Vacation Rental Guides
Tips and guides for hosts
Sync calendars, show live availability, add direct bookings, and grow website revenue without OTA commissions. Guides written for vacation rental hosts.
Featured articles
Calendly alternative for rentals: when you need day-based bookings, not time slots
Calendly books time-slot appointments; stays and day-based rentals need check-in and checkout date ranges, per-day pricing, and iCal-synced availability. When each tool fits - and how to use both without overlap.
How to add an availability calendar to your Weebly vacation rental website
Weebly-specific setup guide for embedding a live RentalBeam availability calendar with the Embed Code element and the recommended script workflow.
Let guests pick their unit by date: a multi-unit booking widget that shows what is free
For hosts with several rooms, cabins, boats, or vehicles: guests pick dates against the whole fleet, then choose from the units free for those dates - each shown with its photo. One form, one booking per unit, no commission.
How to take boat, trailer, and car rental bookings on your own website
A practical setup for day-based rental businesses: live availability per unit, one multi-unit widget, and a booking form with license fields and photo ID uploads - no commission, no separate form builder.
What makes the best-looking availability calendar widget?
The six design criteria that decide whether a calendar or booking widget blends into your website - color control, themes, branding removal, responsiveness, and languages - and how to match each one to your site.
RentalBeam vs Lodgify, OwnerRez, and Smoobu: a lighter alternative
How RentalBeam compares to Lodgify, OwnerRez, and Smoobu - the free-to-start availability calendar and direct booking widget for independent hosts who do not need a full PMS.
Inquiry only vs request now vs pay in widget: which booking flow fits your property?
Compare the three direct booking flows RentalBeam supports so you can start with the right level of guest commitment and move toward online payment when ready.
Why most vacation rental hosts do not need an expensive PMS
A practical look at when a full PMS makes sense, when it is overkill, and why many hosts are better served by synced availability plus direct booking requests.
PMS vs availability widget - what independent hosts actually need
Compare a full PMS with a lighter website-availability setup so hosts can choose the right stack for their current stage, budget, and booking workflow.
How to accept card payments from your vacation rental website
A practical host guide for turning on guest card payments with synced availability, payout setup, calendar assignment, and a real end-to-end test before you go live.
How RentalBeam guest payments work with Stripe Connect
Understand how RentalBeam keeps the host workflow in one place, where Stripe Connect fits underneath it, why verification matters, and how payouts and refunds fit together.
Should you pay a monthly fee or a transaction fee for direct bookings?
A host-friendly strategy guide for comparing lower fixed cost plus transaction fees versus a higher subscription that keeps more of each paid booking.
How to accept direct bookings on your WordPress vacation rental website
WordPress-specific guide for embedding the RentalBeam direct booking widget with synced availability, coupon codes, seasonal pricing, and zero RentalBeam commission on direct bookings.
How to add an availability calendar to your Squarespace vacation rental website
Squarespace-specific setup guide for embedding a live RentalBeam availability calendar with a simple Code Block flow.
How to accept direct bookings from your vacation rental website
Step-by-step guide to launch a direct booking engine with synced availability, optional pricing, seasonal rules, and commission-free booking requests.
How to show your Airbnb calendar on your website
Connect your Airbnb iCal feed to your website and show real-time availability automatically. Works with VRBO, Booking.com, and any iCal-compatible platform, with an upgrade path to combined export URLs.
All Articles
Calendly alternative for rentals: when you need day-based bookings, not time slots
Calendly books time-slot appointments; stays and day-based rentals need check-in and checkout date ranges, per-day pricing, and iCal-synced availability. When each tool fits - and how to use both without overlap.
How to add an availability calendar to your Weebly vacation rental website
Weebly-specific setup guide for embedding a live RentalBeam availability calendar with the Embed Code element and the recommended script workflow.
How to accept direct bookings on your Weebly vacation rental website
Weebly-specific guide for embedding the RentalBeam booking widget with the Embed Code element and zero RentalBeam commission on direct bookings.
Let guests pick their unit by date: a multi-unit booking widget that shows what is free
For hosts with several rooms, cabins, boats, or vehicles: guests pick dates against the whole fleet, then choose from the units free for those dates - each shown with its photo. One form, one booking per unit, no commission.
How to take boat, trailer, and car rental bookings on your own website
A practical setup for day-based rental businesses: live availability per unit, one multi-unit widget, and a booking form with license fields and photo ID uploads - no commission, no separate form builder.
What makes the best-looking availability calendar widget?
The six design criteria that decide whether a calendar or booking widget blends into your website - color control, themes, branding removal, responsiveness, and languages - and how to match each one to your site.
