iFrame Deprecation: What’s Changing and Why to Upgrade to Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus

• Cloudbeds is retiring the iFrame-based booking engine (the embedded version of our Booking Engine – standard legacy version) and upgrading all properties to Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus (newest version) with the modern Immersive Experience 2.0.
• In short, two things are changing together: the Booking Engine itself is moving from the standard legacy version to the newest version, and the website embed is moving from an iFrame to a secure, fully integrated experience (Immersive Experience 2.0). 
• This delivers a faster, more compliant, and more measurable booking flow.

This article explains the reason behind the upgrade, how it improves performance, security, and analytics, and what to expect during the transition to Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus.

Why the iFrame Booking Engine Is Being Retired

To ensure a faster, safer, and more modern booking experience, we’re migrating all properties to Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus (newest version). We understand that upgrades are not always convenient or ideal, but this transition is an essential evolution of the product. It gives your booking experience the modern technical foundation it needs to stay compatible with new integrations, security requirements, browser standards, and emerging AI technologies. 

This is not just a visual refresh — it is a foundational upgrade that positions your property for the future of online travel.

This migration ensures:

• Enhanced performance and security
• Future-proof technology ready for AI and advanced analytics
• Compliance with new browser and payment standards

Why the iFrame Booking Engine Is Outdated

The old Booking Engine relied on iframes, which are now considered outdated, insecure, and inflexible. Here’s why the industry (and we) are moving away from them:

• Security concerns: iframes can expose sites to clickjacking, data leaks, and cross-site vulnerabilities.
• Poor SEO: Search engines cannot crawl or index iframe content properly, harming visibility.
• Limited customization: Styling and branding are constrained by the iframe sandbox.
• Integration challenges: Passing data or analytics between your site and an iframe requires complex workarounds.
• Browser deprecation: Safari will no longer support third-party iframes, breaking older booking experiences entirely.

PayPal Upgrade: New Connection Requirements

PayPal is introducing a new connection standard that requires Booking Engine Plus. The new PayPal integration:

• Ensures compliance with updated security protocols
• Provides faster, more reliable checkout
• Enables access to PayPal Immersive Experience 2.0 for a smoother guest payment journey

Immersive Experience 2.0: The New Booking Flow for Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus

Booking Engine Plus includes the Immersive Experience 2.0, designed to convert more guests and elevate your brand’s online presence:

• Dynamic room and add-on browsing
• One-click add to cart and editable shopping flow
• Pre-checkout upsells for higher revenue
• Real-time popularity tracking and analytics (GTM & GA4 ready)
• Customizable layouts and rate-plan displays
• AI-ready structured data for travel assistants and chatbots

AI compatibility: why the new modal matters

Travelers are increasingly using AI-powered trip planners, chatbots, and search assistants to discover and compare stays. The new Immersive Experience 2.0 modal is being optimized for these tools by exposing structured data that allows AI systems to understand your availability, pricing, and booking flow.

In contrast, iframe-based booking engines are sandboxed and difficult for AI systems to access or index. This means AI tools cannot reliably “see” or interpret an embedded iframe, surface your rooms and rates in recommendations, or link guests into a consistent shopping flow.

By combining Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus with the Immersive Experience 2.0 modal, your booking experience becomes discoverable, understandable, and recommendable by modern AI travel assistants — an increasingly important channel for future guest acquisition.

Why Upgrade to Booking Engine Plus

The new Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus introduces a set of enhancements that go beyond the Standard Booking Engine (legacy version). Here's a summary of its features or benefits:

What to Expect Next During the iFrame Deprecation and Migration to Booking Engine Plus

This migration will occur automatically as part of our platform update cycle. You’ll receive advance notice before your property is upgraded.

Our goal is to make this transition seamless while setting you up for long-term success with a booking experience that’s faster, smarter, and future-proof.

Key takeaways

• All properties are being upgraded to Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus (newest version) — a faster, more secure, and modern booking platform.
• Benefits: improved performance, stronger compliance and security, real-time analytics (GTM/GA4), and higher conversion rates.
• If your property used the legacy iframe embed (Booking Engine standard legacy version), you’ll need to replace it with the new Immersive Experience 2.0 to keep your website compatible and fully functional. See How to install the Immersive Experience 2.0.
• PayPal users: confirm your connection using the newest PayPal integration to maintain payment functionality. See How to Connect Your PayPal Business Account.
• What to expect: the upgrade occurs automatically, and you’ll receive advance notice before your property transitions.