine is undoubtedly the most important tool on your property’s website today. It enables guests to book rooms easily and securely online. Without one, you risk losing potential guests who expect instant access to prices and availability, much like third-party booking channels offer. It’s also critical for running effective online marketing campaigns.

A hotel website without a booking engine is like a shop without a checkout counter.

Guests overwhelmingly prefer using an online booking engine for several reasons:

The convenience of self-service:

Travelers can check room availability and pricing in their preferred language and currency.

They trust online booking:

Guests appreciate the security and peace of mind provided by secure online payments and instant booking confirmation. All guest data is stored safely and accessible in one convenient location.

The direct booking rates, discounts, and exclusive add-ons:

Guests often look for better rates, discount codes, or special offers on the property’s website. Plus, many hotels offer exclusive packages and add-ons on their websites not available elsewhere.

They can book quicker:

Guests can complete their booking in a few easy steps, and you can avoid any potential booking errors resulting from email threads and phone calls.

They prefer direct communication: In the post-pandemic world, guests are increasingly opting for direct communication with hotels instead of relying on intermediaries.

HOW IT WORKS

A seamless booking experience for hoteliers and guests.

Integration: Add the Booking Engine script to your hotel website to display real-time rates and availability, letting guests input their stay dates.

Booking Process: Guests select a room and are directed to a secure payment or confirmation page to complete their booking.

Data Transfer: Booking and guest details are synced with your property management system, updating your reservations calendar for easy access.

Good to know: It’s worth noting that if the booking process takes too long and involves too many steps, guests won’t follow through .

RoomRaccoon offers a simple, quick, and secure direct booking experience that provides personalized results in seconds. Go ahead, try it for yourself…

Make a booking on RoomRaccoon’s Booking Engine

Experience the booking process from the guest’s point of view with our interactive product tour. Try it now!

LITTLE KNOWN BENEFITS

“I prefer to use OTAs to sell, market, and manage my bookings because it is simpler.”

- Hotel manager

OTAs are super convenient, managing communication, bookings, and payments for hotels. But there’s a catch: hotels pay 15-18% commission on each booking and extra for channel promotions to boost visibility.

That’s why balancing OTAs with direct bookings is smarter financially. Direct bookings not only cut costs but also unlock hidden perks.

Here are the key benefits of integrating a booking engine on your hotel’s website:

1. Improves the guest experience and fosters guest loyalty

Booking directly through your hotel’s website boosts the chances of repeat guests. Starting their journey with your brand builds a stronger connection and creates positive emotions, making them feel part of your story.

Guests are also more likely to follow you on social media and engage with your content. Plus, your website offers clear details about rooms, add-ons, prices, and policies, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience!

2. Captures bookings through the OTA billboard effect

Don’t forget this: OTAs can actually help you get more direct bookings! This is because many tech-savvy travelers will check out a hotel on an OTA and then visit the hotel’s website to find even better deals or more information. If you have a booking engine with great rates on your website, you can turn these curious visitors into direct bookers!

3. Allows you to get strategy savvy with booking data

A booking engine collects guest and booking data upfront, enabling personalized experiences and informed decision-making.

It gathers key details like name, email, arrival time, dietary preferences, and purpose of stay. Digital marketers can also leverage tools like Google Tag Manager to track actions such as adding rooms to a cart, starting checkout, and completing bookings.

4. Creates flexibility on types of promotions and packages you offer

You have endless possibilities with your own booking engine. Create custom packages, flash sales, and special discounts to make your property stand out. Showcase all your amazing amenities and room photos, and even throw in extras like a bottle of champagne or a guided tour to make your guests’ experience extra special when they book direct!

5. Improves cash flow with pre-payments

Receiving payments upfront helps improve cash flow and reduces the risk of last-minute cancellations or no-shows. Hotels that capture bookings through their website enjoy these benefits by charging either the full or a partial amount at the time of booking. It’s also more affordable to process payments directly than through third-parties, which generally incur higher fees.

DIARY OF A HOTELIER

“Guests expect something extra when they make the effort to check out your website instead of booking through an OTA — don’t disappoint them.”

In entry 10 of Diary of a Hotelier, Nadja discusses how to create a balanced distribution strategy.

Watch the video and subscribe to the series for more!

