Someone is comparing three small hotels on a phone. They want the room, the dates, the price range, and a way to finish the booking. If that last step is “email us” or a PDF from 2019, they go back to the listing that already has a calendar.
A hotel website is not a gallery. It is the desk when the desk is closed.
The first screen has a job:
- What kind of house this is, in one sentence. Not “a unique experience”.
- Rooms you can actually book — types, not a mood board.
- Dates, or a clear path to a calendar that works on a phone.
- Where you are, and how long the walk to the water or the station really is.
- What is included, and what is not. Breakfast. Parking. A quiet hour.
Photos matter. They have to be this house, this season, this bathroom. Stock interiors sell a hotel that does not exist.
You can keep Booking.com. Many houses should. The site still has to do the same job, or the guest never has a reason to come to you first.
If your current page is a brochure with a “contact” button, write and say what a guest must be able to do before they leave.