How to Build a Direct Booking Website for Your Short-Term Rental
Summary
This article discusses how short-term rental hosts can create their own direct booking websites to reduce commission costs, build brand recognition, and own their guest data. It provides a step-by-step guide on building a website and explains the benefits of direct bookings. Consider building a direct booking website to gain more control over your business.
Key Insights
- •Commission costs on OTAs can significantly reduce profit, with these fees often representing a substantial loss of revenue over a year.
- •Direct bookings start small but grow steadily as repeat guests and branded searches increase.
Action Items
- ✓Design your direct booking website with guest behavior in mind, focusing on clear photos, simple navigation, and fast loading pages.Effort: mediumImpact: medium
- ✓Choose a platform that allows for growth, like WordPress, for long-term flexibility and ownership of your website.Effort: mediumImpact: medium
Tools & Resources
- →WordPress: The article suggests using WordPress for building a direct booking website.(wordpress.org)
Common Mistakes
- ⚠Ignoring SEO is a mistake, because if your website cannot be found in search results, it will rely entirely on paid traffic or repeat guests.
- ⚠Treating the website like a brochure instead of designing it around booking behavior is a common mistake.
More from Growth & Marketing
Airbnb is launching a new host bonus as travel demand surges for the upcoming World Cup. This strategic move aims to encourage more listings and capitalize on the expected influx of guests. The initiative highlights Airbnb's efforts to prepare for peak season travel and its ongoing support for hosts.
This article discusses the emergence of a new platform designed as an 'Airbnb' for hourly creative spaces. It aims to solve the difficulties creators face when finding and renting spaces. While not directly about STRs, it highlights a potential niche market that could be applicable to hosts considering offering hourly space rentals, indicating a shift towards accommodating creative industries.
Airbnb is offering a $750 incentive to attract new hosts to list their properties for the World Cup. This move aims to ensure sufficient accommodation for visitors during the event. This initiative highlights the importance of short-term rentals in accommodating large-scale events and provides a financial benefit for new hosts.
Curated by Learn STR by GoStudioM