A website for a guesthouse or hotel gives the guest full access to information about the property, and its key element is a room offer with a 360° tour. Booking takes 15-18% from every reservation. Combining direct bookings with Booking lowers the average commission to ~9%, and a 360° virtual tour convinces the guest before they land on the portal. Website, interior tour, booking system, Business Profile, chatbot for night-time questions.
Services for lodging
A guest picks a place to stay in 30 seconds on their phone, and all you have for it is photos from Booking and an 18% commission on every reservation. These six tools turn that around: the 360° tour shows your 5-15 rooms the way a portal never will, the booking system lowers the Booking commission, and the Google Business Profile, chatbot and QR look after the guest from search to review.
A guesthouse has 5-15 rooms to show, that is your edge. Booking limits you to 5-10 photos, your website with a tour lets the guest „step into” the room, look out the window, check the bathroom layout. Standard 1 690 PLN (8 panoramas), Premium 2 990 PLN (15 panoramas, every room type).
360° tour for lodging →You combine both channels: Booking still attracts new guests, your own system keeps the profit with you. Stripe + Przelewy24 + BLIK payments, two-way iCal synchronisation with Booking and Airbnb (no double bookings). The Mini System 3 999 PLN is enough for a 5-15 room guesthouse and pays for itself in 4 months.
Online booking system →Showcase website 1 299 PLN for agritourism and holiday cabins, Business website 2 499 PLN for a guesthouse with a restaurant and spa. Gallery of 30+ room photos, descriptions with strong points (view from the window, fireplace, bathtub), availability calendar, map with nearby attractions, very fast loading on the phone.
Websites →Most guests search „guesthouse Tatras”, „boutique hotel Sopot” on Google and Maps. The first 3 results on the map usually grab the bulk of the clicks. Profile setup 490 PLN + Business Profile subscription 299 PLN/mo, Top-3 position in 4-6 months.
Google Business Profile →A guest asks about a free room at 11 p.m. Booking answers right away, you are asleep. An AI chatbot trained on your price list, house rules, breakfast hours, pet policy, parking. Setup 1 490 PLN + 99 PLN/mo. Recovers 5-15 bookings a month that would otherwise go to the competition.
AI chatbot →A QR code by the bed: Wi-Fi (one scan), house rules, room service order, attractions map, taxi call, a request for a Google review at check-out. QR set 790 PLN + holders 39 PLN each. The cheapest way to get a guest to leave a 5-star review (and not a 3-star one on Booking).
QR Lokal →Booking vs Lokal360
The most common question from guesthouse owners: „should I drop Booking?”. No. You combine both channels: Booking attracts new guests, and you collect direct bookings from returning and referred guests. The average commission drops from 18% to ~9%.
You do not have to start with a system
Even the cheapest website with a booking form, a phone number and WhatsApp (Showcase website from 1 299 PLN) lets you take direct bookings: the guest writes, you confirm manually, and the portal takes no commission on that booking. It works from day one. A full online booking system with payments and a calendar you add later, once direct traffic grows. The table below shows how, with a 30% Booking and 70% direct mix, the average commission drops from ~18% to ~9%.
Booking only 18%
9,000 PLN a year
in commission to Booking.com
50,000 PLN turnover × 18% = 9,000 PLN / year
Lokal360 hybrid ~9%
~3,400 PLN a year
commission in the hybrid (5,600 PLN less than Booking-only)
50,000 PLN × 30% × 18% + 70% × 2% = ~3,400 PLN / year
Flagship system
Booking takes 15-18% from every reservation. System Pro handles a property with several resources at once: rooms, a hotel with a restaurant, an events hall, roles for reception and the manager. You collect direct bookings on your own website, with no platform commission.
A hotel with a restaurant, rooms and an events hall in one panel, roles for the team. Direct bookings with no portal commission.
Direct bookings instead of commission
You combine both channels: Booking still attracts new guests, and you collect returning and referred ones directly. The average commission drops from 18% to around 9%, because part of the bookings goes through your system with no platform commission.
Payments go through the client account (Przelewy24 or Stripe), where you are the merchant. Lokal360 does not intermediate payments and takes no commission on reservations, it only integrates the gateway with the system.
360° tour · technology example
This is one of our real 360° tours, here a lodging property (Zakątek pod Tatrami, a guesthouse in Podhale, shot with a Matterport Axis scanner and embedded on the site and the Google Business Profile). We will film the rooms, reception, restaurant and common areas of your hotel or guesthouse to the same standard, and guests can view the interiors remotely before they book a stay.
Realization and models
The standard you get shows on a public lodging realization (Tatra Cottages, Dębno near the Tatras): PageSpeed 99/100 and loading lower by 88%. Alongside it I show how the Complete usually works in guesthouses and hotels, less portal commission thanks to direct bookings, more reservations thanks to the 360° tour and a chatbot for night-time questions.
A website with a direct booking module and the client's own Przelewy24 or Stripe account (the payment goes straight to the owner) usually helps shift part of the bookings away from Booking towards direct bookings. With that pattern, less tends to be left on portal commissions. The scale depends on the property and the season.
A new static website instead of WordPress: PageSpeed 99/100, LCP lower by 88%, JSON-LD Lodging for each cabin. A faster, mobile-friendly page helps keep the guest who arrived from Google.
A common night-time problem (10 p.m.-8 a.m.): no one answers the phone, so guests book with the competition or on Booking in the meantime. An AI chatbot trained on the price list, availability and house rules usually answers for the owner outside staffed hours, while a 360° panorama works well as a Meta creative. Real 360° campaign benchmark (MOXO Wola): a 360° ad is clicked more often than a static photo.
Typical package
The most common package ordered by owners of mid-sized guesthouses. The 360° tour makes an impression, the booking system lowers the Booking commission, the website is the basis, the Google Business Profile is visibility. The chatbot is optional, for properties with heavy night traffic.
One-off (implementation)
Monthly (subscription)
For guesthouses > 15 rooms or boutique hotels with several services at once (restaurant + spa + events) I recommend the Pro System 8 999 PLN and the Premium Tour 2 990 PLN instead of Mini/Standard. Run a short-term rental? See the separate offer for a website for holiday cabins. I prepare a specific calculation after you fill in the form below.
Direct channel
A page with a form is not enough on its own, the guest needs a concrete reason to skip the portal and write to you directly. This is a set of incentives that I wire into the website and booking system, plus a ready conversation script for when a guest asks straight out: “is it cheaper direct?”. It is not a separate line item on the price list, it is part of configuring the direct channel.
A visible bar on the room page: by booking direct instead of through a portal, the guest gets a benefit (for example 10% off or an extra breakfast). The portal will not let you drop the price below parity, but a benefit outside the price is allowed.
Free cancellation closer to the date or a free change of dates, which the rigid portal rates usually do not offer. Real value for the guest, zero commission cost for you.
After check-out the guest receives their code for the next stay booked directly. A returning guest who already knows the rooms is the easiest to move from the portal to a direct booking.
After check-out the system sends a thank-you with a request for a Google review and an invitation to book the next stay directly. It collects the guest data that the portal will never hand over to you.
A “best price only here, no intermediary commission” message next to the booking module. It reassures the guest that they will not overpay by booking direct, so they do not go back to the portal to compare.
I set these elements up together with the website and the booking system, as part of building the direct channel. No separate item on the invoice, we match them to your property and season.
Conversation script · when a guest asks “is it cheaper direct?”
The most common situation: the guest found you on a portal and asks whether they will pay less outside it. You cannot break price parity (the portal forbids it), but you can give a reason beyond the price. A ready owner reply:
“The price for the stay itself is the same as on the portal, we committed to that. But by booking directly with us you get a few things you will not find there: more flexible cancellation, the option of a later check-out, a discount code for the next stay and direct contact with me as the host if anything comes up. I will send you a link to book directly on our website.”
This way you do not tell the guest “the same” and lose the conversation. You say “the same plus this and that”, and the portal takes no commission on a direct booking. I also wire the script into the AI chatbot so it answers the same way outside staffed hours.
Online payments
You can accept deposits and full payments straight on your site. The operator account is yours, money goes directly to you, I only do the integration. I am not a party to the transaction and I do not hold your funds.
You open an operator account
Przelewy24 or Stripe, in your company name. Zero subscription, you pay only a percentage per transaction.
I plug it into the site
BLIK, cards and instant transfers at checkout on your site. The guest pays in seconds, without a detour to an external service with commission.
Money lands with you
Straight from the operator to your bank account. No middleman, no booking platform commission.
Przelewy24default for PL
Stripecards and abroad
Why it's worth it: Booking takes 15-18% of every reservation, Booksy charges a monthly subscription. A payment gateway takes about 1.2-1.5% per transaction and nothing more. On a PLN 600 payment that is the difference between over PLN 100 going to the platform and about PLN 8 in operator fees. The rest stays with you.
You are the seller, so the terms, returns and GDPR are on your side. I help complete them during implementation.
Industry FAQ
Questions typical of the lodging industry. Booking, channel manager, tour, chatbot, implementation schedule. If you have a question outside the list, add it in the form below.
„Will direct bookings beat Booking.com? Booking has a 100x bigger marketing budget.”
You will not beat Booking and we are not trying to. You combine both channels: Booking still attracts new guests (reach you could not get otherwise), and your own system keeps returning and referred guests. A returning guest who knows your rooms goes straight to you on their second booking (saves you 18%), because they know what they will get. Realistic goal: 30% Booking / 70% direct in 18 months, so the average commission drops from 18% to ~9%.
„Does a 360° tour actually affect bookings, or is it just a gimmick?”
Concrete data from our guesthouses: direct bookings grow by 20-40% compared with a site without a tour, average time on the site rises from 1:20 to 3:50, and the number of people who leave immediately drops by ~25%. For lodging a tour is not a gadget, the guest is buying a stay in an unfamiliar place and wants to see the bathroom, the layout, the view from the window. Booking will not show that (5-10 generic photos). Full calculation of the return on a tour here.
„What about a Channel Manager? I already have Octorate / MyAllocator.”
The Standard System has built-in two-way iCal synchronisation, it works with Booking, Airbnb, Slowhop, Hotels.com. For properties > 15 rooms or with 4+ channels we connect to your Channel Manager (Octorate, MyAllocator, Yieldplanet), which stays the main one. Your new direct booking system becomes one of the channels. You lose nothing, you add your own channel with 0% commission.
„Do I need a chatbot? The phone and Messenger are enough for me.”
The phone and Messenger are fine during business hours. The problem starts after 10 p.m. and before 8 a.m., when a guest asks about a free room, a spot for a dog, parking. Booking answers right away, you are asleep, and the guest books with the competition. An AI chatbot trained on your price list and house rules answers in 5 seconds. On average 5-15 extra bookings a month from night-time questions. Paid back in under 3 months.
„How long will the full package implementation take?”
A standard schedule: week 1, gathering information, copy, page layout. Week 2, photo session + 360° tour at your place (1 day of shooting). Week 3, building the website + galleries + tour. Week 4, booking system, iCal connection with Booking, payment tests. Week 5, Google Business Profile setup, posts, fine-tuning. In total: 4-5 weeks from the first conversation to launch. Chatbot optional + 1-2 weeks.
„And if my agritourism has only 4 rooms? Is that not too big an investment?”
For 4-6 rooms a smaller scope is enough: Showcase website 1 299 PLN + Mini Tour 890 PLN + Google Business Profile setup 490 PLN = 2 679 PLN for implementation. And that is enough to start saving: the booking form and the number on the site alone let you take direct bookings manually (the guest writes, you confirm), and the portal takes no commission on each such booking. The automatic online booking system with payments you add later, as direct traffic grows.
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Guesthouse revenue audit in 30 minutes
After you fill it in I will calculate: how much goes to Booking each year (based on turnover and rooms), how much stays after switching to a 9% hybrid, how long the package takes to pay back. Concrete numbers for your property, within 24h.
A project and how it usually works
Lokal360 has 150+ completed 360° tours in its portfolio. Below is a project from the lodging industry (Tatra Cottages) plus a general description of how the Complete usually works in hotels and guesthouses.
Tatra Cottages (Dębno near the Tatras). A new website on lightweight code instead of WordPress: PageSpeed 99/100, time to the first full image (loading) lower by 88%. A faster page helps keep the guest who arrived from Google.
Guesthouses and boutique hotels. A website with a direct booking module and the client's own Przelewy24 or Stripe account (the payment goes straight to the owner) usually helps shift part of the bookings away from Booking towards direct bookings. With that pattern, less tends to be left on portal commissions. The scale depends on the property and the season.
Hotels and guesthouses. An AI chatbot for night-time questions usually answers for the owner outside staffed hours, while a 360° panorama works well as a Meta creative. Real 360° campaign benchmark (MOXO Wola): a 360° ad is clicked more often than a static photo.
What I avoid
After the project
Week 1: Google starts indexing the new guesthouse website. I check Google Search Console, approve the sitemap, verify the 360° tour in your Google Business Profile. First appearances in search for queries with the company name (guesthouse name plus city).
Month 1: Google shows the page for name queries. The 360° tour appears in the Google Maps profile. The first 30-50 profile views a day. The first direct bookings through the module on the site (instead of Booking).
Month 3: Google has ranking signals. Appearance in the top 3 on Google Maps for queries "guesthouse plus city", "hotel plus region". 150-300 profile views a day. The average portal commission starts to drop (some guests notice they can book direct for less).
Month 6: Steady top 10 positions for niche queries ("guesthouse with a sauna Beskids", "hotel with a pool Masuria"). The 360° tour generates 35-40% more clicks on the profile. The package pays for itself in the form of a lower average portal commission.
What happens after that? The Care package (149 PLN a month) keeps the site fast, updates plugins, makes backups. A tour refresh once every 2 years after a renovation or a change of furnishings. Extra subpages for new services (weddings, corporate events, photo shoots) as the business grows.
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