How to accept direct bookings on your IONOS vacation rental website
An IONOS Website Builder site can take real booking requests without a PMS or a separate form builder. The recommended setup pastes the RentalBeam booking widget script into an HTML Module with Privacy Consent set to No consent required, so every guest sees the form and it grows as they fill it in. IONOS says the HTML Module is not in every plan. You decide whether guests submit an inquiry, get billed after you approve by bank transfer, cash, or a secure card payment link, or pay inline with Stripe Connect, all with no commission and no RentalBeam booking fee on your direct bookings.
Why add a direct-booking form to your IONOS site?
Guests who reach your own website are your highest-intent traffic. Letting them request or book a stay without leaving the page, and without paying an OTA service fee, is the most underused conversion lever in vacation rentals. A direct-booking form on IONOS turns the page from a brochure into a booking surface.
- Take booking requests directly from your own website
- Keep Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com synced so the form never sells double-booked dates
- Offer coupon codes, seasonal pricing, custom fields, and booking rules
- Choose between inquiry-only, bill later by bank transfer, cash, or a card link, or inline Stripe Connect card payment
- Zero RentalBeam commission on direct bookings: hosts keep 100% of their booking revenue
What you need
- An IONOS Website Builder site whose plan includes the HTML Module
- A RentalBeam Pro plan with a booking-ready calendar
- At least one connected OTA or iCal availability source
Pro plan required
The booking widget is part of RentalBeam Pro. We never take a cut of what you charge. When a guest pays by card, only the standard Stripe card-processing fee applies, paid to Stripe rather than RentalBeam.Setup steps
- 1
Create a booking-ready RentalBeam calendar
- Open your RentalBeam dashboard and add or open a rental.
- Connect at least one iCal source (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Google Calendar) so the booking widget never offers double-booked dates.
- Set your nightly pricing, optional seasonal rules, minimum stay, advance notice, and prep time.
- Decide whether bookings should be inquiry-only, host-reviewed and billed later by bank transfer, cash, or a card link, or paid inline with Stripe Connect.
Choose payment flow at any time
You can start with inquiry-only or pay-later requests today and switch to inline card payments later without rebuilding the page. The widget URL stays the same. - 2
Copy the right booking widget embed for IONOS
RentalBeam recommends the script embed for IONOS. Use the matching code format below as your reference.
html<script src="https://cdn.rentalbeam.com/v1/embed.js" async></script> <div class="rentalbeam-booking-form" data-rental-id="your-calendar-id"></div>The HTML Module runs the booking form script, so the form can grow as guests fill it in, once Privacy Consent lets it load for everyone.
IONOS publishing reminders
- Set Privacy Consent to No consent required, or guests who skip the cookie prompt never see the form.
- IONOS says the HTML Module is not in every plan.
- Send one real test inquiry from the published page to confirm the email reaches you.
- 3
Paste the booking widget into IONOS
Builder-specific install steps
Use these steps to place the RentalBeam booking widget exactly where guests are ready to book.
Recommended: ScriptIONOS
Add an HTML Module, paste the script snippet, and set Privacy Consent to No consent required. Not every IONOS plan includes it.
The HTML Module runs the booking form script, so the form can grow as guests fill it in, once Privacy Consent lets it load for everyone.
Use the Script tab for this builder.
- Open the page where guests should send booking requests in the Website Editor
- Hover over the section, click Elements, click a plus sign, and choose HTML Module
- Click the placeholder, choose Code, paste the RentalBeam booking widget script snippet, and set Privacy Consent to No consent required
- Click Done, publish, and send a test inquiry from the live page on a computer and a phone
Before you publish
- Set Privacy Consent to No consent required, or guests who skip the cookie prompt never see the form.
- IONOS says the HTML Module is not in every plan.
- Send one real test inquiry from the published page to confirm the email reaches you.
- 4
Publish and submit one live test inquiry
Where to place the booking widget on the page
- Set Privacy Consent to No consent required, so guests who skip the cookie prompt still see the form.
- Put the form right below your calendar so guests can check dates and book in one place.
- Send your test inquiry from the published page, on a computer and on a phone.
Treat the booking form as the page's primary CTA
High-converting direct-booking pages put the booking form directly next to or under the availability calendar so guests can check dates and request a stay in a single visual area.No commission on your direct bookings
RentalBeam Pro never takes a cut of what you charge: your booking revenue is 100% yours. When a guest pays by card through RentalBeam, the only deduction is the standard Stripe card-processing fee, which is paid to Stripe, not RentalBeam.
- No commission: RentalBeam never takes a cut of your booking revenue.
- No RentalBeam booking or application fee on guest card payments.
- Card payments carry only the standard Stripe card-processing fee; inquiry-only and pay-later bookings have no per-transaction cost.
