The short answer
Your domain is the address every guest, review link and Google listing points to. Whoever is listed as the registrant controls it. When Comal Inn changed hands, the domain turned out to be registered to the person who ran the old website. We bought it for a few hundred dollars. It could have cost us the name. Checking yours takes about five minutes.
The domain that wasn’t ours
In 2015, the new owners bought Comal Inn and everything that came with the business, including the website. What nobody realized was that comalinn.com was registered in the name of the IT person who had been running the site.
When I started on the new brand and website, I went looking for where the domain was registered and found his name on it. I reached out. He wasn't eager. He said he'd think about whether he would sell it, and for how much.
We had a backup plan. The inn had very little brand recognition back then, and we were building everything from scratch anyway. If he came back with a ridiculous number, we'd pick a new name and move on.
He came back with a few hundred dollars. That was worth paying, and comalinn.com has been ours ever since.
Why it matters
Your domain isn't just your website. It's the email address on every confirmation, the link on your Google profile and OTA listings, and the address in years of guest reviews and blog mentions.
If someone else controls it, they control all of that. Most of the time nothing goes wrong. The trouble shows up at the worst moments: when a vendor relationship ends, when someone stops answering, or when the business is sold.
Check who holds yours
- 01Look up your registrar.Go to lookup.icann.org and enter your domain. The Registrar field shows which company it’s registered with.
- 02Log in to that account.If you can log in and see the domain, that’s a good sign. If you don’t know whose account it’s in, that’s your answer.
- 03Check the registrant name.In the domain settings, the registrant should be you or your business. Not your web designer, not a former manager, not a software company.
- 04Check the contact email.Renewal notices go here. It should be an address you’ll still have in five years.
If someone else holds it
That's not automatically a problem. Plenty of owners have a web person or manager handle the domain. What matters is the agreement behind it.
- Put it in writing. The domain belongs to the business, even if someone else manages it.
- No transfer fee. You can have it moved to your own account any time, for free.
- No gatekeeping. They hand over the transfer code when you ask, not when they feel like it.
If your web person or software company won't agree to that, it's worth asking why.
Keep it safe
- Turn on auto-renew, and keep the card on file current.
- Turn on two-step login for the registrar account.
- Leave the transfer lock on unless you're moving it on purpose.
- Write down where it lives, which registrar and which login, somewhere the owners can find it.
Quick answers
Is it bad if my web designer manages my domain?
No. Plenty of owners have someone else handle renewals and settings. What matters is that you're listed as the registrant, or that you have it in writing that you can move it whenever you want, at no cost.
Why can’t I see the owner when I look up my domain?
Most registrars hide the registrant's name and contact details for privacy. The lookup will still show which company the domain is registered with. From there, the account you log in to tells you who holds it.
What happens if my domain expires?
Your website and your email on that domain stop working. Most registrars give you a short grace period to renew, but if it lapses long enough, someone else can register it. Turn on auto-renew and keep the card current.
How long does a transfer take?
Often five to seven days once you have the transfer code. Your registrar has to give you that code within five days of asking. After a transfer, the new registrar can block another one for 60 days, so don’t leave it to the last minute.
Want me to look at your site?
Send me your website. I'll tell you what I'd fix first, for free.