How much does an apartment website cost, and is it worth it?

What you’re really paying for

A website isn’t one thing. There’s the build, the domain (an address like yourapartment.com), hosting (where the site lives), a business email, the security certificate and upkeep, so it still works next season and not just on launch day.

When someone quotes you a price, ask what’s in it and what shows up as a separate bill three months later. The classic trap is a cheap build followed by silence. The site runs for two years, the domain expires or something breaks, and you start again from scratch. Pay again, wait again, send the same photos again.

Holiday rental website cost: pay once or pay monthly

With a bespoke site you pay once for the build, then separately for domain, hosting and upkeep. Ours start at €1,200 for up to five pages in one language. Worth it if you need something unusual.

For most apartments, paying monthly is simpler. Our Website and listing plan is €20 a month for up to five units, with the site, a .com domain, an info@ email, hosting, up to three languages and upkeep. The domain is registered in your name, not ours. You start paying only once you’ve approved the launch. The minimum term is 12 months, then 30 days’ notice.

Booking.com commission, and the tax nobody mentions

When a guest books through a big portal, part of the money stays with the portal. Booking.com says the rate depends on your country, property type and agreement, and that it goes up if you join its visibility programmes. The figure quoted most often is around 15%.

Now the part many Croatian owners only learn about when the tax office writes to them. Even if you’re not registered for value added tax, you still have to pay Croatian tax of 25% on the commission charged by a foreign portal. That means a separate tax ID for it and monthly returns. It isn’t a new rule. It’s just easy to forget.

Let’s run it. A guest stays seven nights at €100: that’s €700. At 15%, the portal keeps €105, and you pay another €26.25 in tax on that commission. €131.25 gone on one booking. A €20 a month website costs €240 a year. Two bookings like that through your own site and it’s paid for. The third is profit. For your own situation, ask your accountant. We build websites, not tax returns.

Sharing your Booking.com link on Facebook? You’re paying commission on your own guests

We see it on social media every single day. An owner pours hours into the place, photographs the sunset from the terrace, writes posts, answers comments. Someone messages to say they’d love to come. And the owner sends them a Booking.com link.

That guest already found you. On their own. The portal did nothing. You walked them to the portal’s door, the portal charges you commission for it, and then you pay tax on the commission. It’s like inviting a friend to your restaurant and tipping the waiter next door to hand them your menu.

With your own website, the link you share goes to your page. The guest sees the photos, picks dates and contacts you. The money that would have gone to the portal stays at home.

A website that earns you something: tours, transfers and a digital concierge

Every one of our accommodation packages comes with a digital concierge for your guests. It’s a small guide on your own domain that guests open on their phone: your tips, practical info for their stay and a selection of excursions, transfers, tours and experiences nearby.

Guest books a boat trip through it? You get a cut. Airport transfer at dawn? Another cut. The percentage differs per service and sits in your contract, in black and white. Our licensed partners do the driving and the sailing; you just keep the coffee warm.

Guests don’t have to hunt for someone to drive them to the airport at 5 a.m., and they get recommendations from people who know the area. You get happier guests, better reviews and a bit of extra income. We help with the business, not just the website.

Honestly: a website won’t bring guests on its own

Your own site isn’t a magic button. Guests still have to find it: on Google, from a card you leave in the apartment, through Instagram, or because they stayed last year and want to come back. It pays off most for owners with returning guests, owners who are active on social media and owners with several units.

If you’re just starting and have no regulars yet, start with a listing. Our listing without a website is €0 a month: your place goes on welocroatia.com, corviastay.com and croatiawelcome.com, you get the digital concierge, and the portals take 10% only when a guest books through them. Add the website once guests start coming back.