A few questions for you self managers...
Collin HaysBusiness Member
Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesA few questions for you self managers...
Most Popular Reply
Investor · FL · Member since 2016 · 332 posts · 388 votes
8mo1. We have two direct booking sites. One for TN properties and one for Florida properties. Over 30% of booking income comes from the websites.
2. We do accept bookings if they contact us and send them to our direct booking website.
3.I believe all owners should desire to get 70% or greater direct bookings.
4. Pricelabs but review/override when needed.
5. Choosing the best ways to market the direct booking website without wasting marketing dollars or my time. We have interviewed marketing/social media management companies but no good fit yet.
12 Replies
- Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes8mo
Quote from @Collin Hays:
I am considering embarking on development of a new product to help self-managers, and I wanted to take a very informal survey on a few questions.
1. Do you have a direct booking site for your property, or do you just use the platforms? (Airbnb, VRBO, etc.)
YES - peacefulcabinrentals.com2. Do you accept direct bookings if someone contacts you?
Yes3. Is there a desire out there to get more direct bookings, or is that considered too complicated?
Yes - I don't think it is complicated but it is time consuming.4. Do you use dynamic pricing (Pricelabs, etc.), or do you set your own rates manually?
Pricelabs, but I monitor and adjust as necessary.5. If you do accept direct bookings and want to get more, what do you think is the biggest barrier to doing so?
The time involved.And any other comments related to these that you have! Thank you!
- 8moJohn UnderwoodPro MemberInvestor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
I get most of my bookings from Vrbo and a couple from Airbnb.
I take direct bookings, but don't have a direct booking site.
I'd be interested in one.
- Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 710 posts · 640 votes8mo
Quote from @Collin Hays:
I am considering embarking on development of a new product to help self-managers, and I wanted to take a very informal survey on a few questions.
1. Do you have a direct booking site for your property, or do you just use the platforms? (Airbnb, VRBO, etc.)
2. Do you accept direct bookings if someone contacts you?
3. Is there a desire out there to get more direct bookings, or is that considered too complicated?
4. Do you use dynamic pricing (Pricelabs, etc.), or do you set your own rates manually?
5. If you do accept direct bookings and want to get more, what do you think is the biggest barrier to doing so?
And any other comments related to these that you have! Thank you!
1. i have direct along with Air and VRBO
2. we do accept direct bookings. its mostly for repeat guests and occasional booking from facebook. I do get some random people that find my direct site after looking on the platforms.
3. not complicated, but i dont push as much as i used to. Less platform bookings lowers my rankings.
4. i use Pricelabs, both for pricing and various rules
5. i dont push it like i used to, but biggest barrier is getting direct site in front of people. you will always lose to Air/VRBO and any big name players in your market.
- Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes8mo
1: Started one on Houfy for property #1 but let it die off. Got a few leads through it but didn't follow through because it became an afterthought, to the point where I had to cancel the last booking I got through it because I accidentally double booked and didn't want to take the algorithm penalty on Airbnb. I deleted it right after.
2nd property didn't justify one because while it was in a nice neighborhood and location, it was just a vanilla home with nothing special about it other than the potential head count and having a few extra fun items that other properties don't have. IMO your property has to be its own brand, i.e. have unique selling points (prime location, proximity to top attractions, amenities, views etc) to justify a direct booking site. The property I'm working on now fits that description so I will probably pursue direct bookings.
2: Sure
3: Low ROI for time input compared to OTA model.
4: Yes
5: Marketing/Lead generation. The OTAs do a great job of funneling traffic to your property at no cost (until they stay, then they take their pound of flesh).
- Investor · FL · Member since 2016 · 332 posts · 388 votes8mo
1. We have two direct booking sites. One for TN properties and one for Florida properties. Over 30% of booking income comes from the websites.
2. We do accept bookings if they contact us and send them to our direct booking website.
3.I believe all owners should desire to get 70% or greater direct bookings.
4. Pricelabs but review/override when needed.
5. Choosing the best ways to market the direct booking website without wasting marketing dollars or my time. We have interviewed marketing/social media management companies but no good fit yet.
- Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 710 posts · 640 votes8mo1 - do you really think that is attainable? i do not. you will never get your direct booking in front of enough people.
Quote from @Account Closed:
1. We have two direct booking sites. One for TN properties and one for Florida properties. Over 30% of booking income comes from the websites.
2. We do accept bookings if they contact us and send them to our direct booking website.
3.I believe all owners should desire to get 70% or greater direct bookings.
4. Pricelabs but review/override when needed.
5. Choosing the best ways to market the direct booking website without wasting marketing dollars or my time. We have interviewed marketing/social media management companies but no good fit yet.
2 - if you get your place with that much direct bookings, you will rank low on any platform searches
the thought is nice to have that much direct, but you realistically it is extremely hard. - Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes8mo
Quote from @Trent Reeve:
1 - do you really think that is attainable? i do not. you will never get your direct booking in front of enough people.Quote from @Account Closed:
1. We have two direct booking sites. One for TN properties and one for Florida properties. Over 30% of booking income comes from the websites.
