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Guide · UK hosts

Hospitable tutorial: how to set it up for a UK holiday let

New to Hospitable? Set it up in this order and your calendars won’t double-book on day one. We run three lodges in and around the Lake District on Hospitable, across Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and our own website. Every step below is from our own account or Hospitable’s own help centre, checked on 17 October 2026.

By the PeakRate team. We're UK holiday-let hosts. Facts checked on ; sources are listed at the end.

Prefer to watch? Hospitable Tutorial (2026): How to Set It Up for UK Holiday Lets on our YouTube channel.

The seven steps

  1. Connect your channels: Airbnb first, then Booking.com and Vrbo.
  2. Merge each lodge’s listings into one property, straight away.
  3. Prices: base and weekend rate, then a markup for each channel.
  4. Messages: switch on the rules you want, and add your check-in instructions.
  5. Direct bookings: bank account, then a site or widget, then your policies.
  6. Cleaning: add your cleaner, a task rule, and a way to tell them.
  7. Check the calendar for every property.

Step 1: connect your channels

Hospitable gives you a “Set up and grow” checklist, but the first job is in Settings → Channel connections.

Airbnb first. Hospitable’s help centre says your Airbnb profile needs a verified email address, a profile photo and a phone number. If another tool is already connected to your Airbnb account, disconnect it on Airbnb first (Profile → Account → Privacy & sharing → Services). If you don’t, you get a limited connection, which Hospitable says doesn’t control your Airbnb calendar or pricing. Then click Connect with Airbnb, allow it on Airbnb, and choose which listings to import. You can mute any you don’t want Hospitable to manage. Listings can take up to 5 minutes to appear.

Booking.com. Start in Hospitable, not in Booking.com: Hospitable says starting on Booking.com makes the connection fail. Before you begin, each listing must be Open/Bookable, have at least one rate plan, and have “Rooms to sell” set to 1. Hospitable’s Relay browser extension then does the Booking.com side for you, and you choose Import or Ignore for each listing.

Vrbo connects through Hospitable’s Vrbo partner connection (Channel connections → Connect Vrbo). For properties outside the US, Hospitable says Vrbo may ask for a VAT number or other tax details, and you can’t finish without them, so have yours ready. If the connection stalls, Hospitable says not to delete the pending connection; contact their support instead.

Step 2: merge listings into one property

Hospitable calls your lodge a property and each channel’s copy of it a listing. A property is “the grouping of one or more booking platform listings for the same physical property”.

This is the step that prevents double bookings. Until you merge them, Hospitable says the two listings’ calendars are not synced, so a booking on Airbnb won’t block the same nights on Booking.com. Merge straight after connecting.

On Properties, tick the listings for the same place and press Merge. Our lodge The Sahara is three listings (Airbnb, Booking.com and direct) with one calendar. Merged listings also count as one property on your Hospitable bill.

Step 3: prices and channel markups

Open a property, then Pricing. Set a base nightly rate and, if you like, a weekend rate for Friday and Saturday nights. Ours are £250 and £280. Hospitable’s own note on that page: updating the nightly rate will overwrite the price on Airbnb and stop pulling prices from Airbnb, so set it carefully.

Then listing markups: a percentage Hospitable adds for each channel, to cover that channel’s fees. It goes on the nightly rate only, not your cleaning fee. Ours are Airbnb +5%, Booking.com +20% and direct −2%. So a £250 night goes to Booking.com at £300 (our maths: £250 × 1.20), before Booking.com’s own fees or any Genius or mobile discount.

One UK detail. Hospitable’s help centre says that as of 17 September 2026 it no longer raises your Airbnb markup automatically for hosts outside the European Economic Area. The UK is outside the EEA, so your Airbnb markup is yours to check against Airbnb’s current fee.

Two related changes have their own guides: Vrbo’s fee changes on 29 October 2026 (how much to raise your Vrbo prices), and Hospitable’s dynamic pricing also lives on the Pricing page (how to set up Hospitable’s dynamic pricing, and switch it off).

Step 4: messages

Every platform’s guest messages arrive in one Hospitable inbox. Under Guest experience → Messaging → Rules, rules send messages for you, each with its own switch. On our account two are on: new request to book, and new reservation.

Add a Before check-in rule with your arrival instructions. If a guest books after the message was due, Hospitable sends it 30 minutes after they book, unless you switch on Exclude last-minute bookings.

Step 5: direct bookings

Hospitable puts UK properties on its Direct Premium plan automatically. Its checklist, in order:

  1. Add and verify your bank account (Direct Premium).
  2. Choose a booking site hosted by Hospitable, or a widget on your own website. Ours is on our own site.
  3. Set your booking policies (cancellation, payment schedule, fees) before you publish: Hospitable says they can’t be changed after a reservation is created.
  4. Review your messaging rules, then publish.

