Vacation Rental Websites Could Be a Bigger Opportunity Than You Think

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately looking for markets where web designers may be overlooking good work, and vacation rentals caught my attention.

Not because every vacation rental website is some huge project. A lot of them aren’t. But there’s a big difference between somebody renting out one property on Airbnb and an operator managing ten, twenty, or fifty properties.

The further you move toward the second one, the more important the website becomes to the business.

If you’re a Squarespace designer looking for better projects, I wouldn’t just ask, “Who needs a website?” I’d ask, “Who already has a real business, but their website hasn’t caught up yet?”

Vacation rentals are full of businesses like that.

I’d look for evidence that there’s already some momentum: multiple properties, strong reviews, professional photography, a recognizable presence in a particular market.

Then I’d go look at the website.

If the properties look great but the site feels like an afterthought, there’s probably something there.

Because now you’re not trying to convince somebody that they need a website. You’re looking at a business that already has demand and asking whether the website is helping them make the most of it.

For a vacation rental operator, that can mean more than just looking professional.

A strong website gives them a place to present the properties properly, tell a better story, build trust, capture demand, and potentially get more guests booking through a channel they control instead of relying entirely on third-party platforms.

That changes the role of the site.

Somebody looking at a vacation rental wants to know a lot before they book. They want to understand the property, see the rooms, know what’s nearby, figure out who it’s good for, and get a feel for the experience before they spend the money.

Then they need to be able to actually book.

That creates a lot more room for good design work. You’re not just building Home, About, Services, Contact. You may be building individual property pages, destination pages, local guides, seasonal landing pages, group-stay pages, direct-booking pages, email capture, and content around things to do in the area.

Now the website is doing more of the selling.

The practical question is how much of that a Squarespace designer can actually take on without becoming a booking-platform developer.

That’s where Lodgify is useful.

You can build the customer-facing experience in Squarespace and use Lodgify for the booking side, including reservations and availability, instead of trying to custom-build the operational layer yourself.

Check out Lodgify: https://sqspthemes.com/lodgify

This article is sponsored by Lodgify and contains affiliate links.

That lets you stay focused on the part you already know how to do: the design, the structure, the content, the photography, the positioning, and the overall experience.

I’d also be pretty specific about who I’d target.

I probably would not start with somebody renting out one condo.

I’d look for a small property-management company, a cabin brand, a group of beach houses, a boutique operator, or a company managing multiple homes in one destination.

Someone who has clearly invested in the business but whose website still feels behind the rest of it.

That’s usually the easiest gap to spot.

The business has grown. The properties have improved. The guest experience has improved. But the website is still representing an earlier version of the company.

There’s also a better chance of ongoing work.

Properties get added. Old properties get renovated. New markets get added. Photos change. Seasonal offers change. New pages get built.

The business keeps moving, which means the website has a reason to keep moving with it.

And that gets to the bigger point.

When designers say they want better projects, the instinct is usually to ask how to charge more for the same kind of work.

Sometimes the better move is to look for a different kind of client.

Not necessarily a different platform. A different business.

Look for companies where there is already demand, where money is already moving, and where the website can support something that is already working.

Vacation rentals are one example of that.

So if you’ve been trying to find a better market for your skills, I’d put established vacation-rental operators on the list.

Not because every one of them has a giant website budget, but because some of them already have a real business, real demand, and a website that hasn’t caught up yet.

That’s usually where the opportunity is.

See how Lodgify works: https://sqspthemes.com/lodgify