Director of Retention & Monetisation

Lodgify introduces dynamic pricing and AI updates. Reading Time: 3 minutes Spain: Lodgify, a partner to independent hosts, is rebranding with new dynamic pricing and a direct ChatGPT pilot, alongside the upcoming launch of AI Co-Host (now in beta). Lodgify's updates come after 56 per cent of US travelers used AI to plan a trip in the past year, more than double the year before. Lodgify unveiled the first wave of products under the new brand, designed to automate some of a host's workload and improve discovery and booking. Features include: New Lodgify calendar with opportunities: Lodgify scans every host's calendar for bookable gaps and orphan nights, hidden by minimum-stay rules. Available now for new customers; rolling out to all hosts this summer. New dynamic pricing, powered by Beyond: Lodgify's AI meets Beyond's real-time market data and dynamic pricing algorithm to increase hosts' revenue performance. Prices update every day automatically. Rolling out this summer. Lodgify AI Co-Host: An always-on operator that proactively scans bookings, messages, and upcoming stays, surfacing only whatever needs a host's decision, from early check-in requests to pending payments. Available across Lodgify, WhatsApp, and iMessage. First version arriving this summer; early access open now at cohost.lodgify.com. Direct booking websites optimisation for AI and ChatGPT pilot: Lodgify is piloting a direct connection between independent hosts' direct booking sites and ChatGPT, when a guest describes the stay they want, ChatGPT can match them to a Lodgify host's property and send them to the direct booking page, commission-free. A free diagnostic at ai-ready-lodgify.com (coming soon) scores any rental site for immediate AI-readiness, with hosts seeing AI-search visibility lifts of up to 115 per cent. Two new entry points: Lodgify intends to widen its audience with two new entry points. Basic, the most affordable plan, has listing sync and a unified inbox; while Direct Plan is a free, AI-generated direct booking website optimised for AI search, with no PMS subscription required. Lodgify only earns when hosts earn from direct bookings. "Until now, property management software solved workflows - calendar, inbox, reservations, payments," said Gus Machado, Lodgify chief product officer. "But software still required hosts to constantly monitor everything: to search, to check, to remember, to stay alert. That's the hidden cost of hosting. Not tasks. Mental load. We started asking a different question: what if hosting didn't require constant monitoring? What if software didn't just organise work, but actually helped carry it?" "AI agents don't search the way humans do," said Anila Hasaj, Lodgify product director. "They don't browse photos or scroll reviews, they read data. Booking platforms flatten every property into a template. It's the wrong shape for AI. The richest, most matchable data about a property lives on a host's direct booking site. Get found by AI. Get booked direct. Keep your independence." Lodgify's updates are meant to serve its partner hosts in over 180 countries. Highlights: * AI-native distribution is becoming a competitive differentiator in short-term rentals, with Lodgify piloting direct ChatGPT integrations that route travelers from conversational AI search to hosts' commission-free booking sites. * The company is repositioning around "AI-ready hosting," combining AI discovery, dynamic pricing powered by Beyond, and AI Co-Host automation to help independent operators compete with larger platforms on visibility, revenue optimisation, and guest communication. * Lodgify claims AI-search optimisation can increase host visibility by up to 115 per cent, signalling that AI discoverability is emerging as a new performance channel alongside Google search, OTAs, and social platforms. * The launch reflects accelerating consumer adoption of AI trip planning, with Lodgify citing that 56 per cent of US travelers used AI to plan travel in the past year - more than double the previous year - pushing hospitality tech providers to adapt booking infrastructure for conversational commerce. * By integrating AI across pricing, booking discovery, messaging, and direct booking websites, Lodgify is positioning itself as an end-to-end AI operating layer for independent vacation rental hosts rather than just a PMS or website provider.

