Shows guests how much they save by booking direct on your site instead of through Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, or Expedia. For operators who want to make the case for direct booking right on the property page.
What it does #
Rate Comparison places a small badge near your booking widget that compares your direct rate against what the same stay would cost on the big online travel agencies (OTAs). Because those platforms add service fees and host markups on top of the nightly rate, the direct price on your own site is almost always lower. The badge makes that difference visible at the exact moment a guest is deciding where to book.
- Compares your direct price against Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and Expedia
- Shows the estimated savings from booking direct
- Appears on property pages and on the checkout page
- Works on both desktop and mobile, sitting just above the sticky booking bar on phones
The comparison is built to keep working even when live OTA rates are not available. It falls back to configurable percentage markups (multipliers) so the badge always shows a sensible savings figure rather than disappearing.
How to turn it on #
1. Open the settings #
Go to HomeRunner Conversion Kit in your WordPress admin and click the Rate Comparison tab.
2. Choose your platforms #
Pick which OTAs to compare against. By default all four (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia) are enabled. Turn off any platform you do not list on.
3. Save #
Once enabled, the badge appears automatically near your booking widget. No page editing required.
Settings #
- Enabled platforms – which OTAs appear in the comparison (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia).
- Multipliers – the percentage markup assumed for each platform when live rates are not available. These are the safety net that keeps the badge accurate when an OTA price cannot be pulled in real time.
Placing the badge manually #
The badge appears automatically, but you can also drop it exactly where you want with a shortcode:
[hrck_rate_comparison]– shows on all screen sizes[hrck_rate_comparison context="mobile"]– mobile only (narrow screens)[hrck_rate_comparison context="desktop"]– desktop only (wider screens)
Tips #
- Keep the badge close to your booking widget so the savings message lands while the guest is choosing how to book.
- If you do not actually list on a given OTA, turn it off so the comparison stays honest.
- Pair this with Review Insights so guests see both “book direct and save” and “guests loved this place” right next to the booking decision.