Hotel Website Redesign: What Should Actually Change (and What Shouldn’t)

Hotel and villa websites usually get redesigned for one of three reasons: the property was renovated, it changed hands, or it is moving to a different kind of guest. All three are good reasons. But a redesign that only changes how the site looks can easily make things worse, by losing the search traffic and bookings the old site was quietly bringing in.

The aim of a redesign is not a new look. It is more direct bookings.

Refresh or redesign?

Not every tired website needs replacing. A refresh keeps the structure and updates the photographs, the copy and some of the design. A redesign rebuilds the site.

A refresh is usually enough when the site is reasonably fast, works on a phone, has a booking path that works, and mainly looks dated or shows rooms that have since changed.

A redesign is worth it when the site is slow or broken on phones, the booking path loses guests, the platform is impossible to update, or the business has changed so much that the old structure no longer fits: new rooms, a restaurant, a different kind of guest.

Start with evidence, not taste

Before deciding what to change, find out what the current site is doing. Most of the answers are already available.

• Google Analytics shows which pages guests visit, where they leave, and how many reach the booking step.
• Google Search Console shows which searches bring people to the site and which pages rank. These pages are worth protecting.
• Your front desk and WhatsApp know which questions guests ask again and again. Each one is something the website failed to answer.
• Booking it yourself on a phone shows you the friction faster than any report.

What should change

Photographs, after a renovation. Nothing makes a renovated place look older than photographs of how it used to be. Reshoot first, then design around the new images.

The booking path, if guests drop off on the way. This is usually where the most bookings are won back. See what a boutique hotel website actually needs.

Speed and the phone experience. Old sites are often slow and awkward on phones, which is where most guests are.

Room and rate content. New rooms, new prices, new inclusions, new policies.

The brand, if the business is repositioned. If you are moving upmarket or towards a different guest, the site should look and sound like the place you are becoming, not the place you were.

What should not change without a reason

Page addresses. If your rooms page has been at the same address for five years, other websites link to it and Google ranks it. Change the address without a redirect and that value is lost overnight.

Pages that rank. If a page brings in search traffic, keep its topic, keep most of its content and keep a similar title, even if the design changes completely.

A booking engine that works. Switching booking systems at the same time as the website doubles the risk. If the engine is fine, keep it and change one thing at a time.

Contact details. Your name, address and phone number should stay consistent with your Google Business Profile and booking platform listings.

The old site may look tired, but Google has spent years learning to trust it.

Protect your search traffic

The most expensive redesign mistake is invisible on launch day. The new site looks better, but a few weeks later the enquiries slow down, because pages that used to rank have disappeared. The fix is a redirect map, done before launch.

Redirect checklist

• List every page on the old site, including old blog posts and room pages
• Note which ones bring in search traffic, from Search Console
• Map each old address to the closest new page
• Set permanent (301) redirects for every one of them
• Keep titles and descriptions of ranking pages close to the originals
• Submit the new sitemap in Search Console on launch day
• Update the website link on your Google Business Profile and listings
• Check Search Console for missing pages every week for the first two months

When the business itself has changed

After a renovation: reshoot, then refresh or redesign around the new photographs. The structure may be fine as it is.

After an acquisition: new owners often want a new site immediately. Look at what the old one brings in first. If the name is changing too, plan the redirects and the name change together, and tell Google through the Business Profile.

After repositioning: the brand, the photography and the copy probably all need to change, and the structure may too. This is a full redesign, and it is the case where starting on the brand early matters most.

Do it in phases

A redesign does not have to happen all at once. A sensible order is:

1. Fix the booking path and the phone experience
2. Reshoot and replace the photographs
3. Rebuild the pages, with redirects in place
4. Refine the brand and the details

Each step brings in bookings on its own, and each one teaches you something before you spend on the next.

If you are planning a redesign and want to know what your current site is worth keeping, write to us. Our Screen work covers website design, development and booking flows.