Hotel and B&B websites: driving direct bookings over OTA commissions. OTAs like Booking.com take 15-25% commission on every reservation. A direct-booking website puts that revenue back in your pocket while building guest relationships. Every booking that comes through an OTA like Booking.com, Expedia, or Airbnb costs you 15-25% in commission fees. On a $200/night room, that's $30-$50 per night going to a platform instead of your bottom line. For a 20-room property averaging 70% occupancy, the difference between OTA bookings and direct bookings can be $150,000-$300,000 per year in commission savings alone. Yet many independent hotels and B&Bs don't invest in their own booking-capable website because they assume they can't compete with OTA marketing budgets. The reality is different: you don't need to outspend OTAs. You need to capture the guests who already know your name - the ones who found you on an OTA, then Google your property to book direct. The direct booking opportunity. Studies from Phocuswright show that 52% of travelers who find a property on an OTA then visit the property's own website before booking. They're checking for better rates, looking at photos the OTA didn't show, and reading about the property in the owner's voice. If your website doesn't exist, isn't professional, or doesn't offer a booking engine - those guests go back to the OTA and you pay the commission on a guest who was ready to book direct. The strategy isn't to abandon OTAs - they provide valuable visibility and discovery. The strategy is to use OTAs for discovery and convert as many guests as possible to direct bookings through your own website. A "best rate guarantee" prominently displayed on your site, combined with small direct-booking perks (free breakfast, late checkout, room upgrade), gives guests a reason to book direct. Essential website features for hotels and B&Bs. Integrated booking engine. A booking engine is the cornerstone of a direct-booking strategy. Platforms like Cloudbeds, Little Hotelier, and Lodgify integrate with your website and channel manager simultaneously, keeping availability synchronized across all platforms. The booking experience should require three clicks or fewer from homepage to confirmed reservation. Every additional step in the booking process costs you conversions. Room and suite pages. Each room type needs its own dedicated page with professional photography (minimum 10 images), amenity lists, floor plans or virtual tours, and pricing. Guests booking directly want to know exactly what they're getting - more detail than any OTA listing provides. This is your competitive advantage: OTAs have standard templates, but your website can tell the unique story of each room. Gallery that captures the experience. Hospitality is an emotional purchase. Your gallery shouldn't just show rooms - it should show the experience: sunset views from the terrace, breakfast spread, the lobby lounge with a fireplace, the neighborhood and walkable attractions. Use both professional photos and curated guest photos (with permission) to create an authentic visual story. SEO for independent hotels and B&Bs. Hotel SEO targets both branded searches (your property name) and discovery searches ("boutique hotel downtown [city]," "B&B near [attraction]," "romantic getaway [region]"). For branded searches, your website should outrank OTA listings for your own name - this is achievable with proper technical SEO and a well-maintained Google Business Profile. For discovery searches, your blog becomes a powerful tool. Content about local attractions, events, restaurants, and seasonal activities draws travelers to your site during the planning phase: "Best time to visit [city]," "Things to do near [attraction] in 2026," "Where to eat in [neighborhood]." Each post that ranks brings a potential guest to your site, where they discover your property organically and can book without OTA intermediation. Structured data markup for hotels (LocalBusiness, Hotel, LodgingBusiness schema) enables rich results in Google Search, including star ratings, price ranges, and availability - the same kind of information-rich listings that OTAs use to attract clicks. Following a solid SEO strategy puts your direct-booking page right alongside OTA listings in search results. Mobile-First hospitality design. Travel booking is overwhelmingly mobile. Over 60% of hotel searches happen on smartphones, and that number is higher for last-minute bookings. Your booking engine must work flawlessly on mobile - date pickers that work with thumbs, room selection that doesn't require zooming, and a payment process that supports Apple Pay and Google Pay. A mobile-first approach to your hotel website isn't a luxury; it's a revenue requirement. Guest communication and experience. Your website extends the guest experience beyond the stay itself. Pre-arrival emails with local recommendations, a digital concierge page with restaurant reservations and activity booking, and post-stay follow-up requesting reviews and offering return-visit discounts all build the direct relationship that OTAs deliberately prevent. A loyalty or repeat-guest program, even simple (10% off your third stay), gives guests a reason to book direct every time. OTAs can't offer this - their loyalty is to the platform, not your property. Your website is the foundation of that direct relationship. The investment case. A professional hotel website with booking engine integration typically costs $3,000-$10,000 depending on the number of rooms, booking system complexity, and multilingual requirements. If that website shifts just 10% of your bookings from OTA to direct, a 20-room property saves $15,000-$30,000 per year in commissions - paying for the website investment within the first few months. Over five years, the commission savings alone can exceed $100,000, and that's the kind of clear-cut ROI that makes a professional website build one of the smartest investments a hospitality property can make - a project Studio Aurora approaches with both the design excellence and technical integration expertise it demands. Work with Studio Aurora Let's build something great together. Have a project in mind? Studio Aurora'd love to hear about it and explore how Studio Aurora can help bring your vision to life.