Listing sites
CoolStays vs Canopy and Stars for Glamping Owners
Two well-known UK listing sites, one decision. Here is how they compare for a glamping owner, and why you may not need to pick.
You’ve got a shepherd’s hut, a cabin or a few pods, and two names keep coming up. In the CoolStays vs Canopy and Stars choice, you don’t have to pick one. Canopy & Stars suits glamping, cabins and treehouses best. CoolStays has a wider mix of unusual stays. If your calendars are kept in sync, listing on both is normal.
Which site to list with
List with Canopy & Stars first if you run glamping, a cabin or a treehouse, and with CoolStays if your place is more varied or you want a second route to guests. The two overlap, but they present stays differently.
Canopy & Stars describes itself as luxury glamping across the UK and Europe. Its home page leans on cabins, treehouses, hot tubs and stories from the wild, which fits a stay where the setting is the point. CoolStays calls itself a home for unusual places to stay, with collections such as Cabin Holidays, Hot Tub Breaks, Group Stays, Dog Friendly and Cool Cottages, plus last minute deals and editor’s picks.
CoolStays vs Canopy and Stars at a glance
Here is the side-by-side an owner needs before applying.
| Canopy & Stars | CoolStays | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Luxury glamping, cabins and treehouses in the UK and Europe | Unusual stays, including cabins, huts, treehouses, cottages and villas |
| How guests browse | Categories such as cabins and treehouses, plus seasonal picks and stories | Collections, editor’s picks, last minute deals and guides |
| Good for | Shepherd’s huts, cabins, treehouses, yurts and similar | Hot tub stays, group stays, dog friendly places and mixed properties |
| Joining | Owners apply through the site, and it says only 20% of applicants are accepted | Owners apply through the “Advertise your Property” link |
| Fees | Not published on the public pages we checked, so ask for the commission rate and any joining fee before you apply | A subscription (annual, quarterly or monthly) with no commission, according to its owners page. Ask for current pricing |
| Calendar sync | Yes, we can sync availability with it | Yes, we can sync availability with it |
How Canopy & Stars suits owners
Canopy & Stars suits you if your stay is the draw in itself. Think a hut in a meadow, a treehouse or a cabin with a hot tub, where the photos and the view do the selling.
Its pages put the setting first, with new additions, seasonal collections such as cabins with hot tubs for autumn, and a podcast and stories that build a brand around the idea of getting away. That helps a stay that looks like it belongs there. It is also selective. Its community page says only 20% of the places that apply are accepted, so expect to put your best photos forward.
How CoolStays suits owners
CoolStays suits you if your place fits a theme guests search for, such as hot tubs, dogs, groups or a particular view. It sorts stays into collections, so a well-matched listing can show up in more than one.
It also publishes themed inspiration pages, so a property with a strong feature can get seen that way. If you run a mix, such as a hut plus a cottage, it gives you somewhere to list both. Its owners page says it wants properties with a genuine “WOW!” factor, so it is selective too, and it offers Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers that differ in search position and promotion.
Listing on both sites
You can list on both, and many owners do, because each can bring guests the other doesn’t. CoolStays says it never insists on exclusivity. The only real danger is a double booking, when a night is taken on one site and still open on the other.
That is a calendar problem, not a listing problem. We can set up your availability calendar to sync with Canopy & Stars, CoolStays, Airbnb, Booking.com and others, so a booking on one site closes the dates on the rest. We don’t promise that changes made on a listing site flow back to your calendar, so check how each site reads it before you go live.
What guests do after they find you
A listing gets you seen, but it doesn’t stop guests looking for you directly. Even when someone finds your place on Canopy & Stars or CoolStays, some will search for your own website afterwards. They may hope for a better deal, or know you keep more of the money on a direct booking.
If they find nothing, or a slow site that’s hard to use on a phone, they go back and book on the listing. If they find a clear site with live availability, they can book with you and you pay no listing commission on it. That is the reason a good own website matters alongside a listing, not instead of one.
Millie the Hut, a shepherd’s hut and Shack near Presteigne that we built the whole site for, brought in 42 direct bookings in its first year. That saved the owners over £3,000 in commission.
Fee details on these sites change, so check with each before you commit. The CoolStays details come from its owners page and the Canopy & Stars acceptance figure from its community page, both as of October 2026.
FAQs
Is Canopy & Stars better than CoolStays?
Neither is better for everyone. Canopy & Stars is built around glamping, cabins and treehouses, so it suits a shepherd’s hut or cabin well. CoolStays has a wider mix, including cottages and villas, so it suits owners with a more varied property. Your unit type and guest should decide.
Can I list on both CoolStays and Canopy & Stars?
Yes, many owners list on more than one site. The risk is a double booking, so keep your calendars in sync. We can set up availability calendars that sync with Canopy & Stars, CoolStays, Airbnb, Booking.com and others, so a booking on one site blocks the dates elsewhere.
Do I still need my own website if I’m listed?
It’s worth having one. Some guests who find you on a listing site will search for your own site afterwards, hoping for a better deal. A website lets you take those bookings directly, without paying listing commission on them.
How do I get listed on these sites?
Both have an owner page where you apply, and both are selective. Canopy & Stars says only 20% of applicants are accepted, and CoolStays looks for a genuine “WOW!” factor, so a place is not guaranteed. Have good photos, a clear description and your availability ready before you apply.
Send us your website and we’ll tell you, for free, what’s stopping it getting bookings.