Yes! If you're paying a flat fee to list your STR on a website that doesn’t charge guest service fees, that would be considered a form of direct booking. Just make sure you have your own rental agreement and proper insurance in place since there’s no platform acting as a middleman.
In my region, the Host-only fee is automatically instituted when we use a PMS. Unfortunately, it is not common in our marketplace for hosts to offer the all-in-one fee and our prices may initially appear higher but effectively are lower overall than the conventional fee setup...what is the workaround? Also, do you outright say what PMS you are using? I keep listening for it but not catching it.
The host-only fee is indeed automatically applied when using a PMS, and while it can make prices seem higher initially, it ultimately offers guests a better value once they see the final cost. To work around this, we recommend clear communication in your listing description to explain your pricing structure, highlighting that there are no surprise fees at checkout. As for our PMS, we use Hostfully!
With our co-hosting business, it really depends on the properties. We're really diversified across all platforms with each of our listings. Starting predominately with Airbnb in our area and then growing our repeat bookings with our direct booking site! VRBO isn't quite as popular in our area but has been really successful for some of our properties as well!
With Airbnb specifically, if the person you Co-host for if their account is where the property was created, you cannot transfer the listing with all the reviews to you, the Co-Host. Airbnb accounts are attached to the person, not the property, if that makes sense! Let me know if you have any other questions or if I understood your question correctly.
How can I ensure my direct booking site for my short-term rental gets discovered by a global audience? Are there specific strategies or tools you'd recommend for driving international traffic to my listing?
To attract a global audience, focus on SEO with keywords in multiple languages and emphasize local attractions in your site's content. Honestly, ChatGPT is a free option for helping with SEO terms. Leverage social media and targeted ads on platforms like Google or Meta to reach international travelers. Partnering with travel bloggers or influencers who cater to global audiences can also boost visibility. Finally, listing your property on niche international travel forums or platforms helps build awareness. Good luck!!
Wow didn’t expect a response at all. Thank you. 🙏. My thinking is people generally search directly on platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, etc but not search on Google “Short term rental in whatever city”. This bypasses all SEO and direct sites. Maybe only the people who want book directly are the one who are looking for a better deal which are likely much less than those who book directly in the platforms. This is the only thing keeping me from building a direct site for my properties. Thank you. 🙏
Collecting guest contact info or steering bookings off Airbnb without their consent does violate their policies and can lead to account suspension. However, promoting direct bookings outside the platform (like on your website or social media) is perfectly fine, as long as it’s not done through Airbnb’s messaging system.
@@ThanksForVisiting I have a vacation home and it is managed by a company. I was wondering if I create a website for my home, if I can link the management company so that anyone interested in booking can go to the link and book through the management company?
@@MsJersey11yes you can create your own website that links to the company managing your property (guessing your using Evolve or Vacassa) later you can convert it to direct booking
Would you recommend creating a Sqaurespace/wix/etc. website and linking it to a PMS system or doing a white-labeled website through say Lodgify or Guesty? OR, creating a simple website and having it directly tied back to my Airbnb listing?
People do the white labeled sites bc it’s more affordable for them at the time. I can tell you we have a site built on Wordpress that has our PMS’ widget.
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Now this is my fav topic
🔥🔥
Thank you ladies!
Thanks for watching!
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What insurance are you using for direct booking guest?
Waiting for the answer to this too. Thanks
Check out our recommendations: thanksforvisiting.com/trusted-tools
@@CC-cc3wc We use Proper Insurance
We use Proper Insurance
We use safety insurance for direct booking and OTAs. We use their damage waiver policy and they also have id verification just like super-hog.
newbie here...If you pay yearly to post your STR on a website that does not charge the renters a fee, is this considered direct booking?
Yes! If you're paying a flat fee to list your STR on a website that doesn’t charge guest service fees, that would be considered a form of direct booking. Just make sure you have your own rental agreement and proper insurance in place since there’s no platform acting as a middleman.
Can you recommend software that includes the templates for drag and drop direct booking website. Thanks 😊
Yes, Hostfully and Lodgify both offer these! Nothing will necessarily drag and drop but these platforms will support you well along the way :)
In my region, the Host-only fee is automatically instituted when we use a PMS. Unfortunately, it is not common in our marketplace for hosts to offer the all-in-one fee and our prices may initially appear higher but effectively are lower overall than the conventional fee setup...what is the workaround? Also, do you outright say what PMS you are using? I keep listening for it but not catching it.
The host-only fee is indeed automatically applied when using a PMS, and while it can make prices seem higher initially, it ultimately offers guests a better value once they see the final cost.
To work around this, we recommend clear communication in your listing description to explain your pricing structure, highlighting that there are no surprise fees at checkout.
As for our PMS, we use Hostfully!
Can you share your proportion of direct vs AirBnB and VRBO bookings?
With our co-hosting business, it really depends on the properties. We're really diversified across all platforms with each of our listings. Starting predominately with Airbnb in our area and then growing our repeat bookings with our direct booking site! VRBO isn't quite as popular in our area but has been really successful for some of our properties as well!
What if you co-host the property and you buy the property from the owner? Can't you transfer and update info of ownership/host?
With Airbnb specifically, if the person you Co-host for if their account is where the property was created, you cannot transfer the listing with all the reviews to you, the Co-Host. Airbnb accounts are attached to the person, not the property, if that makes sense! Let me know if you have any other questions or if I understood your question correctly.
How can I ensure my direct booking site for my short-term rental gets discovered by a global audience? Are there specific strategies or tools you'd recommend for driving international traffic to my listing?
To attract a global audience, focus on SEO with keywords in multiple languages and emphasize local attractions in your site's content. Honestly, ChatGPT is a free option for helping with SEO terms. Leverage social media and targeted ads on platforms like Google or Meta to reach international travelers. Partnering with travel bloggers or influencers who cater to global audiences can also boost visibility. Finally, listing your property on niche international travel forums or platforms helps build awareness. Good luck!!
Wow didn’t expect a response at all. Thank you. 🙏. My thinking is people generally search directly on platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, etc but not search on Google “Short term rental in whatever city”. This bypasses all SEO and direct sites. Maybe only the people who want book directly are the one who are looking for a better deal which are likely much less than those who book directly in the platforms. This is the only thing keeping me from building a direct site for my properties. Thank you. 🙏
Isnt using direct bookings or collecting contact info outside of AirBnb against policy and may result in getting banned?
Collecting guest contact info or steering bookings off Airbnb without their consent does violate their policies and can lead to account suspension.
However, promoting direct bookings outside the platform (like on your website or social media) is perfectly fine, as long as it’s not done through Airbnb’s messaging system.
Hi! Can I link my website to my current management company for the booking?
Will you clarify your question? Want to make sure I answer correctly!
@@ThanksForVisiting I have a vacation home and it is managed by a company. I was wondering if I create a website for my home, if I can link the management company so that anyone interested in booking can go to the link and book through the management company?
Definitely, you should!
Have you found a person to make your website? I only charge $500
@@MsJersey11yes you can create your own website that links to the company managing your property (guessing your using Evolve or Vacassa) later you can convert it to direct booking
You should add time stamp in you videos
Thank you!
Your title is misleading. You are not showing us how to create anything you're just talking..
"Just talking" about direct booking sites! Let me know if you have any questions I can answer.
Would you recommend creating a Sqaurespace/wix/etc. website and linking it to a PMS system or doing a white-labeled website through say Lodgify or Guesty? OR, creating a simple website and having it directly tied back to my Airbnb listing?
People do the white labeled sites bc it’s more affordable for them at the time. I can tell you we have a site built on Wordpress that has our PMS’ widget.