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Ayla logo

Building direct booking infrastructure to bypass marketplace fees

Holiday Homes · Website

Premium stay discovery and direct booking for holiday homes in Abu Dhabi.

+43%Direct bookings
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Discipline
Holiday Homes
Platform
Website
Live
aylahh.ae

01 — Problem

Ayla was paying 15–30% commission on every booking to OTA platforms they didn't control. Guests who wanted to return couldn't find them directly. The entire business depended on platforms that raised fees, changed algorithms, and owned the customer relationship.

02 — Strategy

We built a brand-owned booking infrastructure: a direct-booking platform with rich photography, real-time availability, and a trust-first experience that gives guests the confidence to book without the OTA safety net — while staying fully listed. Properties sync to Airbnb, Booking.com, Wego and more through Hostfully and Guesty, so growing direct never costs marketplace presence.

03 — What we built

We built premium stay discovery with rich photography, transparent availability and a direct-booking flow designed to earn trust at the moment of decision.

(✦) — Key Metrics

+43%
Direct bookings
−28%
OTA dependency
2.4×
Repeat guest rate

Estimated impact, measured ~90 days post-launch.

Tech Stack →

Next.js 14TypeScriptTailwind CSSBooking EngineStripeChannel SyncVercel

(✦) — Channel sync

One calendar. Every marketplace.

Direct booking doesn't mean going dark on the marketplaces. Ayla's properties publish to Airbnb, Booking.com, Wego and more through PMS integrations like Hostfully and Guesty — rates and availability stay in sync everywhere, while the brand's own site converts the guests worth keeping.

Distribution channels

  • Airbnb logoAirbnb
  • Booking.com logoBooking.com
  • Wego logoWego
  • + more
    • Vrbo logoVrbo
    • Expedia logoExpedia
    • Agoda logoAgoda
    • Tripadvisor logoTripadvisor
    • Trip.com logoTrip.com
    • Google Vacation Rentals logoGoogle Vacation Rentals

Synced through

  • Hostfully logoHostfully
  • Guesty logoGuesty
  • + more
    • Lodgify logoLodgify
    • Smoobu logoSmoobu
    • Uplisting logoUplisting
    • OwnerRez logoOwnerRez
aylahh.ae
Ayla website preview

04 — Outcome

Guests now book directly with confidence, lifting direct bookings and keeping more revenue with the brand.

They genuinely understood how our guests browse. Direct bookings come straight through the site now, and I spend far less time going back and forth on WhatsApp.
Jawad Abu Issa · Owner, Ayla Holiday Homes

(✦) — Ready to start?

Let's build your next digital product in UAE.

Website, e-commerce platform, or mobile app — custom-built, conversion-focused, and delivered on time.

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