2. We do accept bookings if they contact us and send them to our direct booking website.
3.I believe all owners should desire to get 70% or greater direct bookings.
4. Pricelabs but review/override when needed.
5. Choosing the best ways to market the direct booking website without wasting marketing dollars or my time. We have interviewed marketing/social media management companies but no good fit yet.
2 - if you get your place with that much direct bookings, you will rank low on any platform searches
the thought is nice to have that much direct, but you realistically it is extremely hard.I think number 2 is a misnomer and scare tactic from Airbnb and VRBO.
- Investor · FL · Member since 2016 · 332 posts · 388 votes8mo
Quote from @Trent Reeve:
1 - do you really think that is attainable? i do not. you will never get your direct booking in front of enough people.Quote from @Account Closed:
1. We have two direct booking sites. One for TN properties and one for Florida properties. Over 30% of booking income comes from the websites.
2. We do accept bookings if they contact us and send them to our direct booking website.
3.I believe all owners should desire to get 70% or greater direct bookings.
4. Pricelabs but review/override when needed.
5. Choosing the best ways to market the direct booking website without wasting marketing dollars or my time. We have interviewed marketing/social media management companies but no good fit yet.
2 - if you get your place with that much direct bookings, you will rank low on any platform searches
the thought is nice to have that much direct, but you realistically it is extremely hard.I believe it is attainable in the Florida beachfront market, because in this area after 4 yrs a property easily can have 75% repeat customers. For the Smoky Mtns it is harder but possible might take 8 to 12 yrs for a property once a direct booking site is established. I try to chip away an extra 5% of income through direct bookings every year in the Mtns.
- Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 710 posts · 640 votes8mo
Quote from @Collin Hays:
Quote from @Trent Reeve:
1 - do you really think that is attainable? i do not. you will never get your direct booking in front of enough people.Quote from @Account Closed:
1. We have two direct booking sites. One for TN properties and one for Florida properties. Over 30% of booking income comes from the websites.
2. We do accept bookings if they contact us and send them to our direct booking website.
3.I believe all owners should desire to get 70% or greater direct bookings.
4. Pricelabs but review/override when needed.
5. Choosing the best ways to market the direct booking website without wasting marketing dollars or my time. We have interviewed marketing/social media management companies but no good fit yet.
2 - if you get your place with that much direct bookings, you will rank low on any platform searches
the thought is nice to have that much direct, but you realistically it is extremely hard.I think number 2 is a misnomer and scare tactic from Airbnb and VRBO.
i dont believe it is. Ive seen properties exclusively on channels that rank higher than ones that are not. and it makes sense. why would they promote up a property on both channels over that is exclusively on their platform where they have to share fees with their competitors. so if the calendar is less open and not booked by them, i believe it would add to another items that ding the search.
- Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 710 posts · 640 votes8mo
Quote from @Account Closed:
Quote from @Trent Reeve:
1 - do you really think that is attainable? i do not. you will never get your direct booking in front of enough people.Quote from @Account Closed:
1. We have two direct booking sites. One for TN properties and one for Florida properties. Over 30% of booking income comes from the websites.
2. We do accept bookings if they contact us and send them to our direct booking website.
3.I believe all owners should desire to get 70% or greater direct bookings.
4. Pricelabs but review/override when needed.
5. Choosing the best ways to market the direct booking website without wasting marketing dollars or my time. We have interviewed marketing/social media management companies but no good fit yet.
2 - if you get your place with that much direct bookings, you will rank low on any platform searches
the thought is nice to have that much direct, but you realistically it is extremely hard.I believe it is attainable in the Florida beachfront market, because in this area after 4 yrs a property easily can have 75% repeat customers. For the Smoky Mtns it is harder but possible might take 8 to 12 yrs for a property once a direct booking site is established. I try to chip away an extra 5% of income through direct bookings every year in the Mtns.
well good luck. i dont personally believe you can get to 70%, but i wish you the best
- 7moBo SmithPro MemberHinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 1k+ posts · 373 votes
One thing that saved me time: batch your tenant communication into specific windows. Like Tuesday/Thursday evenings for non-emergency stuff. Otherwise you're constantly putting out fires instead of running your business. What's eating up most of your management time right now?
- Real Estate Agent · Louisiana · Member since 2017 · 215 posts · 147 votes7mo
Quote from @Collin Hays:
I am considering embarking on development of a new product to help self-managers, and I wanted to take a very informal survey on a few questions.
1. Do you have a direct booking site for your property, or do you just use the platforms? (Airbnb, VRBO, etc.)
2. Do you accept direct bookings if someone contacts you?
3. Is there a desire out there to get more direct bookings, or is that considered too complicated?
4. Do you use dynamic pricing (Pricelabs, etc.), or do you set your own rates manually?
5. If you do accept direct bookings and want to get more, what do you think is the biggest barrier to doing so?
And any other comments related to these that you have! Thank you!
1) Yes. Through PMS Hostaway
2) Yes. Through the site.
3) Yes. Take as many as I can get.
4) Yes, through Hostaway & monitor it myself.
5) Word of month is the only way I get it out & having QR links to it in my units. Spending money on marketing isn't in my budget atm.
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