Direct bookings
Lodgify vs Hospitable for a Direct Booking Website: Fees, Plans and Which Fits a Small Host
Lodgify and Hospitable can both run a direct booking website. The difference is who carries the payment risk, and what each one charges on a booking.
Verified against official docs.
Lodgify and Hospitable can both run your direct booking website, sync it with Airbnb and Vrbo, and take card payments. The real difference is who carries the payment risk. Lodgify charges a 1% transaction fee on online guest payments plus your payment gateway's own fee (Lodgify pricing). Lodgify's pricing page doesn't say who handles chargebacks, so expect disputes to go through your own gateway. Hospitable's Direct Premium charges more per booking, a 4% guest fee plus a 3% host fee or a 7% host-only fee, but Hospitable becomes the merchant of record and takes on chargebacks, guest vetting and damage protection in the US, UK and Australia (Hospitable Help).
Independent publication. Direct Booking Academy is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an official resource of Lodgify or Hospitable. Facts below come from each company's own pricing and help pages, accessed October 29 and re-checked October 31, 2026. Both companies change plans and prices, so check the current pages before you sign up.
Last verified Oct 31, 2026 against official pricing and help pages.
Which is better for a direct booking website, Lodgify or Hospitable?
Neither is better for everyone. Lodgify suits hosts who want a low per-booking fee and are comfortable handling payments and disputes through their own Stripe or PayPal account. Hospitable suits hosts in the US, UK or Australia who would rather pay a higher fee and have the software company stand behind the payment.
A quick way to decide:
- If a chargeback would keep you up at night, look hardest at Hospitable Direct Premium.
- If you want the smallest cut per booking and already handle your own payments, Lodgify or Hospitable Direct Basic are closer to each other than most comparisons suggest. Both charge 1% plus processing.
- If you already have a WordPress or Squarespace site, both can embed a booking widget, so you don't have to rebuild it.
How much does each charge per direct booking?
Lodgify: no booking fee on any plan, plus a 1% transaction fee on payments guests make online through a gateway such as Stripe or PayPal. Your gateway charges its own processing fee on top. Payments you collect manually, such as bank transfers, have no transaction fee, and Lodgify lists manual payment collection as a Professional plan feature (Lodgify pricing).
Hospitable Direct Basic: a 1% host service fee plus standard Stripe processing fees. Guests see no separate service fee (Hospitable Help: Direct Booking Service Fees).
Hospitable Direct Premium: you pick one of two models.
- Split fee (default): guests pay a 4% service fee and you pay a 3% host fee.
- Host-only fee: guests see no service fee and 7% comes out of your payout.
Hospitable applies the 4% guest fee to the nightly rate plus fees such as cleaning, but not taxes. The 3% or 7% host fee applies to the total guest payment, including taxes. All of these fees are calculated after any promo code or weekly or monthly discount (Hospitable Help).
Fees on Hospitable's own example booking ($825 including tax). Gateway fees for Lodgify and Direct Basic depend on your processor and are not included. Chart: Direct Booking Academy.
What does that look like on a real booking total?
Hospitable publishes a worked example we can reuse: 3 nights at $200, a $150 cleaning fee and 10% tax.
| Setup | Guest pays | Software fee | Your payout before processing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitable Direct Premium, split fee | $855.00 | $25.65 (3% host fee) | $799.35 (Hospitable's figure) |
| Hospitable Direct Premium, host-only | $825.00 | $57.75 (7%) | $767.25 (Hospitable's figure) |
| Hospitable Direct Basic | $825.00 | $8.25 (1%) | $816.75, minus Stripe's fee |
| Lodgify (online payment) | $825.00 | $8.25 (1%) | $816.75, minus your gateway's fee |
The Premium rows come straight from Hospitable's help page. The Basic and Lodgify rows apply each company's published 1% to the same $825 total; we left the gateway fee out because it depends on your processor and card mix. Remember the payout still includes the $75 of tax you may have to remit yourself.
What do you give up by paying less?
Protection and paperwork. On Hospitable Direct Premium, Hospitable is the merchant of record, so it handles payment processing, chargeback protection, guest vetting and $5M damage protection, and it can calculate and, where available, remit lodging taxes (Hospitable Help: All About Direct Bookings). On Direct Basic, Hospitable says switching from Premium removes Hospitable-managed processing, chargeback protection, damage protection and guest vetting, and you calculate your own lodging taxes.
