South Africa
Websites for South African hotels and lodges
Stryx Collective designs and builds websites for South African hotels, lodges, guest houses and villas, from Salt Rock, Ballito. Hospitality is its first focus industry. Sites are built to win direct bookings and are connected to the property or booking system, so that enquiries can be tracked where the system allows it.
Direct bookings versus platform commission
Most properties take a share of their bookings through booking platforms, and pay commission on each one. A booking made on the property's own website carries no platform commission.
The platforms are not going away, and for most properties they stay part of the mix. The website's job is to make booking direct the easy choice for a guest who has already found the property.
Connecting the site to the booking system
Many hotel and lodge websites hand the guest over to a separate booking engine. Two problems can follow.
The first is tracking. Whether tracking survives the handover depends on the engine and what it allows. Sometimes it is lost, and the property sees a booking but cannot tell which page, search or advert produced it.
The second is design. Booking engines limit design choices, so the booking step often looks and works worse than the well-designed website that led to it.
A website can be connected to almost any system, provided the system offers an API or another established way to connect. Where the engine allows it, Stryx connects the website to the property or booking system so that tracking is kept. That is what makes it possible to judge the website on enquiries and bookings.
Stryx has connected websites to property management systems such as Guesty and Hostaway.
Clients
Stryx works with The Bliss Collection, a luxury villa rental business in Cape Town, Karoo One, a hotel and farm stay in De Doorns, and Thanda Manzi, a country hotel in the Hennops River Valley, Gauteng.
Lodges, guest houses and villas
The same approach applies to a lodge, a guest house or a villa business. WordPress is the usual platform, because these sites need bookings, reservations and forms. Guests often search on phones using mobile data, so pages need to load quickly.
When an existing site is replaced, the old URLs are redirected, so the search visibility built up over the years is not thrown away. Stryx has moved sites from Elementor to Bricks.
Working together
Stryx is based in Salt Rock, Ballito, in KwaZulu-Natal, and has been trading since 2019. Properties elsewhere in South Africa are served remotely, in the same time zone, and deal directly with Ryan Cumming, who has been building websites for 10 years.
Related pages
How it works
How a website project runs
Ryan Cumming runs the first call, plans the site and builds it.
You can follow the project in a client portal. When a stage needs your input, a task is assigned to you there.
The process can change to suit the project. Where it does, the changes are set out in your proposal.
- 01
Discovery
Business goals, target audience, keyword research, competitor and market research, content gaps, user experience and technical requirements.
- 02
Site architecture
A visual sitemap of every page and how the pages connect.
- 03
UX design
Wireframes that set the layout and flow of each page before any visual design.
- 04
Outlining and copywriting
Each page is outlined and its copy written.
- 05
UI design
The visual design, and a design system so the site stays consistent as it grows.
- 06
Development
A responsive build on a staging server, with performance, integrations and SEO best practice built in.
- 07
Launch
Browser and screen testing, image optimisation and technical SEO checks, then the site goes live on your domain.
What you get
Everything that's included
- Market, keyword and competitor research
- An opportunity report
- A visual sitemap
- UX wireframes
- UI design and a design system
- The built website, tested on staging
- Analytics and conversion tracking set up
- Redirects from old URLs, where the site replaces an existing one
- A handover document: where everything lives, how it is built and who has access
- Launch and post-launch support
Some of the 80+ businesses we work with
Questions
Questions about Websites for South African hotels and lodges
Can't see yours? Ask Ryan directly and you'll get a straight answer, usually the same day.
Ask on WhatsAppCan a hotel website reduce the commission paid to booking platforms?
A booking made on the property's own website carries no platform commission, so every guest who books direct helps. Booking platforms usually stay part of the mix.
Will the website work with my booking or property management system?
A website can be connected to almost any system, provided the system offers an API or another established way to connect. Whether tracking survives the handover to a separate booking engine depends on the engine and what it allows. Stryx has connected websites to property management systems such as Guesty and Hostaway.
Does Stryx build websites for lodges and guest houses as well as hotels?
Yes. Hospitality is Stryx's first focus industry, and that covers hotels, lodges, guest houses and villas.
Does Stryx work with properties outside KwaZulu-Natal?
Yes. Stryx is based in Salt Rock, Ballito, and works remotely with properties across South Africa, in the same time zone.
How long does a website take to build?
A typical website project takes about 6 to 8 weeks. Complexity, and how quickly content and feedback come back, can make it shorter or longer.
Do you only build in WordPress?
No. WordPress is the usual recommendation for sites that need custom functionality such as bookings, reservations or forms. Where another platform fits better, such as Shopify for e-commerce, Stryx recommends that.
Who owns the website when it is finished?
You do. Once the project is paid in full, the website and the visual elements created for you are yours.
How does payment work?
50% is paid up front and secures your place in the work queue. The remaining 50% is paid before launch.
Will my site rank on Google?
Every site Stryx builds can be indexed by search engines at launch. Rankings depend on many factors and no one can honestly guarantee them. Ongoing SEO is a separate service.
Will I lose my Google rankings if I rebuild my site?
Old URLs are mapped to the new structure and redirected at launch, which keeps the search visibility the old site had earned.
How do I keep track of the project?
You get a login to a client portal where you can see the stage the project is at and any tasks waiting on you.
What happens after launch?
Bugs that existed before launch are fixed at no extra charge. Hosting, backups, updates and content changes are covered by a website care plan.
Start a project
Be the business they find first
Tell Ryan what you sell and who buys it. You'll get a straight answer on what's holding your website back and what to fix first. There's no obligation to go ahead.
More enquiries you can trace. You'll see which search, page or ad brought in each call, booking and form.
Higher in search results. On Google, in the map results and in AI answers, for the searches your customers make.
One person to talk to. Ryan answers on WhatsApp and sends a plain-language report on results every month.