11 MUST-HAVE FEATURES

Today, most hotels have websites with booking engines that make reservations simple for guests. But not all booking engines are built the same.

As the hospitality industry embraces digital transformation, tech-savvy guests demand more, and the competition is fiercer than ever.

That’s why you need an online booking system that doesn’t just process reservations but also converts more visitors into bookers while streamlining operations with features like automated room pricing, stop-sell rules, and group booking management.

In the next section, discover how RoomRaccoon’s booking engine empowers hotels with features that deliver a winning edge!

1. A price comparison widget

When planning trips, today’s savvy travelers do online research, hopping back and forth between hotel websites and OTAs to snag the best deals.

By using a price comparison widget like the Raccoon Price Checker, you can display your rates on both OTAs and your own website. This will help guests see that they’re getting a better deal by booking directly, and you avoid hefty commission fees.

Discover how The Bull Auberge is slashing their monthly expenses by $1200 with the help of the Raccoon Price Checker! Read

2. Discount codes

Your booking system should allow you to create custom discount codes that guests can easily use when making reservations, opening up a world of promotional possibilities to attract new customers and retain loyal ones. Think about flash sales and social media campaigns.

The most common way RoomRaccoon users utilize this feature is by offering a direct booking discount on their website home page through a pop-up banner.

Tip: A great way to encourage repeat bookings is to email past guests with a direct booking discount code. You can make this even more special by sending it to them on their birthday or ahead of upcoming holidays to help them plan their next getaway.

3. Multi-property dropdowndropdown

Do you run a multi-property hotel? Instead of using separate booking engines for each property, a multi-property booking engine lets guests easily choose a location from a dropdown menu, making the booking process smoother and more efficient.

Guests can check the availability of properties in their desired location and book accordingly. Property managers benefit from centralized management and improved occupancy rates across their entire portfolio.

4. Add-ons and upsells

Today’s guests are seeking more than just a place to sleep; they want an experience. They are willing to spend more on additional services that can enhance their stays, like airport transfers, late check-out, a lovers package, bicycle rentals, or a bouquet of flowers.

As a property manager, it is crucial to take advantage of opportunities to increase your total revenue per guest (RevPAG) and delight guests with a booking engine that enables them to easily book the add-ons you offer.

Tip: If you don’t currently provide any additional services, there’s no need to worry! This actually opens up a fantastic opportunity for you to collaborate with local businesses, offering added value to your customers.

5. Room allotment

If you cater to group events like corporate functions and weddings, you might be aware of the difficulties of coordinating room allocation with a travel booker or a wedding party.

One of RoomRaccoon’s booking engine’s most valuable features is room allotment , which allows you to assign rooms to a group profile and send a custom booking engine link to the booker or guests.

The custom booking engine will only display and allow bookings for the rooms that have been allocated for the event. For a wedding, guests can book their own rooms and select the add-ons they want. This feature guarantees a hassle-free group booking experience!

6. White labeling

To provide the best experience, it’s important to keep your brand at the forefront during the entire booking process. This involves customizing the booking engine with your brand’s identity.

White labeling your booking engine guarantees that the booking engine URL and any related documents feature your brand name.

7. Dynamic pricing

Seasonal rates play a crucial role for hotels, but it’s essential to remember that the demand for hotel rooms can fluctuate significantly outside of peak season, particularly during major events.

OTAs are adept at managing this by constantly running promotions and adjusting their prices to remain competitive and attract more bookings.

This highlights the significance of independent properties to monitor demand and adjust room rates in real-time to maximize revenue and occupancy. RoomRaccoon’s dynamic pricing feature automatically adjusts rates based on preset rules , saving you time and boosting profits.

L’Enclume saw a 30% increase in occupancy and a 12% rise in RevPAR year over year after implementing dynamic pricing. Read more

8. Booking proposal

Just because you have a booking engine doesn’t mean you won’t ever have to deal with special booking queries from guests over email or a phone call. However, you can still automate the way you manage them with RoomRaccoon’s booking proposal document. This amazing feature will assist you in managing your offline bookings more efficiently.

How does it work?

You can create a provisional booking in the RoomRaccoon system and send a detailed proposal to the guest, including a self-expiring pre-payment link. When the guest completes the payment, the booking will be confirmed automatically in RoomRaccoon’s calendar. No follow-ups. No hassle!