Lodgify's pricing page doesn't say who handles chargebacks. Because payments run through your own gateway, expect disputes to go through that gateway, as they do on Direct Basic.
Which plan do you need for a booking website?
Lodgify: the website builder and booking widget start on the Starter plan, which Lodgify limits to 2 properties. Basic is a channel manager for one property and has no website builder. Listing your website on Google Vacation Rentals and automated messages start on Professional (Lodgify pricing).
Hospitable: direct bookings are included on the Professional and Mogul plans (Hospitable Help). Hospitable's pricing page lists the Direct Booking Website and tax collection and remittance under Professional. Its help center table lists Google Vacation Rentals as no on Direct Lite, and yes on Direct Basic and Direct Premium, while its pricing table labels it Premium, so confirm on the current pages. The free Essentials plan does not include a booking website (Hospitable pricing).
Both offer a free trial without a credit card: 7 days for Lodgify and 14 days for Hospitable (each pricing page).
Can I keep my existing website?
Yes, with either one. Lodgify says you can embed its booking widget on an existing WordPress, Squarespace or Weebly site (Lodgify pricing FAQ). Hospitable says you can embed its booking widget on your own website, and the guest experience and backend stay the same (Hospitable Help).
If your current site already ranks for your property name, keeping it and adding the widget is usually the lower-risk move.
Does either one get me on Google Vacation Rentals?
Both can. Lodgify includes listing your website on Google Vacation Rentals from the Professional plan. Hospitable lists Direct bookings on its Professional and Mogul plans. Its help center lists Google Vacation Rentals for both Direct Basic and Direct Premium, while its pricing table labels it Premium, so confirm on the current pages. Google shows your direct rate next to the OTA rates for the same home, so your direct total has to look at least as good as the Airbnb total once fees are added. If you also list on Vrbo, read the parity clause covered in our Vrbo 12% commission guide before you price your direct site lower.
Which one is easier if I already use it as my channel manager?
Stay where your calendar already lives. A booking website is one more channel in the same calendar, inbox and automations in both tools, and switching software just to get a website adds a migration you don't need. Hospitable describes Direct as another channel that appears in the same inbox and calendar as your other bookings (Hospitable Help). Our Lodgify hub and Hospitable hub cover setup for each.
What should go on the site before the first booking?
Your best photos, in the same order as your strongest OTA listing. Guests often check your site against the Airbnb or Vrbo listing, and a different cover photo can look like a different property. Show the full price with every fee before payment, and make sure the gallery loads quickly on a phone.
Our Lodgify photo guide and Hospitable photo guide walk through uploading and ordering.
Direct Booking Academy's publisher also operates BNB Boost.
If your current photos look dark or uneven next to the competition, photo enhancer software for Airbnb listings evens out lighting and color without adding or removing anything in the room.
A simple way to choose, based on each company's published plans as of Oct 29, 2026. Chart: Direct Booking Academy.
Frequently asked questions
Does Lodgify take a commission on direct bookings?
No booking commission. Lodgify charges a flat subscription plus a 1% transaction fee on online guest payments through a gateway such as Stripe or PayPal, and the gateway charges its own fee.
What are Hospitable's direct booking fees?
Direct Basic charges a 1% host fee plus Stripe processing. Direct Premium charges a 4% guest fee plus a 3% host fee, or a 7% host-only fee.
Who handles chargebacks on a Hospitable direct booking?
On Direct Premium, Hospitable is the merchant of record and provides chargeback protection. On Direct Basic, payments run through your own Stripe account and you are responsible.
Is Hospitable Direct Premium available outside the US?
Hospitable lists Direct Premium for the US (including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), the UK (including the Isle of Man and Jersey) and Australia. Direct Basic is available where Stripe operates.
Can I try either one for free?
Yes. Lodgify offers a 7-day trial and Hospitable a 14-day trial, both without a credit card.
By James Mercer, who covers direct booking strategy for Direct Booking Academy. Written with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor. Last verified: October 31, 2026.