How to List Your Hotel on Booking.com, Agoda, Airbnb & MakeMyTrip

Getting listed on the big Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) is how most new hotels get their first bookings — but the signup and verification process trips up a lot of first-time owners. The good news: the flow is broadly the same on every platform, and once you know what each one needs, you can get live on all of them without a consultant.

This guide walks through what to prepare, how the signup works on Booking.com, Agoda, Airbnb and MakeMyTrip (with Goibibo), why listings get rejected, and how to keep your calendars in sync afterwards so you don't end up with double bookings.

What to prepare before you register

Every OTA asks for roughly the same things. Gather these once and each signup goes much faster:

• Property details — legal name, trading name, full address, and the exact location to drop on a map pin.
• Room/unit information — number of rooms, room types, occupancy, sizes, bed configuration, and amenities.
• Photos — bright, high-resolution photos of each room type, bathrooms, common areas, and the exterior. This is the single biggest driver of both approval and conversion.
• Rates and policies — nightly prices per room type, cancellation policy, check-in/check-out times, and house rules.
• Payout details — a bank account (and, on some platforms, a virtual credit card setup) so the OTA can pay you.
• Identity and business documents — owner/manager ID, and business registration where required.
• Tax details — in India, your GST number if registered; elsewhere, your VAT or local tax registration if applicable.

How to list your hotel on Booking.com

Booking.com has the widest international reach, which makes it the default first listing for most independent hotels.

1. Go to join.booking.com and choose List your property.
2. Create a partner account with your email.
3. Select your property type (hotel, guesthouse, B&B, apartment) and enter its name, address, and map location.
4. Add your rooms — types, how many of each, occupancy, and amenities.
5. Set your prices, availability, and cancellation policy.
6. Upload your photos.
7. Enter your payout (bank) and invoicing/tax details.
8. Submit for verification. Booking.com reviews your details and, once approved, you receive a property ID and can open for bookings.

Booking.com charges commission per booking rather than a signup fee.

How to list your property on Agoda

Agoda is strong across Asia and for inbound Asian travellers, and it shares ownership with Booking Holdings.

1. Open Agoda's partner portal — YCS (Yield Control System) — and start a new property registration.
2. Enter property details, room types, and amenities.
3. Set rates, availability, and policies.
4. Upload photos.
5. Add your payout and tax information.
6. Submit. Agoda reviews the listing and activates it once verified.

If you already run a channel manager, you can often connect Agoda through it rather than loading everything by hand.

How to list your property on Airbnb

Airbnb suits smaller, boutique, homestay, and apartment-style properties best — larger hotels usually lean on Booking.com, Agoda, and MakeMyTrip, but many independents list on Airbnb too.

1. Sign in at airbnb.com and choose Become a Host / Airbnb Setup.
2. Describe your place — property type, how many rooms/guests, and location.
3. Add amenities and upload photos.
4. Write your title and description, then set your price, availability, and house rules.
5. Complete identity verification.
6. Publish. Airbnb applies a host service fee rather than a listing fee.

Airbnb lists each unit separately, so multi-room properties create one listing per room or apartment.

How to list your hotel on MakeMyTrip & Goibibo (India)

In India, MakeMyTrip and Goibibo together account for the majority of domestic online hotel bookings — and they share inventory, so listing on one surfaces your property on both.

1. Register your property through MakeMyTrip's List your property flow — the unified supplier extranet is InGoMMT (available as a web portal and an app).
2. Enter property details, room types, rates, and amenities.
3. Upload photos and add your policies.
4. Provide business, GST, and bank/payout details.
5. Submit your documents for verification. Once MakeMyTrip approves them, your property goes live on both MakeMyTrip and Goibibo.

OTA signup screens and requirements change over time. If a step looks different from the above, follow the platform's own partner/extranet instructions — the underlying flow (details → rooms → rates → photos → payout → verification) stays the same.

