Short answer: There are three main ways to use Hostaway with a WordPress website: embed Hostaway’s booking engine widgets, use a WordPress plugin that connects to the Hostaway API, or build a custom integration on the API. Widgets are the quickest. API-based builds are best for SEO, because each listing becomes a real, indexable page on your own domain.

Hostaway has its own booking website builder, and it has improved a lot. But many property managers still want their own WordPress site: a distinct brand, more content, or a site they already own and rank with. The good news is that Hostaway works well with WordPress. The choice is about how deeply you connect it.

Option 1: Hostaway booking engine widgets

Hostaway provides widgets and embeds for its booking engine, such as a search bar and booking components you can place on your pages.

  • Good for: smaller portfolios, or adding booking to an existing site quickly.
  • Trade-off: the listing content inside a widget isn’t part of your page’s HTML, so you still need to write property pages in WordPress for them to rank.

Option 2: A WordPress plugin connected to the Hostaway API

Several WordPress plugins connect to Hostaway’s API and display listings, calendars and booking forms on your site. Some are made by third-party developers rather than Hostaway, so check who maintains the plugin, how recently it was updated and whether it renders listing content as HTML on your pages or loads it in the browser.

  • Good for: mid-sized portfolios that want listings to update automatically.
  • Trade-off: you depend on the plugin’s layout options and update schedule.

Option 3: A custom build on the Hostaway API

With the API, your WordPress site can pull listings, photos, amenities, rates and availability, and render them as proper pages with your own design and structure.

  • Good for: larger portfolios and anyone serious about ranking.
  • Why it’s strongest for SEO: every property has its own URL, title, headings and schema on your domain, and updates in Hostaway flow through automatically.
  • Trade-off: more setup and testing, so a higher build cost.

How to choose

Your situation Best fit
1 to 5 properties, want to launch fast Widgets plus hand-written property pages
5 to 30 properties, listings change often API plugin or light custom build
30+ properties, several destinations Custom API build with area and collection pages

SEO checklist for a Hostaway website

  • Check what Google sees. Use URL Inspection in Google Search Console on a property page and look at the rendered HTML. If the description and amenities aren’t there, Google isn’t reading them.
  • Write your own descriptions. Copying your Airbnb text creates duplicate content. Rewrite each property with the facts stated plainly.
  • Keep search and checkout URLs out of the index. Filtered search pages can create thousands of thin URLs.
  • Add VacationRental schema with location, capacity and amenities that match the page.
  • Link properties to area pages and area pages back to properties.
  • One site only. If you move off a Hostaway-built site, redirect its URLs to the new pages.

Common mistakes

  • Launching with widgets only and no written page content, then wondering why nothing ranks.
  • Leaving the old booking site live alongside the new one.
  • Loading heavy booking scripts on every page instead of only where they’re needed.

See how I approach custom Hostaway websites, or compare the options for other PMS platforms.