Gil Chan, CEO and FounderThis architectural difference is why CraftedStays stands as the best direct booking website builder. Behind this achievement is a team solving a problem that’s cost property managers millions: the inability to affordably create conversion-optimized direct booking sites without technical expertise or exorbitant agency fees.
The timing couldn’t be better. Direct bookings have surged from just 16.8 percent of total reservations in Q1 2022 to 34 percent by the end of 2024—second only to Airbnb’s 46 percent market share. The average direct booking generates $1,935 in value compared to just $906 for Airbnb bookings. Yet 57 percent of hosts still identify “driving direct bookings” as their top challenge—precisely the gap CraftedStays bridges.
“Property managers deserve the same world-class tools as enterprise hotel brands—without enterprise budgets or complexity. That’s why we built CraftedStays,” says Gil Chan, founder and CEO.
Hiring an agency can cost property managers exorbitantly and it takes a month or more to build a single website. The advantage of the CraftedStays model is that it operates on a subscription basis, rather than charging clients high initial fees. Property managers can begin receiving direct bookings without a significant investment. The model also enables the service to provide flexibility as their business expands.
CraftedStays’ subscription model starts at just $89.99/month for operators with 1-2 properties—a fraction of agency build costs—and scales efficiently for larger portfolios through its Enterprise tier. Property managers with 50+ properties benefit from volume discounts while receiving continuous platform improvements without additional fees. Unlike one-time agency builds that become outdated, CraftedStays customers benefit from weekly enhancements and new features at no extra cost.
Every website is professionally executed and optimized for conversions by applying the same fundamentals and industry-best practices offered by web agencies. Designed for visibility and performance, CraftedStays’s platform reduces clients’ reliance on website developers and OTAs, delivering an experience that builds trust and leads to repeat stays.
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Property managers deserve the same world-class tools as enterprise hotel brands—without enterprise budgets or complexity. That’s why we built CraftedStays.
This is achieved through CraftedStays’ primary focus on continuous iteration, which delivers ongoing value to clients. The team continually tests its platform to help users improve conversion. This includes updates to mobile optimization, SEO, website navigation and deeper integrations with supported property management systems (PMS).
Unlike competitors built on WordPress—which require individual updates, plugin management and site-by-site maintenance—CraftedStays operates as a true SaaS platform hosted on Google Cloud. Updates and performance optimizations deploy simultaneously across all customers, ensuring everyone benefits from continuous innovation without technical debt or security vulnerabilities.
Transformative Results Paving Shorter Path to Success
CraftedStays has propelled numerous clients toward success. When OC Adventure Stays switched from their PMS-provided website to CraftedStays, they saw a 75 percent increase in conversion rates within just six weeks. Other clients report gaining 40+ additional direct bookings within three months of launching their CraftedStays site. With a customer satisfaction score of 98 percent, CraftedStays has proven that operators don’t need to choose between quality and affordability.
“The platform pays for itself with less than one additional booking per month,” notes Chan, “But our customers typically see much more dramatic results.”
Property managers with portfolios exceeding 40 properties have successfully built and launched elegant, fully customized, multi-page websites in as little as five days. One client managing 90+ properties completed their white-glove implementation in under three weeks—a process that would have taken traditional agencies three to six months. The speed advantage stems from CraftedStays’ direct PMS integration: clients simply connect their PMS and all content—photos, descriptions, amenities, rates, and availability—syncs automatically.
CraftedStays integrates AI-driven features to create curated, personalized guest experiences and has filed patents for these innovations to ensure every guest receives a tailored stay. The platform includes several standardized website sections, designed to streamline the building process for operators.
Homepages typically include search functionality across the entire portfolio, featured properties, market-specific listings, galleries, reviews and key value propositions that highlight the specialty of each client. Guests can search by date, number of members and location with synchronized PMS data ensuring accurate rates and availability. Property pages showcase images, amenities, FAQs, local attractions and live quotes with seamless payment and checkout.
CraftedStays has websites for both desktop and mobile. It provides native navigation and a seamless user experience across devices, as 46 percent of traffic comes from mobile users.
Optimizing Every Step of the Guest Journey
CraftedStays puts clients first, always. Smaller property managers can simply sign up for the platform and connect their PMS. The platform supports PMSs including Guesty, Hostfully, Hospitable, Hostaway and OwnerRez. Integration is straightforward and seamless for managers handling portfolios of any size.
For larger property accounts, CraftedStays offers white-glove onboarding and provides hands-on assistance to build a custom website. They benefit from a modern, continuously evolving tech stack.
“I personally onboard every client, regardless of portfolio size,” says Chan. “Whether they have one property or a hundred, I want to understand their specific needs and challenges. Every conversation informs our product roadmap.”
This founder-led approach ensures CraftedStays remains laser-focused on actual operator needs rather than theoretical feature requests.
After creating an initial design, the team continually works with clients to help them grow their websites by adding and expanding their portfolios.
The team collaborates with larger property managers to identify ways to improve overall conversion, experimenting with different navigations and booking flows. Small-scale tests are run and if a change has a positive impact on conversion, it is then implemented across the template or its entire platform.
Users can choose from a large variety of templates designed to fit different brands. The platform allows full customization, including editing taglines, swapping images, adding or removing sections, creating new pages and starting a blog. The team also collaborates with clients and creates a custom template within four to six weeks. Once completed, clients can leverage the platform to manage new properties, add pages and scale effortlessly and without requiring external assistance.
Product quality and customer centricity are deeply entrenched in CraftedStays’ DNA. With CraftedStays, property managers experience a transformative partnership that combines accessibility, scalability and extensive expertise, redefining success in the STR industry.
Blending Technology and Hospitality to Boost Conversions
Chan’s vision stems from a unique intersection of expertise: over a decade leading product teams at six startups, including Shippo, where he built API integrations for Shopify, Wix and Squarespace. When he became a STR host himself, the contrast was stark.
“I had just spent years making it effortless for small businesses to launch high-converting e-commerce sites,” Chan explains. “But in the STR world, your only options were clunky PMS templates that didn’t convert and expensive agencies.”
Frustrated by the gap, Chan coded the first version of CraftedStays himself. After sharing it with his mastermind group of fellow operators, their enthusiasm convinced him to build it into a full platform. Today, as a bootstrap founder, Chan personally onboards every client.
As the STR industry continues its shift toward direct bookings— which now represent 34 percent of all reservations and are growing rapidly—CraftedStays is positioning itself as the infrastructure layer that empowers independent operators to compete with OTA giants and major hotel brands alike.
CraftedStays’ recognition as Short Term Rental Direct Booking Website Builder of the Year 2025 reflects its success in democratizing enterprise-grade website technology for independent operators—a gap the industry has struggled to fill until now.
“We’re not just building websites,” Chan concludes. “We’re building the tools that give independent property managers the same capabilities as Marriott or Hilton. The future of hospitality belongs to operators who own their guest relationships and their brands. We’re here to make that future accessible to everyone.”
