What does a banquet or hotel website actually need to do?
A venue website has one job: turn a search or an Instagram click into a WhatsApp enquiry or a paid advance. Everything else is decoration.
For a banquet hall, that means photos of each hall with capacity (seated and floating), a clear list of what is included, a date checker, and a button that opens WhatsApp with the date already filled in. For a small hotel, it means room types, rates, photos, a policy page and a booking form.
Most owners in Gurugram currently take bookings in three ways: phone calls, listings on aggregator sites, and OTAs (online travel agencies such as Booking.com or MakeMyTrip). The website sits beside these. It does not need to replace them on day one.
Why bother with a direct booking site when OTAs already send guests?
Because OTAs take a cut of every booking. One industry guide puts average OTA commission at 15% to 30%+, depending on the platform, and notes it varies by market and property type. Your own contracts may differ, so check your rate sheet.
Here is a worked example. The numbers are hypothetical.
For example, a 15-room hotel in Gurugram earns ₹6,000 a night per room and sells 40 room-nights a month through an OTA. That is ₹2,40,000 of bookings. At 15% commission you pay ₹36,000 a month. At 25% you pay ₹60,000. Over a year that is ₹4.3 lakh to ₹7.2 lakh.
If a direct booking site moves even a quarter of those nights to guests who book with you, you keep 25% of that commission. The site pays for itself in months, not years. The result depends on whether guests find your site, which is why the next section matters.
How do guests find a direct booking site?
A website that nobody visits earns nothing. Three things bring guests in:
• Google Business Profile. Your Maps listing should show the website link, correct photos and the same phone number as the site. For venue searches, this is where most NCR enquiries start.
• Local search pages. A page titled for "banquet hall in Sector 29 Gurugram" or "hotel near Cyber Hub" matches what people type. Ureka's website development company in Gurugram page shows how we build local pages.
• Your own guests. A repeat guest or a wedding family that already has your WhatsApp number. Put the booking link in your replies.
Do not expect the website to beat OTAs for first-time visitors in a month. Treat it as the place where repeat guests, referrals and Google Maps visitors land.
What features are worth paying for?
Start small. Add features when you can see enquiries coming in.
Worth it from day one
• Mobile-first pages (most visitors arrive from a phone)
• WhatsApp enquiry button with the venue name and date pre-filled
• A date availability view you control from a simple admin panel
• Clear photos, capacity, per-plate or per-night rates
• Google Map, address and a click-to-call button
Worth adding once enquiries flow
• Advance payment by UPI or card (we use Razorpay-style gateways; the gateway charges its own fee)
• Automatic WhatsApp confirmation and reminders. See our WhatsApp solutions
• GST invoice generation
• Package builder for weddings (decor, catering, rooms)
Usually not worth it yet
• A guest mobile app (a good mobile website does the job for most venues)
• Loyalty points or coupons
• AI chat on the website
What does this look like in practice?
For example, an owner of a wedding banquet in Gurugram takes 90% of enquiries by phone, and half of them ask "is 14 December free?" Staff answer from a paper diary.
A simple web app fixes this. The owner blocks booked dates in an admin panel. The website shows a calendar with booked dates greyed out. A visitor picks a date, sees the hall options and taps "Check on WhatsApp", and a message arrives with the date and hall already typed. Staff answer from the same calendar, so double bookings stop.
That is a build in the ₹9,999 starting tier, not a ₹10 lakh platform. If the owner later wants advance payment and automatic confirmations, those get added as the next piece of work.
How Ureka does it
Ureka Technologies is a New Delhi software company. For a venue site we start with a 20-minute call, send a fixed written quote within 24 hours, and ship a working build about every two weeks. The price changes only if the scope changes. You own the code, domain, hosting and database from day one, and you speak to the developer on WhatsApp, with replies within a few hours. We have delivered 45+ projects for 25+ clients, including booking and operations software
When this is not for you
If you have one small hall and all bookings come from walk-ins and phone calls, a Google Business Profile with good photos and a WhatsApp Business catalogue costs nothing and may be enough for now. Spend on a website when you are turning away enquiries you cannot answer fast enough, or when OTA commission is a real line in your accounts.
FAQ
How much does a hotel website cost in Gurugram?
An enquiry website starts at ₹4,999. A web app with a booking calendar starts at ₹9,999 for the basic version. A full platform with live availability, UPI advance payment and invoices typically costs ₹2-15 lakh. Ureka quotes a fixed price in writing after a short call.
Can a banquet hall website take advance payment through UPI?
Yes. A payment gateway such as Razorpay can collect UPI and card payments and send the confirmation to the guest's WhatsApp. The gateway charges its own fee per transaction, and you should read their current rate card before you decide.
Will a direct booking website reduce my OTA commission?
It can, if guests find and use it. OTA commissions are commonly 15% to 30%+, so every booking that moves to your own site keeps that share. Expect repeat guests and referrals to move first, not first-time visitors.
How long does it take to build a booking website?
An enquiry website can go live in a couple of weeks. A booking platform is built in stages with a working version about every two weeks, so you can test the calendar before payments are added. Exact timing depends on scope and is stated in the written quote.
Do I own the website and the domain?
Yes. With Ureka, the code, domain, hosting and database are in your name from day one. If you ever change developers, you take everything with you.