Connecting your Holidu booking website to your own domain is a straightforward process that allows you to establish a professional online presence with your custom domain name. This guide will walk you through each step of connecting your domain to your Direct Booking website.

Before You Start

Before beginning the domain connection process, ensure you have the following:

• Access to your domain provider's settings (such as AWS, Vercel, GoDaddy, Namecheap, or similar services)
• Your custom domain name ready to use
• Administrative access to your Holidu account

Important Note: If you already have a website live on the domain you wish to connect, it will be replaced by your Direct Booking website once the connection process is complete. Make sure to back up any important data before proceeding.

Step 1: Initiate Domain Connection in Your Holidu Account

Begin the domain connection process within your Holidu application:

1. Click on "Enable website" if it is not already enabled
2. Click on "Connect my domain"

After entering your existing domain name, a DNS tab will appear in your Holidu dashboard. This tab displays the specific DNS values that Holidu has generated for your domain. You will need these values in the following steps.

Tip: If you are not familiar with DNS settings, do not worry. The following steps provide detailed guidance to help you navigate the process with your domain provider.

Step 2: Create a CNAME Record

The first DNS record you need to create is a CNAME record. Follow these instructions:

1. Log in to your domain provider's account
2. Look for an option to create a new DNS record or edit DNS settings
3. Select or create a new record and follow these steps:
   • Set the record type to CNAME
   • In the Holidu application, locate the CNAME line and copy the NAME value (marked as item 1)
   • Paste this NAME value into the name field of your domain provider's record
   • Copy the VALUE from the same CNAME line (marked as item 2) from the Holidu application
   • Paste this VALUE into the value field of your domain provider's record
   • Leave the TTL (Time To Live) and routing policy fields at their default values
4. Save and create the record

Important: If there are already existing DNS records for the domain you want to use, you must delete those records first. This disconnects your existing website from the domain, making it no longer accessible to customers. This step is necessary to successfully connect your domain to your new Direct Booking website.

Step 3: Add a CAA DNS Record

Create a second DNS record with the type CAA. Follow these steps:

1. In your domain provider's settings, create a new DNS record
2. Set the record type to CAA
3. From the Holidu application, copy the NAME value from the CAA line (marked as item 3)
4. Paste this into the name field of your new record
5. Copy the VALUE from the Holidu application (marked as item 4)
6. Paste this value into the value field of your domain provider's record
   • Note: Some domain providers may require a special format for the value field. For example, the format might be: 0 issue "URL". In this case, add the value from Holidu in quotation marks following this format
7. Keep the TTL and routing policy at their default values
8. Save and create the record

Step 4: Verify Your Domain Records

After you have added both the CNAME and CAA records to your domain provider, return to your Holidu application dashboard. Holidu will automatically verify the DNS records you have created. This verification process typically takes around 5 minutes.

Once verification is successful, your domain will be confirmed and you will be guided to the final setup step. You will see a confirmation message in your dashboard indicating that your records have been recognized.

Step 5: Add an ALIAS DNS Record

After Holidu verifies your domain, you need to add one final DNS record to complete the setup:

1. In your Holidu application, you will see the ALIAS record information displayed
2. Copy the VALUE provided for the ALIAS record
3. Log back into your domain provider's settings
4. Create a new DNS record with the following settings:
   • Set the record type to ALIAS
   • Paste the VALUE you copied from Holidu into the value field of your domain provider's record
5. Save and create the record

Step 6: Verify All Three Records Are in Place

Before proceeding to final verification, confirm that your domain provider's DNS settings now include all three of the following records:

• ALIAS record
• CAA record
• CNAME record

All three records are required for your Direct Booking website to connect properly to your custom domain. If any record is missing, the connection will not work correctly.

Step 7: Final Domain Verification

Return to your Holidu admin dashboard to complete the final verification process:

1. Navigate to your website settings in the Holidu application
2. Holidu will automatically check all DNS records you have set up
3. This final verification may take a few minutes to complete
4. Once verification is successful, you will receive a confirmation message

Congratulations! Your custom domain is now connected to your Direct Booking website. You can now access your booking website using your own domain name.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

DNS Records Not Recognized: If Holidu does not recognize your DNS records after 5 minutes, verify that you have copied the values correctly from the Holidu application and entered them exactly as shown in your domain provider's settings. Even small typos can prevent recognition.

Domain Still Shows Old Website: DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate across the internet. If your old website still appears after the verification process, please wait a few hours and try accessing your domain again. You can also try clearing your browser cache or using an incognito window to see the updated site.

Connection Failed During Setup: Ensure that you have deleted any existing DNS records for your domain before creating new ones. Conflicting records can prevent the new connection from working properly.

Need Additional Help?

If you encounter any issues while connecting your domain to your Holidu website or have questions about the process, our support team is here to assist you. Please use our contact form to reach out, and our team will help you resolve any problems you may experience.