Hospitable Customer Story: Automating a Single Property Portfolio

Automating a Single Property Portfolio
By The Hospitable Team

Welcome to Hospitable's series of host case studies, where we take a deep dive into the unique experiences of our valued hosts. Through these inspiring success stories, we aim to showcase tips to help you succeed with your short-term rental business and better leverage your Hospitable subscription.

Who?
Bill and Rita Davis

Where?
Southwest Austin, Texas, United States

Properties managed?
One property owned and managed

Favorite Hospitable feature?
Guest communication and AI and direct booking website:


  • "The automated messages that Hospitable puts out are so convenient."
  • "The direct site is a perfect solution for someone who's not tech-savvy or a website-savvy."

Meet Bill and Rita

Bill Davis and his wife Rita started running a short-term rental about two and a half years ago when they realized they were facing retirement soon, so they would need a little extra income. In addition, their grown-up children had their own kids, and when they came to visit, Rita and Bill didn't have enough space to accommodate them.

"So putting up a three-bedroom, two-bathroom guest house in the back portion of our 4-acre property seemed like a pretty good idea at the time, and it has worked out well for us."

They called their guesthouse Arete Stay and put it on Airbnb. "The word "arete" is from the Greek, and it means of the highest excellence, of the greatest integrity, and so that's the type of stay or experience that we hope our guests have when they stay here," Rita explains.

Their rental is a wide open-concept home with all the necessary amenities, including a fully-equipped kitchen, mudroom, laundry room, board games, and TV with streaming services,  to ensure guests have a comfortable and enjoyable stay. There is also a patio in the back with a barbeque grill and picnic table, lighting for nighttime, and "plenty of space to roam around for people to enjoy and just relax."

Bill and Rita use Hospitable to automate their hosting routine. Watch the video where Bill and Rita share their experience hosting vacation guests at their Austin property and learn how Hospitable helps them save time and grow their direct bookings.

Benefits of Automation

"Using Hospitable is a game changer, "Rita says." It really was prior to Hospitable, and it was a bit nerve-wracking trying to keep up with the messages, scheduling, and bookings." Now, she likes to manage everything using her phone without worrying about forgetting to send guest messages or being overbooked.

"It's a whole different world. Hospitable is doing 75% of the work in all of that. So for me, it has been huge," Rita reveals. She also finds it very convenient that the Hospitable system promptly sends automated pre-scheduled messages on their behalf so they can maintain effective communication with guests. "It does make for that personal touch," Rita adds.

Have conversations with your guests even when you sleep

We will detect and answer questions on your behalf, send fully custom messages triggered by events, and much more!

Direct Booking Website

Rita says that Hospitable Direct is the perfect solution for not tech-savvy hosts who "don't really know how to establish and build a website." Rita and Bill admit they had no technical abilities, but it was easy for them to create a direct booking website for their STR property using website templates.

"We loaded in all our images, our rules of the house. And then in the messaging, you can send your guest a guidebook, and that's what we do in our messaging," Bill explains.

Rita recommends that guests use their direct booking website to book a stay next time. "There, we can have direct contact with them. They don't have to go through one of the other platforms. So, it develops a guest database for us to keep in touch with these folks. They can book directly with us next time, and it's a much more convenient way to do it," Rita points out.

Get a direct booking website within minutes!

Get listed on Google Vacation Rentals! Our system will ensure your calendars stay synced with OTAs, and your guests get the best experience.

Why Hospitable

Bill says he did a lot of research to check out other property management platforms and their customer service and chose Hospitable.

"I love the webinars that they do regularly to give us updates on any of the new features they offer—the direct booking and any new features they have to help us as hosts be more successful. And I don't feel alone doing this because they constantly update us with information that helps us be more successful," he underlines.

Bill also likes that Hospitable's fees for hosts are lower than on other major platforms and that hosts who accept bookings on their Hospitable Direct website are protected on every booking with guest vetting and damage protection.  

"I like that they do a background check on each guest and their insurance policy. So if there are any problems we would have with the guest damaging our house, there's the policy in force. That calmed me with going with someone outside the other major platforms," Bill points out.

Bill and Rita emphasize that Hospitable has made managing their rental property easier. "We would highly recommend Hospitable to other short-term rental posts. Granted, we only have one unit, but it's just the ease it's given us. I can imagine someone who has several units. How much more would Hospitable be productive for them."