A guest house website in Yerevan has a different job than a hotel site. People do not choose a guest house for a lobby or a spa. They choose it for the hosts, the homemade breakfast, the grapevine over the courtyard and the advice on where to eat khorovats. The site should feel like a short visit to the house before arriving.
Think about what you say on the phone when a guest calls. "We are a family, three rooms, breakfast is homemade, my son can drive you to Garni." That conversation is your website. Put it in writing.
What to show, what to skip
| Show | Skip |
|---|---|
| The hosts: names, a photo, languages they speak | Long text about the history of the district |
| Each room with real photos and price | Stock photos of Yerevan landmarks |
| Breakfast: what you serve, a photo of the table | A complex availability calendar you will not update |
| Trips you can arrange: Garni, Geghard, Sevan, Dilijan, wine regions | Twenty icons for amenities |
| How to get here from Zvartnots and the railway station | Autoplay music or video |
| House rules in plain words | Legal pages copied from a hotel |
| WhatsApp and Telegram buttons | A booking form with fifteen fields |
The first screen
Make the first screen personal: a photo of the hosts in the courtyard or at the breakfast table, the name of the guest house, the district, and one line like "Family guest house in Nork, 10 minutes by taxi to the center, homemade breakfast". Then the price "from" and two buttons. Our list of first screen mistakes applies here too: no slider, no vague slogan.
Rooms
Most guest houses have three to eight rooms, so one card per room is enough. For each: a couple of photos, beds, private or shared bathroom, air conditioning or fan, heating in winter, price per night with breakfast. If two rooms can be connected for a family, say so; families search for exactly that.
Breakfast and the extras
Breakfast is often what guests remember most. Describe it simply: "Matsoun, cheese, herbs, eggs, homemade jam, lavash, coffee or tea". Add the extras you offer, each with a price or "on request":
- dinner with the family;
- airport pickup at night;
- day trips with a driver who knows the route;
- laundry;
- help with a local SIM card or a taxi app like Yandex Go.
These extras are also small income, and listing them on the site means guests ask for them before arrival.
How to get there
Guest houses are often in residential districts where taxi drivers get lost. Give exact directions: the address in Armenian and English, a pin on the map, a photo of the gate, and "from the airport: about 25 minutes by taxi, fixed price in the app". A map and directions block saves you calls at midnight.
Booking in a messenger
For a family business, a booking engine is usually too much. A WhatsApp button for international guests and a Telegram button for guests from Russia and nearby countries, each opening a chat with a ready message like "Hello, is a room free for 3 nights from 10 July?", fit the way hosts already work. The hosts answer from their phones, as they do now, but the guest arrives with dates already written.
Reviews and trust
You cannot show platform ratings on your own site as if they were yours, and you should never write reviews yourself. What you can do: link to your profile on the platform and on Google Maps, and show a few real guest messages with their permission. Our guide to reviews on your website explains how to collect them. A complete Google Business Profile with photos and the same phone number as the site matters more than any slogan.
Seasons and long stays
Family guest houses in and around Yerevan are busiest in summer and early autumn, when tourists and diaspora visitors arrive, and quieter from November to March. Use the site to fill the quiet months: a weekly or monthly price for relocants and remote workers, a winter offer with heating and a home-cooked dinner, or a package around the New Year. Put the season and dates next to every offer, and remove it when it ends.
Keeping it simple to run
Hosts are busy with guests, cooking and cleaning. The site should not become another job. Practical rules:
- prices and photos are the only things you will update often, so make those easy;
- one phone number and one messenger account for bookings, used everywhere;
- once a season, check that directions, prices and trips are still true;
- if nobody in the family wants to touch the admin panel, include updates in support.
Languages
If the hosts speak Russian and some English, build the site in those languages. An Armenian version is useful for diaspora guests and local visitors. Do not promise a language on the site that nobody in the house speaks; guests will notice at check-in.
Guest houses outside Yerevan
Many families run guest houses in Dilijan, Garni, Yeghegnadzor or near Lake Sevan. The same structure works, with more weight on directions, road conditions in winter and what guests can do nearby. For these places, a site is often the main way guests find you outside the platforms.
Price and timing at Kinto
| Option | Price | Time |
|---|---|---|
| One-page guest house site | $700 | about 6 days |
| Extra language version | $600 | |
| Telegram bot for requests and directions | $500 | |
| Support and updates, 6 months | $900 |
If you have more rooms and want separate pages for trips and seasons, a multi-page site costs $1,800 (about 12 days), see our landing page and full site options. Send us a few photos of the house and the hosts on Telegram at @kinto_am.