All Forum Posts by: Tyann Marcink

Airbnb is a marketplace that is a tool. One that you can use as a hobbyist or as a professional. Same tool, different results.

Parallel this to a camera: A camera is a tool. The most important part of the camera is not the lens or the body, but the 12 inches behind it. 🧠

Incredible photos can be created with a smartphone, a DSLR, and even a garbage can pinhole style (look up the German garbage can project).

The tool, whether Airbnb or a camera, has different outcomes depending on the goal and skill of the user.

This year we'll end up ~40% direct with only ~7% of revenue from Airbnb. We purposely limit our bookings on Airbnb/Vrbo while maximizing our marketing exposure on them.

We are running ~40% direct this year (and have gotten our revenue from Airbnb down to only 7%).

Key factors: branding, communications, guest experience

Mark Simpson has a few books with the latest one being the Book Direct Blueprint (I'm a co-author).

Also check out Auntie Belham's Cabins, great family biz.

Have you considered contacting an STR broker?

Adding to the above excellent wisdom: 

Who is your target guest? You'll want to cater to them. What do they want while traveling? Make it easy on the parents.

Are you wanting a program to send email campaigns? Then MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, and the likes will be best. Most PMS systems aren't set up to be utilized as marketing email programs.

If you are looking to hire someone who will create and send the marketing emails for you through one of the above softwares, take a look at GuestHook.

@Erik Stenbakken currently the integration helps you to quickly create guidebooks for properties and then also send Touch Stay invites based on arrival dates, with the guidebook link expiring on departure. There are more functions coming, this is just the first step.

Personally I send guests a link to my Touch Stay guidebook in my OwnerRez email templates + the scheduled Touch Stay invites.

As for what I like about Touch Stay: beautiful design, easy to use interface for the guests (and on the back end dashboard), complete custom branding with my logo/colors/fonts (aka white label), mobile first, share with guests by link and guest opens on their own device, superb customer service, add photos and videos, multitude of options and features.

You can see live examples at the Touch Stay website as well. And OwnerRez has a recent webinar with Touch Stay, topic is communicating with guests.

@Chris O. and @Erik Stenbakken since you use OwnerRez also, did you see that they now integrate with Touch Stay digital guidebooks?

My tech stack:

• OwnerReservations
• Touch Stay digital guidebooks
• Minut
• EZ Care
• StayFi
• Schlage Encode locks
• Sensei thermostats

You can also look at vrolio.com for vacation rentals for sale. And as noted above, talk to a local agent in the area you are interested in. Your agent should know the zoning and permit restrictions as well as help you run the initial numbers. Making sure the property can legally be a vacation rental is always step 1. And if you want a vacation rental industry expert to help you with numbers or maybe to consult with on deals you come across, I recommend Alanna Schroeder of The Distinguished Guest.