Free holiday let booking software — direct bookings, changeovers & damage deposits
Take direct bookings for your cottages, lodges and self-catering units at 1% instead of OTA commission. iCal keeps Airbnb and Booking.com in step. Changeovers, damage deposits and arrival instructions all handled. Free to start, live in minutes.
No credit card required · 1% per booking · No monthly fee
Everything a UK holiday let needs — built in
Built around the week a self-catering owner actually has: a changeover on Friday, a channel calendar to keep straight, and a deposit to release.
Direct booking page per property
Every unit gets a bookable page you can link from your own website, your social profiles and your email signature. A direct booking costs 1% instead of the double-digit commission an OTA charges for the same guest.
iCal sync with Airbnb, Booking.com & Vrbo
Two-way iCal per unit. Dates booked on a channel block here and direct bookings block there, so you can move to direct bookings gradually rather than in one nerve-racking weekend.
Damage deposits held and released
Hold a deposit against the card at booking and release it automatically a set number of days after departure, or deduct part of it and have the guest emailed an explanation. No cash, no cheques, no awkward conversations.
Changeover days & minimum stays
Minimum stay per unit and per season, arrival restricted to your changeover days, and gap rules so you are not left with an unlettable single night between two bookings.
Self check-in & arrival instructions
Directions, parking, door code and Wi-Fi password sent automatically the morning of arrival, with a QR link to the same details on the guest's phone. Late arrivals stop being phone calls.
Housekeeping & changeover list
A daily list of which units are leaving, arriving, or staying over, with linen counts and any guest notes. Cleaners get their own login that shows the schedule and nothing else.
Stripe payments — direct to you
Deposit and balance scheduled automatically, all paid into your own Stripe account. Visa, Mastercard and Amex accepted, with refunds processed to your cancellation policy.
Mobile-first booking flow
Most self-catering searches happen on a phone in the evening. Dates, photos, house rules, payment and confirmation are all built mobile-first, with nothing to download.
Occupancy & revenue reports
Occupancy, average nightly rate and revenue per unit for any date range, split by direct and channel bookings so you can see the commission you are no longer paying. Export to CSV for your accounts.
How HolidayPitches works for a holiday let
From adding a unit to releasing the damage deposit — designed for owners and small letting agencies.
- 1
Add each unit with its own rules and rates
Create a unit per cottage, lodge, apartment or shepherd's hut — sleeps, bedrooms, pets, minimum stay, changeover day, and a rate per season. Upload photos and the description once and they feed the booking page, the directory listing and the confirmation emails.
- 2
Connect your existing channels by iCal
Paste the iCal export from Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo and take the HolidayPitches feed back the other way. Dates booked anywhere block everywhere, so you can start taking direct bookings without pulling your listings down first.
- 3
Guests book direct and pay by card
Deposit now and balance before arrival, or the whole amount up front — your choice per unit. A damage deposit can be held against the card. Payment goes straight to your Stripe account and the guest gets an instant confirmation.
- 4
Changeover, arrival and review run themselves
Housekeeping sees the changeover list for the day. The guest gets directions, door code and arrival instructions the morning they travel, a welcome message on the day, and a review request after they leave. The damage deposit releases on schedule.
Every kind of self-catering unit
One property or thirty, all on the same calendar. Each unit keeps its own rates, minimum stay, changeover day and house rules.
Free to set up — 1% per booking, no monthly fee
No setup fee, no monthly subscription, no long-term contract. HolidayPitches takes 1% on every booking — online bookings collected via Stripe automatically, phone and repeat bookings tracked in the system and invoiced to you monthly. Run holiday lets alongside a campsite or glamping site and each business type adds 1%, capped at 4%.
No costs to register; no monthly subscription; no minimum term
Collected automatically via Stripe at the time of booking
1% per business type you run, never more than 4% in total
Questions from holiday let owners
Do I have to leave Airbnb and Booking.com to use this?
No, and most owners should not do it in one go. Each unit has a two-way iCal feed, so dates booked on a channel block in HolidayPitches and direct bookings block on the channel. You build up direct bookings at 1% while the channels keep filling the gaps, and you decide later whether the listings still earn their commission.
How does the damage deposit work?
A deposit is held against the guest's card at booking rather than taken as cash. It releases automatically a set number of days after departure, or you record a deduction and only that part is charged, with the guest emailed an explanation. The hold and the release both appear on their statement.
Can I set Friday-only changeovers and a minimum stay?
Yes — minimum stay per unit and per season, arrival days restricted to your changeover days, and gap rules that stop a single unlettable night being left between two bookings. The booking engine simply will not offer a stay that breaks your rules.
What happens on the day a guest arrives?
Directions, parking, door code and Wi-Fi details are emailed the morning they travel, with a QR link to the same information on their phone. Housekeeping sees the changeover list for the day. After departure the guest is sent a review request and the deposit releases on schedule.
I have one cottage, not a park. Is this still for me?
Yes. A single unit is set up the same way as thirty, there is no monthly fee to justify, and the cost is 1% of what you actually take. If you later add a second property, a glamping pod or a few touring pitches, they go on the same calendar rather than into a second system.
Ready to take bookings direct?
Direct bookings at 1%, channel calendars in step, deposits and changeovers handled — free to start for UK holiday lets, cottages and lodges.