The verdict in three sentences
A group of three boutique hotels in Miami that sells most room nights through Booking.com or Expedia pays 15 to 20% commission on every stay, and that is the cost line the website must attack. With a group site and a direct booking engine, a realistic goal is to raise the direct share to 20 to 30% of bookings within 12 to 18 months. As a 2026 market estimate, the site costs 25,000 to 70,000 USD, plus a booking engine at 500 to 2,500 USD a month, for 8 to 12 weeks of work.
What a hotel group website costs in Miami
A group site is not the sum of three sites. It presents a shared brand, one page per property (rooms, restaurant, meeting spaces), a single availability search and cross-offers, for example a Brickell business stay extended by a weekend in South Beach.
| Item | Scope | Indicative budget | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group website | Brand, 3 properties, EN/ES, animations, advanced SEO | 25,000 to 70,000 USD | agency, one-off |
| Booking engine | Calendar, rates, payment, channel manager | 500 to 2,500 USD per month | third-party vendor |
| Professional photo and video | Rooms, pool, venues, drone | 8,000 to 25,000 USD | provider |
| Maintenance retainer | Updates, backups, support | 500 to 2,000 USD per month | agency, monthly |
| Online payment fees | Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay | 2.5 to 3.5% per transaction | processors |
| Google Hotel Ads setup | Initial configuration | 1,500 to 4,000 USD | agency, one-off |
The booking engine is vendor software, billed by subscription or commission (often 1 to 3% of the booked amount). The website integrates with it: you keep the choice of vendor and ownership of guest data.
OTA commission versus direct booking
The calculation that convinces a general manager is simple: every room night moved from an OTA to the website earns the difference between the OTA commission and the cost of a direct sale.
| Channel | Cost per booking (2026 estimate) | Guest data captured | Retention possible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking.com | 15 to 18% of the stay | partial | limited |
| Expedia | 18 to 20% of the stay | partial | limited |
| Traditional travel agents | 10 to 15% | no | no |
| Website + booking engine | 3 to 6% (engine + payment) | full | yes: email, SMS, offers |
| Phone or WhatsApp booking | front desk time | full | yes |
| Corporate and event accounts | negotiated discount 5 to 10% | full | strong |
In Miami, corporate travellers, cruise passengers and event groups (Art Basel, boat show, conferences) account for a large share of midweek nights. A « corporate rates » area with an access code is often the fastest lever to grow the direct share, even before advertising.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Daniel, managing director of a group of 3 boutique hotels in Miami (Brickell, South Beach and Coral Gables), generates 18,000,000 USD of room revenue a year. The direct share is 10%, OTAs account for 65%, with an average commission of 18%.
Goal: raise the direct share to 25%, moving 15 points from OTAs: 2,700,000 USD of stays. Commission avoided: 18% of 2,700,000, or 486,000 USD a year. Annual cost of direct sales: engine at 1,500 USD a month (18,000 USD), payment fees of 3% (81,000 USD) and a maintenance retainer at 1,500 USD a month (18,000 USD). Net gain: 369,000 USD a year, for a website of about 60,000 USD, paid back in roughly 2 months.
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FAQ
How much does a hotel group website cost in Miami in 2026?
As a market estimate, 25,000 to 70,000 USD depending on the number of properties and languages. The third-party booking engine adds 500 to 2,500 USD a month.
Should the site be bilingual?
In Miami, an English and Spanish site is strongly recommended: Latin American guests represent a large share of leisure demand, and translation adds roughly 3,000 to 8,000 USD.
Should we leave Booking.com?
No. OTAs remain useful for international discovery. The goal is to bring 20 to 30% of bookings direct, especially repeat guests and corporate accounts.
How long does it take to launch?
Count 8 to 12 weeks, including 1 to 2 weeks for the photo shoot and rate setup in the booking engine.
How do we avoid showing a higher price than the OTAs?
The channel manager syncs rates and availability. Add a direct-booking perk (breakfast, late checkout) that costs little, often under 5% of the stay.
Let's scope your project. Tell us the number of properties, your current channels and your timeline, and we will scope the website, the booking engine integration and the delivery schedule through a free quote. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
