The Secret Key to Short-Term Rental Success in 2023

Building a short-term rental business is surprisingly simple. You buy a property, furnish it, then throw up some pictures of it onto booking sites like Airbnb and VRBO. After a few weeks, a booking comes in, and from there you’re in the game! This is all great until a poor review comes in, sending your listing to the bottom of the pile and your profit with it. Through no fault of your own, your income stream just got cut off, and now you have a mortgage to pay without a calendar full of bookings.

For many hosts, this type of scenario seems like game over for investing. But for Mark Simpson, it’s the start of something even better. Mark grew up in hospitality, marketing his family’s bed and breakfast nestled in the British countryside. His family was frantically cleaning, cooking, and booking with spreadsheets and no system to streamline their business. This ongoing problem led Mark to build Boostly, the software allowing hosts to take their bookings into their own hands.

Mark has helped numerous short-term rentals bring in millions in direct bookings, helping hosts and guests minimize the amount spent on fees while maximizing their experience. So how do vacation rental hosts start doing direct bookings? What benefits come from leaving the big booking sites behind? And how can hosts regain autonomy so their business is never forced to stop? Mark answers these questions and more in today’s episode!

00:00 Intro
04:29 Making Millions in Direct Bookings
11:25 Leaving the Algorithm Behind
15:04 The Tools Hosts Need
22:44 Why Would Guests Book Direct?
39:09 Tips for Getting Direct Bookings
42:08 The Right Way to Price
52:03 Rookie Exam
53:38 Become a Rookie Rockstar!
54:35 Connect with Mark!

~~~~
Join the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/realestaterookie
~~~~
Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/agent/match?utm_source=owned_media
~~~~
Past Episodes Mentioned in Today’s Show:
Mark on The Real Estate Podcast: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-680?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none
Sarah and Zeona: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-232?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none
~~~~
Tools Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
I-Prac: https://www.i-prac.com/
SuperHog: https://superhog.com/
PriceLabs: https://hello.pricelabs.co/
Wheelhouse: https://www.usewheelhouse.com/
Beyond Pricing: https://www.beyondpricing.com/
MailChimp: https://mailchimp.com/
~~~~
Grab “The Book Direct Playbook”:
https://www.amazon.com/Book-Direct-Playbook-Marketing-Bookings/dp/1913284301
~~~~
Work with Mark’s Team at Boostly:
https://boostly.co.uk/
~~~~
Boostly’s Property Management Software List:
https://boostly.co.uk/property-management-software-reviews
~~~~
Connect with Ashley and Tony on BiggerPockets:
Ashley: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/echopm?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none
Tony: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/tonyr75?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none

Episode 243

Show notes at: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-243?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none