OTA comparison at a glance

OTA	Sign up via	Best for	How they charge
Booking.com	join.booking.com	Widest international reach	Commission per booking
Agoda	Agoda YCS partner portal	Pan-Asia and inbound Asian guests	Commission per booking
Airbnb	airbnb.com → Become a Host	Boutique, homestay, apartments, STR	Host service fee
MakeMyTrip + Goibibo	MakeMyTrip "List your property" (InGoMMT)	Domestic Indian bookings	Commission per booking

Commission and fee rates vary by platform, market, and your specific agreement — commonly around 15–20%. Always confirm the current rate in your contract.

Why OTA listings get rejected — and how to fix it

If your listing is stuck "under review" or was rejected, it's almost always one of these:

• Incomplete or mismatched documents — the business name on your GST/registration must match the account. Re-upload clear, matching documents.
• Address vs. map pin mismatch — the typed address and the map location must agree. Correct the pin.
• Too few or low-quality photos — add bright, high-resolution photos of every room type and common area.
• Duplicate listing — the property already exists on that OTA (sometimes created by a previous owner or an agent). Claim the existing listing instead of creating a new one.
• Missing payout details — no OTA will activate a property it cannot pay. Add your bank/payout information.

Fix the flagged item and resubmit — you usually don't have to start over.

Once you're listed: avoid double bookings and win back commission

The moment you're live on more than one OTA, a new problem appears: a booking on Airbnb doesn't automatically block those dates on Booking.com, Agoda, or MakeMyTrip. Miss one manual update and you have a double booking and a guest to relocate.

Connect every channel to one system. Zitlin keeps availability in sync across all your OTAs so a booking on any platform blocks those dates everywhere:

• iCal sync — automatic availability sync with Airbnb, Booking.com, and any iCal-compatible OTA (Zitlin Pro).
• Channel manager — real-time, two-way sync of availability, rates, and restrictions across 50+ OTAs including MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Agoda, and Traveloka.
• Manage several properties from one calendar if you run more than one.

And because every OTA takes a commission, the smartest new hoteliers list on OTAs to get discovered, then push repeat guests to a commission-free direct booking engine — so you keep 100% of those bookings.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get listed on an OTA? Creating the listing takes an hour or two per platform. Going live depends on verification: Airbnb can be same-day, Booking.com and Agoda typically take a few days, and MakeMyTrip / Goibibo document checks in India can take several days to a couple of weeks. Complete, accurate documents are the biggest factor in speed.

Is it free to list my hotel on Booking.com, Agoda, Airbnb or MakeMyTrip? Yes — the major OTAs have no signup or listing fee. They earn a commission on each booking instead (commonly 15–20%, varying by platform, market, and agreement). Airbnb uses a host service fee. Confirm the current rate in your own contract.

Do I need GST to list my property on MakeMyTrip in India? MakeMyTrip and Goibibo (via InGoMMT) ask for business and tax details during onboarding. A GST number is expected for GST-registered properties; very small properties below the GST threshold should check current MakeMyTrip requirements, as OTA policies change.

Why was my OTA listing rejected or delayed? Usually incomplete or mismatched documents, an address that doesn't match the map pin, low-quality or too few photos, a duplicate listing, or missing payout details. Fix the flagged item and resubmit.

Which OTA should a new hotel list on first? Start where your guests are. In India, MakeMyTrip and Goibibo dominate domestic bookings; internationally, Booking.com has the widest reach; Agoda is strong across Asia; Airbnb suits smaller and boutique properties. Most hotels end up on several.

How do I avoid double bookings once I'm listed on multiple OTAs? Connect every OTA to one property management system so a booking on one channel blocks those dates everywhere. Zitlin does this with iCal sync and with a channel manager for real-time sync across 50+ OTAs.

Booking.com, Agoda, Airbnb, MakeMyTrip, and Goibibo are trademarks of their respective owners. Zitlin is not affiliated with any of the OTA platforms named on this page. Signup steps and requirements are set by each platform and are subject to change — always follow the official partner instructions.