Agriturismo website in Sicily: direct bookings

In September the agriturismo empties out and it's time to add up the season. It's the right moment to see how much went to the booking portals and to get the website ready before spring. A farm stay website has more to do than a B&B website: it has to show rooms, food and activities, and sometimes the farm's own products. In this article we look at what it needs, with two sites we built in Sicily, in Regalbuto and in the Nebrodi mountains.

A website for accommodation with direct booking starts at €599. To find out what yours would cost, message us on WhatsApp at +39 389 591 6034 with the number of rooms and the services you offer.

How much you leave to the portals in one season

Booking.com's average commission is around 15%. In Italy it reaches 18% in the most sought-after areas. On €10,000 of bookings in a year that is €1,500 to €1,800.

Booking and Airbnb are worth keeping. They bring guests who don't know you, especially from abroad. The website is for the others: guests coming back a second time, people who saw you on the portal and then search your name on Google, people who come through word of mouth. On these guests the commission can be avoided.

A useful sum to do now: open the portal statements and add up the commissions from May to September. That's the figure a direct channel can partly win back.

What a farm stay website needs to show

People booking an agriturismo want to understand the place before they arrive. The information that makes them decide is almost always this:

• the rooms one by one, with photos, beds, square metres and price by season;
• where you are, with distances in minutes from the village, the sea or the motorway exit, and the road to take if it's a country lane;
• the food: menu, opening hours and whether the restaurant is open to people who aren't staying;
• the activities, each with what you do, who it's for, how long it lasts and how to book;
• the farm's products, if you sell them, with a way to order.

Photos should be taken in the right light and show the spaces as they are. A guest who arrives and finds what they saw leaves a better review.

La Dolce Vita: rooms, pool and restaurant on one website

La Dolce Vita is in Regalbuto, 200 metres from Lake Pozzillo, and has been welcoming guests since 2002. It has a Sicilian restaurant, a pizzeria with a wood-fired oven, a B&B and a pool with a park. Bookings used to go through the phone and the portal listings.

We built a bilingual website, in Italian and English, with a single booking system for three services. Rooms have check-in and check-out, the pool has day passes, the restaurant has tables. Each service follows its own rules and is booked from the same site, with real availability. Contact details are asked for only at the end of the booking. The restaurant and pizzeria menus can be browsed online.

Aiala Nebrodi Farm: activities explained before the visit

Aiala Nebrodi Farm is in the Nebrodi mountains and works with horses: equine therapy, educational activities, days out in the countryside. The information existed, but it was scattered between word of mouth and phone calls. A family or an organisation thinking of bringing young people had to call to find out what happens there.

The website explains each activity clearly, to families and to professionals, and keeps the contact details in view for arranging a visit. The same rule works for any farm stay with activities: one page per activity, with the answers to the questions people ask you on the phone today.

Direct booking and payment

Direct booking works if it is as easy as on the portal. It needs four things:

• a calendar with real availability, synced with Booking and Airbnb through iCal, so when a booking comes in on one side the dates close on the other;
• prices by season and minimum stays, set by you;
• online payment of the deposit or the full amount through Stripe or PayPal, with the money going to your account;
• a reason to book direct, such as a lower rate, breakfast included or late check-out.

Languages, Google and the CIN code

English is almost always needed. For other languages, look at the data you already have: in the Booking extranet you can see which countries your guests come from. If one nationality weighs a lot, a version of the site in that language is worth it.

The site should be linked to your Google Business profile, the one shown on Maps to people looking for farm stays in your area. Photos, opening hours and the website link need to be up to date.

Since 2025 every accommodation in Italy has to show its CIN, the national identification code, in its listings. It's sensible to show it on the website too, in the footer.

What it costs and what makes the price go up

Our website for accommodation starts at €599, paid once. It covers a property with a few rooms and content that is ready: design, bookings, payments, portal sync, technical SEO and the Google Business link. The price goes up if there are many units, if you want the restaurant or the pool in the same system, if you need a full channel manager or if the photos have to be taken. Details are on the website for B&Bs and holiday accommodation page.

Our office is in Nicosia, in the province of Enna. If your property is in Sicily we can meet in person.

Frequently asked questions

Should I take my agriturismo off Booking and Airbnb?

No. The portals get you found by people who don't know you. The website saves you the commission on people who already know you. With synced calendars they work together without double bookings.

Can guests book the restaurant and the activities too?

Yes. It can be a simple request form or a system with places and time slots, as for La Dolce Vita. It depends on how many services you have and how many bookings you get.

When should I start the website for next season?

In autumn or winter. That way the site is live before guests start searching for spring and summer, and you have time to test it calmly.

Get the website ready for next season

Send us the name of the property, how many rooms you have and which services you offer besides the stay. Message us on WhatsApp at +39 389 591 6034 or use the contact form. We reply within one working day and, after a call, you get a fixed quote in writing.