RentalBeam vs Lodgify, OwnerRez, and Smoobu: a lighter alternative
How RentalBeam compares to Lodgify, OwnerRez, and Smoobu - the free-to-start availability calendar and direct booking widget for independent hosts who do not need a full PMS.
RentalBeam vs Lodgify: a lighter Lodgify alternative
A free-to-start Lodgify alternative that embeds on your existing website with no per-property pricing. The full RentalBeam vs Lodgify comparison.
RentalBeam vs OwnerRez: a simpler OwnerRez alternative
A simpler, free-to-start OwnerRez alternative with no per-property pricing and a two-minute setup. The full RentalBeam vs OwnerRez comparison.
RentalBeam vs Smoobu: a focused Smoobu alternative
A focused, free-to-start Smoobu alternative that embeds on your existing website with no per-property pricing. The full RentalBeam vs Smoobu comparison.
Inquiry only vs request now vs pay in widget: which booking flow fits your property?
Compare the three direct booking flows RentalBeam supports so you can start with the right level of guest commitment and move toward online payment when ready.
Why most vacation rental hosts do not need an expensive PMS
A practical look at when a full PMS makes sense, when it is overkill, and why many hosts are better served by synced availability plus direct booking requests.
PMS vs availability widget - what independent hosts actually need
Compare a full PMS with a lighter website-availability setup so hosts can choose the right stack for their current stage, budget, and booking workflow.
How to accept card payments from your vacation rental website
A practical host guide for turning on guest card payments with synced availability, payout setup, calendar assignment, and a real end-to-end test before you go live.
How RentalBeam guest payments work with Stripe Connect
Understand how RentalBeam keeps the host workflow in one place, where Stripe Connect fits underneath it, why verification matters, and how payouts and refunds fit together.
Should you pay a monthly fee or a transaction fee for direct bookings?
A host-friendly strategy guide for comparing lower fixed cost plus transaction fees versus a higher subscription that keeps more of each paid booking.
How to remove platform fees from your direct-booking checkout
Learn how RentalBeam keeps your direct-booking checkout free of platform commissions and booking fees, and what standard card-processing costs remain when guests pay by card.
How to add a website availability calendar without a PMS
Show live availability on your own website using iCal feeds from Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com without paying for a full property management stack.
How to set advance notice for your vacation rental calendar
Prevent last-minute bookings by configuring a minimum booking lead time and syncing it to Airbnb, VRBO, and Google Calendar via iCal export.
How to set prep time between vacation rental bookings
Add a turnover buffer between every booking for cleaning and restocking, and automatically push those blocked days to all connected platforms.
How to add an availability calendar to your WordPress vacation rental website
WordPress-specific setup guide for embedding a live RentalBeam availability calendar with iCal sync and a Custom HTML block.
How to accept direct bookings on your WordPress vacation rental website
WordPress-specific guide for embedding the RentalBeam direct booking widget with synced availability, coupon codes, seasonal pricing, and zero RentalBeam commission on direct bookings.
How to accept direct bookings on your Wix vacation rental website
Wix-specific guide for embedding the RentalBeam direct booking widget using the Embed Code element with synced availability and zero RentalBeam commission on direct bookings.
How to accept direct bookings on your Squarespace vacation rental website
Squarespace-specific guide for embedding the RentalBeam direct booking widget inside a Code Block with synced availability and zero RentalBeam commission on direct bookings.
How to accept direct bookings on your Webflow vacation rental website
Webflow-specific guide for embedding the RentalBeam direct booking widget using an Embed component with synced availability and zero RentalBeam commission on direct bookings.
How to add an availability calendar to your Wix vacation rental website
Wix-specific setup guide for embedding a live RentalBeam availability calendar with the recommended iframe workflow.
How to add an availability calendar to your Squarespace vacation rental website
Squarespace-specific setup guide for embedding a live RentalBeam availability calendar with a simple Code Block flow.
How to add an availability calendar to your Webflow vacation rental website
Webflow-specific setup guide for embedding a live RentalBeam availability calendar with an Embed component and script-first workflow.
How to accept direct bookings from your vacation rental website
Step-by-step guide to launch a direct booking engine with synced availability, optional pricing, seasonal rules, and commission-free booking requests.
How to show availability on your vacation rental website
Learn how to embed a live availability calendar on your website so guests instantly see open dates, then scale to combined exports and easier sync management.
What is iCal and how does it work for vacation rentals?
Simple host-friendly explanation of iCal feeds, combined exports, and how they keep website availability synced across channels.
How to show your Airbnb calendar on your website
Connect your Airbnb iCal feed to your website and show real-time availability automatically. Works with VRBO, Booking.com, and any iCal-compatible platform, with an upgrade path to combined export URLs.
Ready to Show Your Availability?
Create your free vacation rental calendar widget in 2 minutes.
Create free widget