How much does a vacation rental or hotel website cost in 2026?

If you run a vacation rental, whether a few rooms, studios, or a villa, you've heard it a hundred times: "you need your own website." The real question is practical: how much does a vacation rental website cost today, and does the price make sense next to your other expenses? In this article we'll look at plain numbers, options explained without jargon, and how the cost of your own site compares to what you're already handing over in OTA commission.

Why it pays to know the cost up front

Many owners keep putting this off because they expect "expensive quotes" or "complicated tech." The truth: options range from a few euros a month to investments of several thousand, depending on what you want to achieve. What matters is knowing what you're paying, what you're getting, and how quickly the investment pays for itself once guests start booking directly with you.

Option 1: DIY with Wix, Squarespace, and similar builders

Platforms like Wix and Squarespace let you build a page yourself with drag and drop, no code required.

What you typically pay

• Platform subscription: usually around €10 to €25 per month, depending on the plan and whether you connect a domain.
• Domain: roughly €10 to €20 per year for your site's name.
• Your time: the biggest hidden cost. The first version can take hours or days to build, and so can the updates every season.

The pros and cons for vacation rentals

The pros: a fast start, visual control, relatively low monthly cost. The cons: SEO and loading speed depend on you and on the platform's limits. Booking functionality usually requires extra tools or integrations, and support is generic rather than built around the needs of hosts.

Option 2: A freelancer or small studio

When you want a custom look, a better page structure, and less stress over the details, many owners turn to a freelancer or a small agency.

Realistic price ranges

Prices vary widely, but for a simple-to-mid-range vacation rental site in Greece you'll typically see:

• A basic showcase site: from around €400 to €1,200 one-off, plus annual maintenance or small fees for changes.
• A site built for bookings, SEO, and speed: anywhere from €1,200 to €3,000 and up, depending on photography, copywriting, multiple languages, and integrations.

Always ask what the quote includes: hosting, domain, changes after delivery, and training on how to update your rates and availability.

Option 3: A larger agency

Big agencies can take on branding, advertising, content, and technical support. Costs usually start at a few thousand euros and climb with the scope of the project. For most small and mid-sized vacation rentals this is overkill, unless you're planning a full rebrand and multi channel campaigns.

The three cost levels, by what the site actually does

The three options above answer the question "who builds it". There is a second axis that matters just as much: "what the site does". Two sites from the same builder can differ by thousands of euros depending on how much work each one carries.

Level 1: Presentation site with an enquiry form (€900 to €1,500)

Custom design, a page per room type, gallery, reviews, bilingual content, a booking enquiry form with dates, an SEO foundation. The guest sends a request and you confirm it: zero commission, zero monthly costs. This is where my €900 Website Package sits, with first year domain and hosting included in the price.

When it's enough: when your bookings are strongly seasonal, room types are few, and personal communication with the guest is part of the experience you sell.

Level 2: With a booking engine and online payments (€1,500 to €3,000 and up)

Everything in level 1, plus real availability checking, instant booking by card, and calendar sync (iCal) with the platforms so a double booking can never happen. The engine is either SaaS with a subscription, usually €30 to €100 a month, or an integrated solution.

When it's worth it: once the site has steady traffic, you have several room types, and international guests expect to book in one click like on Booking, but without the 15% to 22% commission.

Level 3: Custom build with PMS integrations (€3,000 to €10,000 and up)

For larger properties and resorts: PMS and channel manager connections, pages for the restaurant, spa, and events, multiple languages, revenue focused architecture. The cost is driven by the integrations and the content scope, which is why at this level no serious company quotes a price without seeing your needs first.

The 5 things that determine the price

1. Room types: 3 types means 3 pages of copy, photos, and rates. 12 types means four times the work.
2. Form or booking engine: the biggest cost decision. The form is a one off, while the engine adds setup and usually a subscription.
3. Languages: every language multiplies the content. Greek and English is the minimum, and German is often worth it depending on your audience.
4. Integrations: PMS, channel manager, payments. Every connection needs setup and testing.
5. Content: if good photos and copy already exist, you save hundreds of euros. If not, budget for photography, typically €300 to €800. It's the highest return investment in the whole project.