9. Website Builder

While a booking engine can be used without a website, having one can significantly boost your conversion rates. A website allows you to showcase more information about your property and nearby experiences to attract and engage more customers.

Look out for RoomRaccoon’s easy-to-customize website templates! Choose from our Standard or Premium Packages to create a stunning hotel website that tells your brand story and converts visitors into paying guests.

10. Customization

It is important to maintain a consistent brand experience. When your website visitors click to book directly from your homepage, the booking engine should reflect your brand and feel like a seamless part of your company rather than looking completely different. Customization is key to maintaining this consistency.

You can customize essential elements to align with your brand and booking conditions:

• Include your property’s logo

• Use your brand colors on the booking page

• Support multiple languages for international guests

• Offer various currencies for international guests

• Set your maximum bookable stay

• Add your booking conditions, including terms and conditions for cancellations.

• Personalize your discount codes for special holidays or events. For instance, you can use LOVE20 for Valentine’s Day to offer 20% off romantic getaways.

• Choose your preferred unit names, such as “rooms,” “suites,” or “beds”

11. Secure payment

A secure, efficient, and user-friendly payment process on your property’s website can help you differentiate from competitors who may rely solely on third-party platforms.

With RoomRaccoon Payments, you can accept 3D secure pre-payments or full payments at the time of booking. You can also choose to preauthorize guests’ credit cards, with their card details safely stored via tokenization. All payment information is stored in the RoomRaccoon Payments dashboard for easy access and reporting.

Benefits of booking engine payments:

Quicker access to funds , which helps with cash flow management and operational expenses.

Set your own cancellation and refund terms and conditions , giving you greater control over how bookings are managed.

Offer customized packages and promotions that align with your specific customer base, such as corporate or leisure travelers.

Experience these features firsthand. Book a demo

9 QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

Invest wisely with these key considerations

To make an informed investment decision when choosing a booking engine, here are essential questions to ask vendors.

1. How can I manage my rates and availability?

It’s crucial to have a booking engine that is connected in real-time to a reservation or property management system . This system stores your inventory, including availability and rates, and communicates essential data instantly.

With this two-way connection, you can easily add and modify things like rates and add-ons and provide your customers with accurate and up-to-date information.

What’s more, connecting your booking engine to a channel manager allows you to synchronize all your sales channels and access powerful performance reports, which enables you to compare your direct reservations with third-party bookings.

2. Is it quick and user-friendly?

Booking a room should be quick and seamless.

Guests can easily select their dates and number of guests to view available room options instantly. If a date is sold out, RoomRaccoon’s booking engine suggests alternative dates to expand choices. Plus, for those managing multiple properties, our multi-property dropdown helps boost occupancy across your entire portfolio.

2.1 How can I accommodate international travelers?

To cater to them, your booking engine should be multilingual and support multiple currencies seamlessly.

3. Is it mobile-friendly?

The process of booking a room should be quick and intuitive no matter the device.

Travelers are turning to mobile devices for on-the-go bookings, making a responsive booking engine essential for a seamless experience on any device. This not only caters to mobile users but also boosts conversions and customer engagement. Nobody likes the hassle of currency conversion when booking online. International travelers are a lucrative market, often staying longer and opting for upgrades and extras.

Buyer’s Tip: Google favors websites that are functional on both desktop and mobile. As a result, it sends more traffic to websites that provide a better user experience for mobile users.

4. Can I promote multiple rate plans and upsell additional services?

OTAs often enforce fixed-rate plans, but with your own booking engine, you can customize rate plans and packages to align with your revenue goals and target audience.

This flexibility lets you offer multiple rate options for the same room, such as bed-and-breakfast, room-only, refundable, or non-refundable rates.

RoomRaccoon’s booking engine goes further, allowing guests to personalize their stay with add-ons like a bottle of champagne, dinner for two, or a late check-out to enhance their experience.

What can you upsell at the time of booking?

How about a bottle of chilled champagne upon arrival? Or a dinner for two at your property’s restaurant? Late check-out is a popular option among guests who want to maximize their stays.

