Direct Booking Website for a Riad: Features, Cost and CMI Payment
Live availability, deposits, CMI card payment, MAD and EUR pricing: what a Moroccan riad’s direct booking site must do, and what it costs.
A direct booking website for a riad must show live availability, quote in MAD and EUR, take a deposit or full payment by card through CMI, and send an automatic confirmation. In 2026 that costs from about 12,000 MAD for a booking flow with a deposit, and 25,000 MAD or more with an admin dashboard and calendar sync. It swaps a 15 to 15.5% commission for card-processing fees of a few percent.
Why a riad needs direct booking
Booking.com takes 15% as a base rate and Airbnb moves hosts to roughly 15.5% in 2026: on a 1,000 MAD night, that is 150 to 155 MAD gone. The full arithmetic is in Airbnb fees in Morocco: keep more with direct bookings. Direct booking does not replace the platforms. It captures guests who already know you, and the ones who come back.
The features that matter
- Live availability: a calendar per room, not a "contact us" form.
- Prices in MAD and EUR: most guests book from Europe.
- Card payment via CMI: a deposit (for example 30%) or the full amount, with instant confirmation.
- Automatic confirmation: an email to the guest and a WhatsApp alert to you.
- Room pages, reviews, FAQ, transfers: the answers that decide a booking.
- Bilingual EN/FR: with correct hreflang structure for search.
- Calendar sync: to avoid double bookings with Booking.com and Airbnb (see channel manager and website).
CMI payment: what to know
CMI is Morocco's bank payment gateway and accepts both Moroccan and international cards. Affiliation goes through your bank, requires an ICE and a registered activity, and transaction fees are set in your bank contract. The site has to handle failed payments, refunds and the return page. Our full guide: CMI payment gateway in Morocco.
What it costs
Budget from 12,000 MAD for a direct booking site with payment, and 25,000 MAD or more with a dashboard, several rooms and iCal sync. A simple showcase site with WhatsApp booking requests starts at 6,500 MAD. Add a domain (about 100 to 150 MAD a year) and hosting. Ranges by site type are in what a website costs in Morocco in 2026.
A real example
The desert resort Sunset Agafay, near Marrakech, runs a bilingual site with suite, restaurant and experience pages and direct reservation with CMI card payment. Read the Sunset Agafay case study.
Choosing the technology? See WordPress or custom for a hotel or riad.
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Live availability, CMI payment, EN/FR: a direct booking site for riads and guesthouses.
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