If you’re a hotel owner looking to create a website, Wix Hotels is a simple and effective solution. While Wix Hotel offers a free plan, upgrading to a Business Premium Plan unlocks advanced features like online payments and seasonal pricing. 

But Wix isn’t the only platform available for building hotel websites. Let’s explore Wix Hotels and other popular CMS platforms that might suit your needs.

What is Wix?

Wix is a popular website builder designed for users without coding experience. It offers drag-and-drop functionality and various templates to help businesses build professional websites. Whether you’re running a hotel, restaurant, or store, Wix provides easy tools to create and manage your website.

What is Wix Hotels?

Wix Hotels is a dedicated app that integrates seamlessly into any Wix website, offering hotel owners the ability to manage reservations, display room availability, and showcase amenities. It’s designed to help small to medium-sized hotels, B&Bs, and vacation rentals handle bookings directly through their website.

How to create and set up Wix Hotels website?

Step 1: Add Wix Hotels to Your Website

• Start by logging into your Wix account and opening the Wix Editor.
• Navigate to the App Market and search for “Wix Hotels.”
• Click Add to Site to install the app.

Step 2: Customise Your Hotel Page

• After adding Wix Hotels, you can customise your hotel page.
• Add room types, descriptions, and high-quality images to showcase what your hotel offers.
• Set up room rates and indicate availability for each type of room.
• Make sure to include other relevant details like amenities, services, and policies to give your guests all the necessary information.

Step 3: Set Up Reservation Features

• Enable the booking functionality so that guests can make reservations directly on your website.
• Configure pricing options, including seasonal rates, extra charges, and any discounts or packages you may want to offer.
• Manage room availability and set up blackout dates if necessary.

Step 4: Upgrade for Additional Features

• While the free version of Wix Hotels offers basic features, you’ll need to upgrade to a Business Premium Plan to unlock advanced options.
• Premium features include accepting secure online payments, removing Wix branding, and accessing advanced pricing tools such as seasonal rates.
• The upgrade also includes access to the Wix Hotels Channel Manager, allowing you to manage bookings across multiple platforms like Booking.com and Airbnb.

Step 5: Connect Payments

• Once you’ve upgraded, set up payment methods to accept online bookings. Ensure your payment gateways are secure and support multiple payment options for ease of use.

Step 6: Publish and Go Live

• After customising your hotel page and setting up your payment options, it’s time to publish your site.
• Once live, guests can book rooms, and you can manage reservations directly from your Wix Hotels dashboard.

Step 7: Manage Bookings and Monitor Your Website

• After your site is live, use the Wix Hotels dashboard to track and manage bookings, availability, and guest details.
• You can also monitor your website’s performance and make adjustments as necessary to improve guest experience and increase bookings.

For detailed instructions, visit the Wix Support Page.

Sounds easy to build you hotel’s website, right?

With its drag-and-drop interface, a variety of templates, and built-in features like a booking engine, even someone without coding experience can create a professional-looking site. You can add images, set room prices, and manage bookings with just a few clicks. On the surface, it looks like everything you need is right there at your fingertips.

But here’s where things start to get more complex.

For instance, when you want to customize your website beyond what the templates offer, you’ll need to work with custom CSS and HTML. Adding simple things like personalized fonts, styling the booking form to match your brand, or even adjusting the layout to fit mobile screens perfectly can become a time-consuming challenge. A single line of code could throw your entire design off, and suddenly you’re spending hours fixing layout issues instead of focusing on running your hotel.

Then there’s the matter of integrating third-party services. Sure, Wix Hotels offers an internal booking engine, but if you want to connect it to external platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, or Expedia, you’ll need more advanced tools. The built-in Channel Manager helps, but syncing availability across multiple platforms can still result in overbookings, pricing inconsistencies, and issues with rate parity. Add seasonal pricing, promotions, or exclusive offers into the mix, and managing your inventory becomes a juggling act.

And don’t forget about website performance. As your site grows, optimizing for speed and user experience becomes crucial. Large image files from high-resolution room photos could slow down your website, making it frustrating for potential guests to browse. A slow website could lead to lost bookings, but solving this issue requires more than just a quick fix—it demands performance optimization and ongoing maintenance.

Tracking your website’s performance adds another layer of complexity. Sure, Wix offers basic analytics, but truly understanding where your bookings come from, what marketing strategies are working, and how visitors interact with your site requires the integration of Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or other tracking tools. Setting up these systems requires knowledge of tags, events, and conversion tracking—not to mention interpreting the data to make informed business decisions.

And let’s talk about SEO. Getting your website to rank on search engines is no small task. From optimizing images and adding alt tags to configuring meta descriptions and schema markup, every detail matters. Without proper optimization, your website risks being buried on the second or third page of Google search results, which, in the hospitality industry, can be the difference between a fully booked calendar and empty rooms.

As you can see, while Wix makes the initial process seem simple, the reality is that creating and managing a truly successful hotel website is a multifaceted task. From coding and integrations to SEO and performance optimization, there are numerous hidden challenges that require professional expertise.

That’s where we – Heads on Pillows come in! Our web design services are here to ensure that your hotel website not only looks stunning but also functions flawlessly, driving bookings and elevating your brand above the competition.

Other CMS Platforms to Build Your Hotel Website

While Wix is a great option for beginners, there are several other content management systems (CMS) that offer more flexibility and features for creating a hotel website. Here are some popular alternatives:

1. WordPress (with Hotel Plugins)

WordPress is one of the most widely used CMS platforms and offers a range of hotel-specific themes and plugins, like MotoPress or WP Hotel Booking. These plugins allow you to manage reservations, create custom booking forms, and handle payments. WordPress is highly customizable, making it a great choice if you want more control over the design and functionality of your site.

2. Squarespace

Squarespace is known for its visually stunning templates and ease of use. It’s a great choice for boutique hotels or bed-and-breakfasts looking to create a sleek, professional online presence. Squarespace also offers basic booking management through integrations with third-party services like Acuity Scheduling or Tock for restaurant reservations.

3. Shopify

Shopify is traditionally known for e-commerce, but with apps and customizations, it can also be adapted for hotel websites. With the help of third-party plugins like BookThatApp or Bookly, you can manage room bookings, guest payments, and availability calendars.

4. Weebly

Weebly, like Wix, offers an easy drag-and-drop interface to build hotel websites. It provides basic booking and reservation management features, making it ideal for small hotels or vacation rentals. Weebly also integrates with third-party tools for handling payments and managing reservations.

Conclusion

Wix Hotels provides an accessible and easy way to create a professional hotel website. With a free version available and options to upgrade for more advanced tools, Wix makes it easy for any hotel owner to manage bookings, payments, and guest interactions. However, if you’re looking for more flexibility or specific features, other CMS platforms like WordPress, Squarespace, Shopify, or Weebly can offer additional customization options. Each platform has its strengths, so choose the one that fits your hotel’s specific needs and goals.