5. How can I effectively track and analyze the performance of my bookings?

If you don’t know what you’re doing well, you may not be able to repeat it. And if you don’t know where you’re going wrong, you may never correct it. With RoomRaccoon’s performance reports, you’ll have the power to track, improve, and make strategic decisions with ease.

We offer a variety of easy-to-use reports, including:

Booking Channel Performance

Purpose of Stay

Reservations per Country

Revenue from Add-Ons

Reservation Insights

Occupancy per Room Type

Custom Reports tailored to your specific needs

These reports provide you with valuable insights and detailed information to help you understand and optimize your bookings.

6. Can I connect my booking engine to Google?

To compete with major players like Booking.com and Expedia, consider adding Google Hotel Ads (GHA) to your distribution strategy.

Here’s how it works: instead of paying for clicks or transactions, you only pay a smaller commission for completed stays—a no-risk pricing model that’s a favorite among hotel managers and drives direct revenue.

GHA directs guests straight to your booking engine, giving you full control of the booking experience. As a certified Google connectivity partner, RoomRaccoon lets you activate GHA instantly, hassle-free.

7. How can I track my online marketing campaigns?

Do you run ads on platforms like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) or Meta? If so, your booking engine should support conversion tracking codes to help your marketing team measure how effectively it turns visitors into bookings.

With RoomRaccoon’s booking engine, you can use Google Tag Manager (GTM) to track and send specific events directly to GA4 for actionable insights.

8. Will I pay a commission for direct bookings?

The best part of managing your own booking sales? You keep 100% of your revenue. But not all booking engine providers offer this— some take a cut, eating into your profits.

That’s why it’s crucial to choose a provider that lets you keep every penny you earn.

RoomRaccoon processes over 1.2 million commission-free direct bookings every year!

9. What can I expect from the onboarding process?

Investing in a new solution is an exciting step, and the onboarding process is key to maximizing its potential. A smooth onboarding ensures your team is ready to use the system efficiently with minimal disruptions.

With RoomRaccoon’s fully managed program, a dedicated onboarding manager will set up your property and train your team, getting you ready to process bookings in no time!

Explore our onboarding program

Feature All-in-One Solution

Subscription/Contract

One subscription covers everything.

Support

Single point of contact for all support needs.

Pricing All-in-one package includes a channel manager, PMS, booking engine, and payment processing—cost-effective.

Staff Training

Easy to train staff on a unified dashboard with consolidated data.

Single-Use Booking Engine

Multiple subscriptions required for different tools

Separate support lines for each system, leading to potential delays.

Individually priced tools increase overall costs. Managing multiple interfaces is complex and requires more training time.

Success stories from leading independent hotels

Independent hotels are renowned for their unforgettable experiences, defined by unique character and style. We proudly showcase our hotel partners who go above and beyond in delivering exceptional booking experiences, driving significant growth in direct revenue.

THE BREWHALLA CRASH PAD

The Brewhalla Crash Pad is a boutique hotel with studios to multi-room suites, each individually themed around a different Drekker beer.

70% of Brewhalla’s guests book directly, customizing their stays with craft beers and delicious goods from the market.

Location: Fargo, North Dakota

Rooms: 40

L’ENCLUME

On the grounds of a six-acre farm where ingredients are grown for the hotel’s Michelin-star-winning restaurant, L’Enclume boasts luxury rooms for a relaxing countryside escape.

62% of L’Enclume guests book directly, enjoying a guaranteed table reservation at the renowned restaurant.

Location: Cumbria, Cartmel

Rooms: 16

MIRACLE MANOR

Miracle Manor is a 70-year-old boutique hotel in a peaceful desert oasis. It is a cherished wellness retreat known for its mineral-rich spa waters and mid-century charm.

Miracle Manor enjoyed an 18% RevPAG increase from upselling customizable add-ons such as spa treatments and retail products.

Location: Desert Hot Springs, California

Rooms: 9

About RoomRaccoon

RoomRaccoon is the leading integrated platform powering thousands of successful independent properties. Our cloud-based platform includes categoryredefining products and solutions to increase revenue, streamline operations, and enhance the guest experience. With over 400 integrations, RoomRaccoon is one of the most connected solutions on the market.

Founded in 2017 by a hotel owner and tech entrepreneur, RoomRaccoon was awarded the Best Hotel Management System in the World by Hotel Tech Report in 2020 and 2021. Book a demo