Why should I link my booking engine with my website?
Linking your booking engine to your website lets you:
Get commission-free direct bookings
Allow guests to make reservations 24/7
Reduce time spent processing manual bookings
Improve the guest booking experience
Do I need a website to use SiteMinder's Booking Engine (Direct Booking)?
No, but having a website significantly increases your online presence and booking potential. If you don't have a website, SiteMinder offers a website builder designed specifically for accommodation providers with seamless booking engine integration.
Do I need technical knowledge to integrate my booking engine with a third-party website?
The Booking Engine has been developed with ease of implementation in mind. Even less experienced users with limited understanding of HTML should be able to integrate the Booking Engine with their website.
💡 Always create a backup before making changes to your website
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Where can I find instructions for integrating my booking engine with my website?
Access the Website integration guide here for instructions to integrate the Booking Engine with your website.
Can I embed my booking engine into a third-party domain?
Yes, you can embed your booking engine directly on your website. Follow the steps in the integration guide here. To successfully embed your booking engine, you will need to ensure your domain is whitelisted - to do so, please contact our support team. You will also need to update your website’s referrer policy so that your domain is visible for us to be able to whitelist.
Note: Booking buttons and widgets that redirect to your booking engine do not require domain whitelisting.
What widgets and integration methods can I use on my website?
You can choose between:
Adding a Book now button
Including a date selection widget
Fully embedding your booking engine within your website
Can I customise the appearance of my booking widgets?
Yes, you can modify colours, fonts, and button styles to match your website's design. Customisation options are available in the Website integration guide here.
Can I integrate my booking engine with social media platforms?
Yes, you can add your booking engine URL to social media profiles and create dedicated booking buttons on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Will my integration keep working if I change my booking engine settings?
Yes, your integration will continue working when you update room types, rates, or availability. However, if you change your booking engine URL or significantly modify your website structure, you may need to review and update your integration.
How do I find my booking engine URL?
To locate your booking engine URL:
Go to Direct booking > Configuration > Guest display options > Booking engine URL
Click Copy link to copy the URL to your clipboard
Your booking engine URL varies depending on where your property is located:
For properties in Europe, Middle East, Africa or America, your URL will look similar to this: https://direct-book.com/properties/channelcode
For properties in Asia or the Pacific, your URL will look similar to this: https://book-directonline.com/properties/channelcode
In these examples, 'channelcode' typically contains your property name.
Is there a solution for hotel groups with multiple properties?
Yes, if you're a hotel group using Multi-Property, you can access the Direct Booking API which provides real-time rates and availability data across your entire property portfolio.
The API delivers comprehensive information including rate plans, room types, pricing, property details, and booking engine URLs. This raw data allows you to fully customise how rates and availability are displayed on your website - we supply the data, you control the design and guest experience.
For more information about the Direct Booking API, go to Multi-Property > Direct booking > API to access the developer guide.