Platform integrations
Every channel manager we build against, and what each one will actually allow.
Twenty platforms, three tiers of coverage. The tier tells you how much we have written about each, not how well we build for it — it is driven by where the search demand actually is.
How to read this
The platform decides what is possible. The website decides what happens.
Every one of these platforms can take a commission-free direct booking. What separates them is how much of the journey they will let you own — whether the booking engine can be restyled or only recoloured, whether there is an API worth building against, and whether the guest ever leaves your domain.
We find that out in the audit, before anything is scoped. If your platform has a hard ceiling, you will hear about it in week one rather than week nine.
Tier one — deepest coverage
The six platforms we have written about most, chosen on proven search demand and integration depth. Each has a full page plus supporting guides.
Enterprise-grade PMS with a proper Booking Engine API. Headless builds welcome.
Open API and a reservation widget your guests will actually finish.
Strong across the UK, Germany and the Alps. Clean widget integration.
The UK self-catering standard. 25+ channels including Sykes, Hoseasons and Premier Cottages.
You have outgrown the template. Keep the engine, replace the shopfront.
Brilliant automation. A website that finally matches it.
Tier two — full integration, shorter guides
Platforms we build against regularly. Fewer supporting pages, identical build quality.
API-first and endlessly configurable. Perfect for a bespoke front end.
Widgets, APIs and hosted checkout — with none of the design constraints.
UK-built, direct-booking-first, technically excellent.
B&Bs, guest houses and small hotels across the UK and Ireland.
European letting agencies running 50 to 500 units.
Built for UK and European holiday rentals. Agency-friendly, API-ready.
Also supported
iGMS, Tokeet, Anytime Booking, Bookalet, Freetobook, Zeevou, elina, Rentals United. We have built against or assessed each of these. There is no dedicated page yet, because we would rather write one when we have something specific to say — but the integration conversation is the same. Tell us which you run and we will give you a straight answer.
Not sure yet
Three questions that decide the integration route.
How many properties?
Below about five, a well-designed page around the platform’s own booking engine performs perfectly well and costs a fraction as much. Above twenty, the site is a search product and needs an API.
How much of the checkout must be yours?
Some platforms keep the guest on your domain throughout. Some redirect at the payment step. If that redirect is unacceptable to you, it narrows the field immediately.
What does your rate logic actually do?
Fixed changeover days, seasonal minimums, party-size pricing and short-break rules all have to survive the journey to the website. Some engines express them well. Some do not.
