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If the goal of your website is to attract potential guests than your having the wrong approach.
The main reason for having a website is to create an ability for potential guests to contact you and to book.
FB groups, IG, SC and other social media are a great way to attract potential guests, but you still need a place to send them after you got their attention, and that is why you need a website.
I get several inquiries per week trough my website, especially on days where I post in interest groups and forums about my region.
About the worst thing you can do is attract a guest to your site, and then send them to an OTA, for them to make a lot of money on your work.
Best way is to do it the other way around: After finding you on an OTAâs site have the guest search for you and contact you direct.
But then you need an unique name and a good website.
@ProfBossyPants Elaine, why donât post your available room on Nextdoor in your area? Nextdoor is a national web-based publication available by neighborhoods. Also, why not post it in the schoolâs paper or any other widely circulated listing in your area?
Thanks MissMiami. I use both places you mentioned and have had good success with setting up long term rentals. The students will sign up for a long term rental without ever seeing the place. This is part of the reason I have stopped renting on Airbnb for right now.
In fact the purpose of the website is for people who have found me thanks to the booking giants, but who donât want to pay the fees, can contact me directly. That is what has been happening.
I have no illusions nobody will go thru my website if I donât have accounts with the big 2 or 3 or 4.
The way I see it is there are no disadvantages to direct bookings. Like others said, you need some sort of website so that when a savvy traveler googles the name of the property, they can find a place to book you with no fees.
OP - if youâre not already on Houfy, I suggest importing your listing on there. It will import the majority of your ABB or VRBO listing within seconds, along with the guest reviews. You can sync those reviews everytime you get new ones. Itâs integrated already with Square and Stripe. Houfy does not hold the money at all. Calendars sync.
You can also make free digital travel guides/welcome books on their social site. And you can send these to all of your guests to access them, no matter the platform they booked you through.
Many people are connecting their FB Learn More button and their Google business listing directly to their Houfy site. Traveler clicks and can book right on Houfy and pay.
As far as people not trusting somewhere outside of ABB or VRBO, etc. If someone these days doesnât realize their credit card protects them from scams anywayâŚthen they can choose to book your property on the OTA instead.
I have never had an issue with a guest scanning me their ID. I ask for a copy of the ID of the credit card holder to be returned with signed rental agreement.
BTW - unless you donât need the $$$ from the OTAs at all, then I wouldnât rely on other sources to fill your calendar. By all meansâŚstick with the OTAs while you build up your book direct business. I know some who have quit cold turkey but I donât know the details of their situation and if they already had for example a 75% book direct rateâŚ
Iâm not sure what you mean by someone in the USA would need to form their own business and deal with more complicated taxes if they book outside of ABB. Why are you considered to be a âlandlordâ if your guests book through ABB, but not a landlord if they book you on your direct website?
Sorry @Chris your advice goes against all marketing wisdom. Of course you should design your website to attract your key target audiences. All marketing channels should be designed with this goal in mind.
A hosts website shouldnât just be a vehicle for guests to be able to book, but also acts as channel to help guests make a buying decision on whether they want to book with you, rather than one of your competitors.
The information you provide about key benefits of your listing and area and how easy you make it for guests to find the information they want and be able to book are also key, when developing a website.
I am glad you agree with me that it is not just about setting up your website and hoping guests will find you,. Hosts with their own websites, need to invest in promoting their sites through relevant channels such as social media, paid ads and relevant third party marketing channels such as your local tourism site, a hospital or university with staff or students looking for accommodation or special interest groups such as those attending a festival or ramblers.
We already had a web site that I didnât want in the first place (because Iâve managed my own small sites before and I know that they get 1 visit per day). (I didnât even bother setting up analytics on it. I donât need a dashboard to tell me that nobody is visiting the web site.) My husband/partner in this wanted it so I acquiesced and set one up anyway. I had links to the VRBO and AirBnB pages for booking. It was pretty pointless. I signed up for Houfy (thanks!) and now thereâs a link to book through our Houfy listing above the other two links on our booking page. We tested it out tonight by husband booking a Monday that was never going to book for $1 and everything went through Stripe without a hitch.
I am not familiar with Squarespace and not sure if Houfyâs embed tools are compatible with it at all or if Squarespace uses itâs own tools.
But they work with wordpress. Some have had an issue with Wix depending on what they are trying to do.
But you may want to scroll to the bottom and check out some of the websites that are using the tools. Right now they are free. In the future - maybe next July there may be a charge for someone who wants to use them but it hasnât been decided. I have them on my own website but I dont know what I am doing in Wordpress so my site looks like crap. ButâŚthe sites in this link use them well. The tools may stay free for current members and only new members next year will pay if they want them. Who knows⌠But you might like them. https://www.houfy.com/houfyinc/posts/we-embedded-some-of-the-houfy-tools-to-our-own-wordpress-website-and-got-a-booking-including-payment-direct-11295
Copy the embed code and plop it into your site. At least thatâs how it works with wordpress. Whatever you update on Houfy, will update your website too. Calendar, seasonal rates table, etc.
I just put a hyperlink to the Houfy listing on our âbookingâ page which just links to three other sites to book through (Houfy, Air, VRBO). The only traffic that goes to the site that I am driving is off our Instagram account and it gets very few clicks from there based on what I can see in my IG analytics.
(But now I have somewhere to send someone who I want to book direct.)
Also ⌠the Squarespace templates are set up for direct booking. They have the templates for it. I just donât use them.
Edited to add: I find Squarespace a lot easier to work with than Wordpress and it makes a much more professional looking product if youâre just a point-and clicker trudging along like me.
I just recovered from over a month of trying to rent a room for the Fall. It was the most bizarre in my history, People donât read here either, but they certainly get creative about reinterpreting things.
A couple of hacks I learned:
Never post your real address.
Deal strictly by email initially.
Ask for the basics with the posting. If they donât provide them, ciao.
Donât oversell.
Ask who they will be coming with.
A sell sheet is very handy.
Whenever possible, cluster appointments. The no show rate is +50%. Plus a group creates competitiveness. Ask the serious persons to hang back.
Some people have driven for hours. Offering the loo is a nice touch.
Have ID ready.
Be prepared for yahoos. The discount seekers, the bring extra people in types, the jerks. Ask them to leave immediately.
Have contracts ready.
Just like Air, be prepared for the poof. All of a sudden people just disappear. After days of back and forth.
If possible have another person around. Impressions matter, Itâs good to have another opinion.
We tested it out tonight by husband booking a Monday that was never going to book for $1 and everything went through Stripe without a hitch.