Unlocking Direct Booking Success

In this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, our special guest is Jenn Boyles, a seasoned expert with over 20 years of experience in design and marketing and more than a decade as a holiday rental owner. Jenn created her Direct Booking Success Group Program to help short-term and vacation rental property managers, owners, and hosts build and grow their businesses independently without overly relying on online travel agents.

Jenn shares her story of starting as an Airbnb host and turning to direct bookings to run her STR business on her terms. She also explains how she helps vacation rental hosts and property managers achieve more direct bookings and shares actionable tips on creating a marketing plan.

Press play now to find out how to take control of your Airbnb business and get more direct bookings through your website, branding, and marketing.

If you prefer to read the highlights, we've got a summary of the key takeaways below.

How Jenn Started with Direct Bookings

Jenn begins by sharing her personal hosting experience. While living and working in England, she and her ex-husband decided to put their apartment in the French Alps on Airbnb. It was a success, so later, they rented out several other properties, putting them on OTAs.

Then they bought a big chalet in a location saturated with vacation rentals and couldn't get bookings, although Jenn was a Superhost on Airbnb. Jenn admits it was a real learning experience because they thought they knew everything about hosting. "And the thing we only knew really was how to use the Airbnb platform. We weren't running a business. We were having a good time at a nice little hobby."

Jenn points out that the turning point for her was when guests who had stayed in the chalet when the previous owner owned the property started ringing her up as they wanted to return. But they didn't want to book through Airbnb—they asked to book directly with her.

"It was the way forward for us. And it was how I built the brand and the website. And, the next property we launched with 80% direct bookings."

Helping Hosts Decrease Their Dependency on OTAs

When the pandemic hit, Airbnb canceled all bookings. "It was in that time that I realized that not everyone was on the same journey as I and that they hadn't had that epiphany with direct bookings, and they needed help," Jenn explains.

Jenn started with designing websites for STR property owners. She quickly discovered that "people were getting these websites and then wondering why the bookings weren't coming in. So I leaned into the marketing side."

Now, Jenn helps hosts as a private coach and offers the Direct Booking Success group program," about organic, a.k.a. free marketing techniques to build your brand instead of relying so heavily on OTAs like Airbnb."

Increasing bookings through a direct channel will allow you to build a sustainable STR business. Hospitable can help you manage bookings on all your channels efficiently and automate repetitive tasks, putting your business on autopilot.

Benefits of Direct vs Online Travel Agency

Jenn emphasizes that guests who book through OTAs are "their guests" since the platform has that guest's data. So, the biggest benefit to her is that guests who book directly are her guests.

"I can communicate directly with them without the fear of Big Brother looking over my shoulder. I can decide my terms and conditions, my cancellation policies, and how I want my guests' booking journey. I can also decide how much I want to charge. And my guests can benefit from paying less than going through the OTAs because that commission isn't put on top."

Finding an Ideal Guest

Jenn underlines that building your direct marketing plan starts with identifying your ideal guest. You shouldn't skip this part because you want bookings from guests who are a perfect fit for your place and will treat your property respectfully. So, you need to find your niche.

"I say, niching down into who the right person is so that you're calling them in, so that your copy, your images, your social media, your website, and everything else are geared towards them," Jenn explains. She also offers some tips on how hosts can focus their marketing efforts on the niche they've picked as their ideal customer and gives examples to illustrate them.

Optimizing Marketing Campaigns over Time

Jenn emphasizes that marketing is not a one-and-done thing but an activity you must keep doing to stay on top of mind for your ideal guests who may not be ready to book yet. "Marketing's not selling. It's showing up and keeping to be top of mind for your ideal guests so that when they are ready to book, and they're ready to make that commitment and have that vacation wherever it may be, they think, "Yes, I know exactly where we want to stay." And that it's your place that comes up for them."

Are you tired of spending so much money on OTA's commissions? Tune in to the full episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast to discover what to do to achieve your direct booking success.