243: The Short-Term Rental Cheat Code for More Bookings and Fewer Fees in 2023 w/Mark Simpson

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! In This Episode We Cover Direct booking sites explained and why they’re starting to rival online travel agencies How bad reviews and unfair algorithm updates can destroy your listing overnight Converting guests from the big sites into direct bookings effortlessly Building a direct booking brand so your short-term rentals become more than just another vacation property Why online travel agencies may start charging hosts to get higher rankings  Pricing tools, online accreditation, and other things direct booking hosts need to survive And So Much More! Links from the Show Find an Investor-Friendly Real Estate Agent Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group Boostly’s Property Management Software List Airbnb Vrbo Booking.com Expedia Group Tripadvisor Hospitable Hostaway Hostfully Guesty For Host Uplisting YourPorter OwnerRez Stripe I-PRAC AirCover Superhog AutoCamp Why Hosts Are Backing Away from Travel Sites and Building Direct Bookings Double Your Cash Flow Overnight (In ANY Market) with Medium-Term Rentals How Airbnb designs for trust | Joe Gebbia PriceLabs AirDNA Wheelhouse Pricing Beyond Pricing Stayfi MailChimp Korona POS Connect with Mark: Mark's Instagram Mark's Website Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-243 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Check out our sponsor page! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices