45% of new vacation rental hosts get their first booking within just one week of joining Booking.com.
If your property is new to Booking.com, has not yet received its first booking, or is receiving fewer bookings than expected, it is important to start with the fundamentals to boost your listing’s success.
This toolkit brings together insights provided by Booking.com, along with practical recommendations to help you improve your properties’ visibility and booking performance on Booking.com.
🏙️ Content: Show your property at its best
High-quality content helps guests understand what your property offers, builds trust, and makes it easier for them to decide whether to book.
A complete and compelling property page can also improve your visibility and conversion, helping you get bookings faster.
Good quality photos
63% of guests use photos as their primary source of information while searching for a stay. Hosts who uploaded 10 photos or more were, on average, 29% more likely to get a booking within the first weeks.
Action: Add a minimum of 10 photos to captivate and inspire travelers to book. Your photos should give guests a clear idea of the property, its spaces, and what they can expect during their stay.
Amenities
Adding all available amenities helps your property appear in filtered searches and gives guests the information they need when comparing properties.
Not accurately listing all of your property's amenities can significantly reduce visibility and conversion.
Most Searched Amenities on Booking.com
Air conditioning or heating
Parking
Socket near the bed
Room with a view
Restaurant
24h check-in
Shampoo and conditioner
Fridge
Room service
TV and streaming
Coffee maker / kettle
Pet friendly
Self check-in
Properties with a 100% property page score get up to 18% more bookings than properties with incomplete content.
Action: Use Booking.com’s Property Page score as your guide to what guests are looking for and get your first bookings faster.
The Property Page score acts as a checklist to help you identify and complete the most important content on your property page.
Ensure you complete:
Unit types
Bed distribution
Maximum capacity
Services and amenities
📅 Availability: Show up in search results
Availability is a key factor in making sure your property remains consistently bookable and can appear in relevant guest searches.
Properties with calendars that are open further in advance tend to appear in more travelers' searches.
Action: Keep your calendar consistently available and up to date to give guests more opportunities to find and book your property.
Best Practices
Being bookable is the first step to being seen. If your property is not available for a guest's dates, it cannot be booked.
Keep your calendar consistently available. Avoid unnecessary blocked dates and make sure your availability is accurate and up to date.
Ease booking restrictions where possible. Restrictions such as minimum stays or advance notice requirements can reduce the number of searches in which your property can appear.
Avoid overly restrictive availability
A calendar with very few bookable dates can significantly reduce the opportunities guests have to book your property.
For example, a 7-night minimum stay combined with check-in and check-out restricted to Mondays and Fridays gives guests very few combinations of dates they can book. This can limit your property's visibility in search results.
🔒 Policies: Balance flexibility and security
Your cancellation policies and rate plans can help balance booking flexibility for guests with revenue protection for your property.
Offering both flexible and non-refundable options can give guests more choice while helping reduce the impact of cancellations.
Action: As recommended by Booking.com, consider offering a flexible rate with a 14-day cancellation window alongside a non-refundable rate plan.
A 14-day cancellation policy gives you more time to secure a new booking if a guest cancels before arrival.
A Non-Refundable Rate means guests pay the full price if they cancel, make changes, or do not show up, helping you secure payment for the reservation.
Offering both options can help you appeal to guests who value flexibility while also providing a more secure booking option.
🌠 Pricing: Get bookings and reviews sooner
For properties that have not yet built booking momentum, competitive pricing can help encourage guests to book and allow you to secure your first reviews sooner.
Action: Activate the New Property Deal to encourage your first bookings and start building reviews.
Offer 20% off your first three bookings to attract early demand.
Getting your first guests and reviews is an important step in building your property's performance on Booking.com.
Once you receive your first three bookings, or after 90 days, the deal ends and your price automatically returns to the original price. You can also turn the deal off at any time.
Important: To activate the New Property Deal promotion, you must set it up directly in the Booking.com Extranet.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
How can I improve my property's visibility on Booking.com?
Start by making sure your property is consistently bookable. Keep your calendar open and up to date, avoid unnecessary blocked dates, and ease restrictions such as minimum stays or advance notice requirements where possible. Completing your property content and amenities can also help your property appear in relevant searches.
How many photos should I add to my Booking.com property?
Add a minimum of 10 high-quality photos. Photos are one of the main sources of information guests use when choosing a property, so make sure they clearly showcase the property and its spaces.
Why is my property not appearing in enough searches?
Limited availability or restrictive booking conditions can reduce the number of searches in which your property can appear. Check that your calendar is open and accurate, and review restrictions such as minimum stay and advance notice. You should also make sure your property content is complete.
What is the Booking.com Property Page score?
The Property Page score is a checklist that helps you identify whether your property page contains the content and information guests find useful when deciding to book. Completing your property page can help improve your property's performance.
What cancellation policy should I use for my property?
Consider offering both a flexible rate with a 14-day cancellation window and a non-refundable rate plan. This gives guests more flexibility while also providing an option that helps protect your revenue from cancellations.
How can I get my first bookings on Booking.com?
Make sure your property's content, availability, policies, and pricing are set up correctly. Eligible new properties can also use Booking.com's New Property Deal to offer 20% off their first three bookings and help attract their first guests and reviews. The New Property Deal must currently be activated directly in the Booking.com Extranet.