Step 6: cleaning

  1. Operations → Teammates → + Add new: add your cleaner with the Cleaning role and their preferred properties. They only appear in the assignment list for those properties.
  2. Operations → Task rules → + Add new: choose After checkout, set Assignment to Auto, and pick your cleaner.
  3. The catch: Hospitable says task rules create tasks but don’t notify cleaners. Add a notification rule, an iCal feed, or give them the teammate portal.

Step 7: check

Open the calendar and go through every property for the next few months. Every channel’s bookings should be there, on the right lodge. If a booking sits on a row of its own, that listing probably isn’t merged yet (step 2).

Once it’s set up

PeakRate works with Hospitable. You choose your competitors, see their prices night by night, and get a suggested price for every night with the reason. When you approve, PeakRate sends those prices through Hospitable to the channels you’ve connected. Connecting PeakRate needs a paid Hospitable plan, because Hospitable’s API isn’t available on its free Essentials plan.

Still choosing a system? Our honest Hospitable review covers what it costs in the UK and who it suits, and Hospitable vs PriceLabs compares the pricing side.

Questions hosts ask

How do I set up Hospitable?

In this order: connect your channels (Settings → Channel connections), merge each lodge’s listings into one property, set your base rate and channel markups, switch on your messaging rules, set up direct bookings if you want them, add your cleaner and a task rule, then check every property’s calendar.

Why is Hospitable showing a limited connection to Airbnb?

Hospitable’s help centre says you get a limited connection when another tool is still connected to your Airbnb account, and a limited connection doesn’t control your Airbnb calendar or pricing. Disconnect the other tool on Airbnb (Profile → Account → Privacy & sharing → Services), then connect again.

How do I stop double bookings in Hospitable?

Merge each lodge’s listings into one property as soon as you connect a new channel. Until they’re merged, Hospitable says the listings’ calendars aren’t synced, so a booking on one channel won’t block the other.

What markup should I set for Booking.com in Hospitable?

Hospitable’s Pricing page says markups are there so you earn the same amount across channels after platform fees. Ours is +20% for Booking.com, +5% for Airbnb and −2% for direct, but your Booking.com commission depends on your agreement. The markup applies to the nightly rate only, not the cleaning fee.

Does Hospitable still adjust my Airbnb markup automatically in the UK?

No. Hospitable says that from 17 September 2026 it no longer raises the Airbnb markup automatically for hosts outside the European Economic Area, which includes the UK. Check yours against Airbnb’s current fee.

Can I take direct bookings with Hospitable in the UK?

Yes. Hospitable puts UK properties on its Direct Premium plan automatically. Add and verify a bank account, choose a hosted site or a widget for your own website, set your booking policies, then publish.

Check it against your real competitors

Once Hospitable is running, the next question is whether your nightly rate is right against the places guests compare you with. On Airbnb, the free audit checks your listing against similar ones nearby.

Audit your Airbnb listing free Or start your free 30-day trial →

Sources

  1. Our own Hospitable account (three lodges, Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and direct), screens captured 17 October 2026 with guest details blurred: Set up and grow, Inbox, Calendar, Properties, Property overview, Pricing, Messaging rules, Channel connections, Direct bookings, Task management
  2. Hospitable help centre, “How to connect an Airbnb account” (article 17279491, read 17 October 2026)
  3. Hospitable help centre, “Connect a Booking.com account” (article 8889964, read 17 October 2026)
  4. Hospitable help centre, “Vrbo Partner Connection: connect a Vrbo account” (article 13714810, 2 September 2026, read 17 October 2026)
  5. Hospitable help centre, “Merging properties” (article 4616889, 14 September 2026, read 17 October 2026)
  6. Hospitable help centre, “Properties vs listings” (article 9171622, 11 August 2026, read 17 October 2026)
  7. Hospitable help centre, “Markup rates set by booking platform” (article 4618815, read 17 October 2026): nightly rate only; the 17 September 2026 change for hosts outside the EEA
  8. Hospitable help centre, “Adjust your Vrbo pricing for the new 12% host commission” (article 17334502, read 17 October 2026): from 29 October 2026
  9. Hospitable help centre, “Before check-in messaging rule” (article 9707921, 3 September 2026) and “Messaging rule settings and options” (article 9652943, 18 May 2026), read 17 October 2026
  10. Hospitable help centre, “Direct setup checklist” (article 14511043, 26 August 2026, read 17 October 2026)
  11. Hospitable help centre, “Setting up a cleaning team” (article 6101063, 26 August 2026, read 17 October 2026)
  12. Hospitable help centre, “Accessing the Public API with a personal access token” (article 8609392, 7 September 2026, read 17 October 2026): the API needs a paid plan
  13. Our maths: £250 × 1.20 = £300

PeakRate makes pricing and competitor-benchmarking software for hosts. Where this guide mentions it, we say so; everything else is sourced above.