How do I use WanderOS as a booking engine on a subdomain?

What does "booking engine only" mean?

Most hosts use WanderOS as their full direct booking website. But if you already have a marketing site you want to keep (built on Squarespace, Wix, WordPress, or anywhere else), you can use WanderOS as just the booking engine.

In this setup:

Your main domain (e.g., yourbrand.com) continues to serve your existing website.
A subdomain (e.g., book.yourbrand.com) is connected to your WanderOS site.
Guests browse your marketing site as usual, then click a "Book Now" button that takes them to your WanderOS site to complete the reservation.

This gives you the WanderOS booking flow, listings, payments, and guest CRM without changing the front door of your brand.

What do I need before I start?

Domain ownership. You must own the root domain through a registrar such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, Squarespace Domains, or Cloudflare.
DNS access. You must be able to access and modify your domain's DNS settings.
Registrar login credentials. For the guided flow, you'll need to sign in to your domain provider account during setup.
An existing website. This guide assumes you already have a live site at your root domain that you want to keep.

How do I choose a subdomain?

Pick a short, memorable subdomain. Common conventions:

Subdomain	Best for
`book.yourbrand.com`	Most common. Clear and short.
`stay.yourbrand.com`	Friendlier, conversational tone.
`reservations.yourbrand.com`	Longer but explicit.
`rentals.yourbrand.com`	Works well if "rentals" is part of your branding.

You don't need to register the subdomain anywhere. Subdomains are created automatically when you add the matching DNS record, which the guided flow handles for you.

Heads up: If your chosen subdomain is already pointing somewhere else (for example, an old booking platform), you'll need to remove or overwrite that existing record. The guided flow usually handles this, but check your DNS settings if the subdomain doesn't connect on the first try.

How do I connect the subdomain in WanderOS?

Log in to app.wander.com.
In the left sidebar, expand Channels → Website.
Select Domain.
In the Connect your domain field, enter the full subdomain URL (e.g., book.yourbrand.com).
Continue through the guided setup flow.

The connection process is the same as connecting a root domain. For the full step-by-step on the guided and manual flows, see How do I connect a custom domain to my WanderOS site?.

Good news: this will not affect your existing website.

Because you're connecting a subdomain (not the root domain), your existing site at yourbrand.com will keep working exactly as it does today. Only traffic to the new subdomain (e.g., book.yourbrand.com) is routed to WanderOS.

How do I link to my booking engine from my existing site?

Once your subdomain is live, point guests to it from your marketing site:

Open your existing website's editor (Squarespace, Wix, WordPress, etc.).
Add a Book Now button in your main navigation, hero section, or wherever your booking call-to-action lives.
Set the button's link to your WanderOS subdomain (e.g., https://book.yourbrand.com).
(Optional) Open the link in the same tab so the booking flow feels like a continuation of your site, or in a new tab if you want guests to keep your marketing site open.

You can repeat this on any page where you want to drive bookings — listings pages, blog posts, footer, etc.

What are the trade-offs of booking-engine-only?

Using WanderOS as a booking engine only is a valid approach, but you're opting out of several benefits that come with running your full site on WanderOS. Weigh the following before committing.

What you give up

Speed and Core Web Vitals tuning. WanderOS sites are built mobile-first and tuned for Google's Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS). Your existing platform may be significantly slower, which directly impacts SEO rankings and conversion. A 1-second delay can drop conversions by ~7%.
SEO-optimized architecture. WanderOS generates structured data (schema.org LodgingBusiness), clean metadata, internal linking, and XML sitemaps optimized for vacation rental search.
AI discoverability. WanderOS automatically generates an llms.txt file so AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity) can recommend your properties. This lives at your WanderOS subdomain, not your root domain.
Review syncing display. Synced Airbnb and VRBO reviews appear on WanderOS property pages, not on your marketing site. Guests browsing your existing site won't see this social proof until they reach the booking flow.
Higher-converting design and layouts. WanderOS templates are designed and tested specifically for direct booking conversion.
Unified brand experience. Guests bounce between two platforms, which can feel disjointed if branding doesn't perfectly match.

What still works

Booking flow, payments, and checkout on the subdomain.
Guest CRM captures bookings and any guests who sign up on WanderOS.
Automated email campaigns (Abandoned Cart, Stay Again, Pre-Trip, Check In Day, Flash Rebook) trigger normally for guests who reach WanderOS.
Discount codes at WanderOS checkout.
PMS integration, calendar sync, and payouts are unaffected.

What is reduced

Welcome Sequence and pre-booking marketing. These triggers fire when guests sign up or interact with the WanderOS site. If most browsing happens on your marketing site, fewer guests will enter the WanderOS funnel as accounts.
Abandoned Cart effectiveness. Triggered by guests who reach checkout on WanderOS. Guests who browse your marketing site without ever clicking "Book Now" aren't tracked.
Analytics. Site behavior splits across two platforms. You'll need analytics on both your marketing site and WanderOS to get the full picture.

If most of your traffic is brand-direct (people searching for your business by name) and your existing site is well-optimized, this trade-off is often worth it. If you're trying to grow direct bookings via SEO or AI discovery, running your full site on WanderOS is usually the stronger play.

How do I know it worked?

Once DNS has propagated:

Visiting your subdomain (e.g., book.yourbrand.com) loads your WanderOS booking site.
Visiting your root domain still loads your existing marketing site.
The Domain page in WanderOS shows the subdomain as Connected.

If the subdomain still shows as pending after a few hours (guided flow) or 24-48 hours (manual setup), reach out to support.

Best Practices

Pick a short, memorable subdomain. book.yourbrand.com outperforms vacation-rentals.yourbrand.com for branding and recall.
Match button styling. Your "Book Now" button should look and feel native to your existing site so guests don't second-guess the click.
Keep branding consistent. Use the same logo, colors, fonts, and photography on both your marketing site and your WanderOS subdomain to make the handoff feel seamless.
Don't link deep into individual property pages from your marketing site. Linking to the subdomain root is more durable.
Reconsider periodically. If your existing site isn't converting well or is hard to maintain, revisit whether moving fully onto WanderOS would deliver better results.