StoaSTOA

The four rules

1. I. Clear prices. Show what it costs. For rooms, show the total price, fees included. 78% of couples say pricing is the top factor in deciding which vendors to contact. In a WeddingPro test, venues that showed their rates saw couple responses rise 25% [6]. US law now requires lodging to show the total price more prominently than any other price, under an FTC rule in force since 12 May 2025 [7].
2. II. A date check on every page. Let a guest check a date, request a tour or book a room from wherever they are, without waiting for an email. Among venues hosting nine or more events a month, 89.1% say tours are one of their most time-consuming tasks. Inquiries arrive through six different channels [8].
3. III. Your own photographs. Your rooms, your grounds, your light. Never a stock image standing in for your place. In Nielsen Norman Group eyetracking studies, readers ignored decorative stock images and studied photos of real people and real products [9].
4. IV. A check every month. Each month we check your prices, fees, dates, photos, links, booking path and page speed, then send you a short report. Google ranks its free hotel booking links partly on the historical accuracy of your prices [10]. A lodging price that leaves out fees is a compliance risk under the FTC rule [7].

Small things, done every month. That is the whole discipline.

What the guest's side tells us

• 76% of couples say price is the most important factor when choosing a venue [11].
• 53% of mobile visits are abandoned when a page takes longer than three seconds to load [12].
• Listings help. In a Cornell study of four hotels, an Expedia listing raised bookings through the hotels' own channels by 7.5–26% [13]. So rely on them less; don't quit them.

Places that already do this well

• Sugar Pine Barn, Benton City, Washington. Exact prices by day and season, with taxes included, and a "Check Our Dates" button beside them.
• The Oak Barn, Devon, England. Month-by-month rates for three years and availability calendars on one page, with "no other fees" stated plainly.
• Montfair Resort Farm, Crozet, Virginia. Cottage stays and weddings sold on one site, with a published pricing guide.
• The Inn at Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. A plain "Book Direct" page setting out what a guest gains by booking with the inn.

Examples we admire, as seen on 8 October 2026. They are not Stoa clients and have no connection with Stoa.

How it begins

1. The audit. Send us your site. We check it against the four rules and send you a short written audit. It's free.
2. A 20-minute call. If you'd like to go further, we talk through what the audit found.
3. The build. One site, built to the four rules, with your photographs and your booking system.
4. The monthly check. Every month we check the site still tells the truth, and send you a short report.