How many direct bookings does it take to pay for your website?

Eight direct stays of $1,000 cover a $999 setup.

The short answer: On a $1,000 stay, a direct booking keeps you about $125.70 more than a booking site that takes 15.5%. At that rate, 8 direct stays cover Launch Pad's $999 setup, and 17 stays in the first year cover the setup plus the optional $89 monthly plan. Longer or pricier stays pay it back faster: at $2,000 a stay, 4 stays cover the setup.

"Will it pay for itself?" is the question every owner asks before they build a website. Here is a straight answer, with the maths in plain view so you can check it.

How much do you save on one stay?

Most hosts on Airbnb pay a single fee of about 15.5% of each booking (Airbnb). On your own website, a normal US card payment costs about 2.9% plus 30 cents (Stripe). The difference is what you keep.

• $500 stay: you keep about $485.20 direct, against $422.50 on a booking site. That is $62.70 more.
• $1,000 stay: you keep about $970.70 direct, against $845.00. That is $125.70 more.
• $2,000 stay: you keep about $1,941.70 direct, against $1,690.00. That is $251.70 more.

How many direct stays pay for the setup?

Divide the setup price by what you save on one stay. Here are the direct stays you need to cover each plan's one-time setup:

• Launch Pad, $999: 16 stays at $500, 8 stays at $1,000, 4 stays at $2,000.
• Grow, $1,499: 24 stays at $500, 12 stays at $1,000, 6 stays at $2,000.
• Autopilot, $2,499: 40 stays at $500, 20 stays at $1,000, 10 stays at $2,000.

Put another way, about $8,000 of bookings moved onto your own website covers Launch Pad's setup.

What if you also take a monthly plan?

A monthly plan is optional, and it starts only when your site is live. Hosting is free for the first year, and stays free while you keep a plan. If you want the support, here is the direct stays needed to cover the setup plus 12 months of the plan, at a $1,000 stay:

• Launch Pad: $999 plus 12 months at $89 is $2,067. That is 17 direct stays.
• Grow: $1,499 plus 12 months at $249 is $4,487. That is 36 direct stays.
• Autopilot: $2,499 plus 12 months at $449 is $7,887. That is 63 direct stays.

Grow and Autopilot do more than save fees. Grow adds Launch AI to answer your guests, and Autopilot sets up offers for past guests and more. So fee savings are only part of what you get from them.

What can change these numbers?

• A discount you offer. With 5% off for booking direct, each moved $1,000 stay saves about $77.15, so Launch Pad's setup is covered in 13 stays. See should you offer a discount for booking direct?.
• Foreign cards. Stripe adds 1.5% for international cards and 1% when currency has to be converted.
• Where your guests come from. These numbers assume a guest who would have booked on a booking site books on your site instead. A guest who would not have booked at all is worth even more: you keep about $970.70 instead of nothing.
• Other fees. Cleaning fees, taxes and your own booking tool are not counted here. Our fee calculator shows your yearly fees with your own mix of sites, but it leaves out card fees to keep things simple, so the numbers on this page are a little smaller and more careful.

Where do the direct stays come from?

Not from nowhere. They come from past guests who come back, people who find you on Google, and visitors who see your site on a card in the rental. Start with how to turn past guests into repeat bookers and how to get direct bookings without paying for ads.

Pay attention to the size of the prize. If you earn $60,000 a year and one booking in four comes direct, that is $15,000 a year. At a $1,000 stay, that is 15 direct stays, nearly double the 8 you need to cover Launch Pad's setup. See how much Airbnb really takes from you.

How do you work out your own payback?

• Take your average stay. Subtract about 15.5% for a booking site, and about 2.9% plus 30 cents for a direct booking.
• Multiply the difference by the direct stays you could win in a year.
• Compare that with the setup price. If it is bigger, the site pays for itself.

Ready to start? Your site is ready in 7 working days or it is free, and you pay half to start and the other half only when you go live. Pay your first installment, or compare every plan on the pricing page.

Common questions

How many direct bookings pay for a vacation rental website?

On a $1,000 stay, with a booking site fee of 15.5% and card fees of about 2.9% plus 30 cents, a direct booking keeps you about $125.70 more. Launch Pad's $999 setup is covered after 8 direct stays, or about $8,000 of bookings moved onto your own website.

Is a direct booking website worth it for a small owner?

Often, yes. If one booking in four comes direct on $60,000 of yearly bookings, that is about 15 stays of $1,000, which saves around $1,885 a year in fees. The result depends on how many guests actually book on your site.

Do I have to take a monthly plan?

No. A monthly plan is optional ongoing support. The setup includes 1 year of hosting, and hosting stays free while you keep a plan. With the plan, 17 direct stays of $1,000 cover the first year of Launch Pad.

Sources and helpful links

• Airbnb: how host fees work — the 15.5% single fee
• Stripe pricing — 2.9% plus 30 cents, and the extra fees for foreign cards
• Launch VRO fee calculator — try your own numbers
• Launch VRO pricing — all three plans