How to choose who builds your holiday rental website

1. What are the four routes?

Your own holiday rental website usually comes one of four ways: yourself, in a website builder; through a studio that builds sites for holiday rentals; through an agency or freelancer who builds all kinds of sites; or with a booking system that includes a website in its subscription. They differ in price, in your time, in whose name the domain is in and in whether you pay anything per booking.

2. Yourself, in a website builder

• Who it suits: hosts with time for text in foreign languages, photos, legal pages and upkeep.
• Price: the builder subscription plus a domain, depending on the builder. Free plans usually have no own domain and show the builder’s branding.
• Domain: you register it yourself, in your name.
• Commission: none, unless you add card payments.

We describe the process step by step in the guide how to make a holiday rental website.

3. A studio that specialises in holiday rentals

• Who it suits: hosts who want a finished site made for an apartment: a calendar with the price of the stay, an enquiry form, the guests’ languages and directions.
• Price: at Zauzeto from €399 including VAT, with a .hr or .com domain and the first year of hosting, then €99 a year. Public price lists don’t separate specialised and general studios, so the overall figures are in point 4.
• Domain: depends on the contract. With us it is registered in your name.
• Commission: none on the sites we build; elsewhere, ask.

How to check a studio: on your phone, open the sites it has already made for apartments. Can you see straight away where the place is, how many it sleeps, the free dates and how to send an enquiry? Our example: Apartman u luci Sali on Dugi otok.

4. An agency or freelancer

• Who it suits: hosts who already have a provider they trust, or who need other services alongside the site.
• Price: according to the public price lists of 14 Croatian studios (checked on 22 October 2026), a simple website costs roughly €300 to €900 at 11 of them, and the lowest among them was €149. Sites with more pages mostly cost €450 to €980, and €1,000 or more at four studios. Some charge separately for yearly upkeep or the domain.
• VAT: only four of the 14 price lists say whether VAT is included, so ask before you compare.
• Domain: depends on the contract; ask.
• Commission: depends on the offer; with card payments comes a subscription or a fee per transaction.

5. A booking system with a website

• Who it suits: hosts with many units and platforms, or who want guests to pay by card without them.
• Price: a monthly subscription, and sometimes a fee per booking. A comparison with figures is in the guide what a holiday rental website costs.
• Domain: check whether you can use your own domain, in your name.
• Commission: depends on the plan: a subscription, and sometimes a fee per booking.

For a small property such a system is often more than it needs.

6. Side by side

7. 8 questions before you sign a quote

The answers should be in the quote, not only in a conversation.

1. Whose name is the domain registered in? It should be yours, so you keep it if you change provider.
2. Do you get the site’s files if you leave?
3. Is VAT included? So the invoice holds no surprises.
4. What does the yearly fee cover, and are changes limited?
5. Is there commission or a fee per booking?
6. How many units and languages are in the price?
7. Do you pay up front, or only once you approve the design?
8. Who writes the text in foreign languages and the privacy notice? A privacy notice and the host’s details must be on the site.

8. When we are not the right choice

Your own website pays off less if almost all your guests come for the first time through a platform and don’t come back. Then the site won’t bring new guests on its own, and it is often smarter to improve your Booking.com or Airbnb listing first. If you have many units and want card payments without you, you probably need a booking system.