How a website's price compares to Booking.com commission

To put these numbers in context, look at what you're already paying in commission. In our article What Booking.com really costs you we show how an average season with a decent number of bookings can mean hundreds or thousands of euros a year in commission, depending on your room rate and the percentage you've agreed to.

A simple example: if you're losing €1,500 a year to commission, a site that costs €800 to €1,500 one off pays for itself in under a year, even if you only shift part of your bookings to direct. And even if the site costs more, comparing it against your annual commission bill tells you whether you're looking at a real investment or just another fixed expense that never builds a customer base of your own.

How much a hotel website costs, and why it comes out higher

If you run a hotel rather than a few rooms, the numbers go up, and it's worth knowing exactly why. This is not a surcharge for having "hotel" on the sign. It's three specific pieces of extra work.

More room types. A property with two studios needs two descriptions. A hotel with single, double, superior, junior suite, and suite needs five pages, each with its own copy, its own photos, and its own pricing. Every room type is effectively a small product page, and you pay per page, not per site.

Booking system integration. For small properties a good enquiry form is enough. A hotel with daily traffic usually needs real availability, online payment, and a sync with a channel manager or PMS so a double booking can never happen. That connection needs setup, testing, and often a monthly subscription that runs forever.

More languages. A small rental lives comfortably on Greek and English. A hotel working the German, French, or Italian markets needs those languages too. And each language is not just translation: it's additional pages that have to be maintained and found by Google.

In practice a hotel usually starts at level 1 and moves up to level 2 quickly. The commission comparison gets even easier at that size. A 10 room hotel with €40,000 of seasonal revenue through the platforms at 18% commission pays €7,200 a year, every year. If a €1,500 to €3,000 site brings even 15% to 20% of bookings direct, it has paid for itself within the first season, and everything after that is savings.

For exactly what a hotel build includes, with examples, see the hotel website design page.

What MyStaySite offers

MyStaySite is built for vacation rental owners who want a clear price, a site guests trust, and support without having to become developers. The Website Package costs €900 one-time and includes domain, hosting (first year), and full setup if you don't already have them. From year two, domain and hosting renewal are included in the €200/year maintenance plan (first year of maintenance free).

No comparing dozens of plugins, no guessing what's missing from your SEO: the whole thing is designed around the day-to-day reality of running a rental, not general-purpose websites.

You can see how this works in practice: browse our live sites. You'll see how rooms are presented, how the information reads on a phone, and how the right structure helps a guest book without confusion.

Mistakes that cost you before you even hire a developer

Before you invest, read 5 mistakes Greek vacation rentals make online. Many problems aren't about technology at all. They're bad photos, unclear pricing, or a page that doesn't inspire trust. Fix those first, and your website investment pays off much faster.

The questions to ask before you sign

Before you sign any quote, ask four things. The answers cost you nothing and they save you from the most expensive mistakes:

1. Who owns the domain? It has to be registered in your name, not the builder's. Otherwise the site isn't really yours.
2. What exactly does the price include? Hosting, domain, changes after delivery, and training on how to update rates and availability.
3. Are there live samples from comparable properties? Not design mockups, but real pages working today.
4. What is the total three year cost? Build plus maintenance plus subscriptions, not just the sticker price. This is where the surprises hide.

The rest of the questions, plus what to watch for when comparing quotes, are collected in my guide to choosing a website company.

The bottom line: so what does it actually cost?

There's no single number that fits everyone. A vacation rental website can cost a few euros a month if you build it yourself, a few hundred to a few thousand euros with a professional build, or more if you want a full agency package. What really matters is the ratio of cost to results: how many direct bookings the site can bring you, how much it cuts your dependence on commission, and how easily you can update rates and availability without losing hours every week.

Start with a clear picture

Want to know if it's worth it for your property? Three simple steps:

1. Add up what you paid in OTA commission last year, not a guess, the actual figures on your statements.
2. Decide whether you'd rather invest mostly time (DIY) or money (have a specialist handle it).
3. Ask for a proposal that spells out exactly what you get: how many pages, booking functionality, support, and delivery time.

I'm here to give you an honest picture, no hype, and to help you get a site that works for you, not the other way around. See exactly what's included on our hotel website design page. Get in touch for a no-obligation first chat, and let's find the plan that fits your property's size and goals. Already have a site? Start with a free 5-minute video audit.