If you're feeling frustrated and overwhelmed by the lack of direct bookings for your short-term rental, despite your efforts to promote your accommodation, then you are not alone! Many hosts, property managers and owners in the hospitality industry are experiencing the same struggle, even after investing time and money into marketing campaigns and online listings. Instead of seeing a steady stream of direct bookings, they are faced with empty calendars and declining occupancy rates.

Don't get overwhelmed with all the information. Focus on the strategies that will make the biggest impact for your business right now. - Jenn Boyles

In this episode, you will be able to:

• Leapfrog your competitors with game-changing direct booking strategies from our Success Summit.
• Participate in a unique online summit designed to empower hosts and property managers like you.
• Engross yourself in illuminating presentations and build ties within a dedicated community on Facebook.
• Master diverse domains from targeted marketing to the rise of remote work in today's business scenario.
• Experience the perks of an all-access pass, and get an insider view of the generous sponsors propelling the summit.

The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:08 - Introduction

00:01:11 - The Only Free Online Summit

00:03:34 - How the Summit Works

00:08:17 - Managing Overwhelm

00:10:35 - Sponsor Highlights

Sign up to the Free Direct Booking Success Summit 2023: https://directbookingsuccesssummit.com/

Show notes are available at: https://directbookingsuccess.com/podcast/

Hello and welcome to the Direct Booking Success Podcast! I'm your host, Jenn Boyles, and today I'm going to be speaking to you about the most awaited summit of the year. That's right, the most awaited summit of the year, the 2023 Direct Booking Success Success. Now, those aren't my words, but that of an attendee who has attended the past two years and was one of the first who signed up to attend this year. Now we're back for the third year, and each year, the audience for this summit has grown and grown. And for those who've been coming since 2021, it is the most awaited summit of the year.

Let me tell you why. The Direct Booking Success Success is the only free online summit for hosts, vacation rental and short term rental property managers and owners. Sure, there are one off talks with panels, but nothing like this three day event. Nothing that is pure education aimed at helping you up level your accommodation business with better hospitality and more bookings. Now, I created the summit back in 2021.

The online world had opened up and from coming out of the pandemic, and I wanted to help others who, like me, wanted to learn more. More how to help my business, but couldn't travel to all the in person conferences. And in person conferences are great. They are a wonderful way to meet people. But it takes a lot of money and time to travel to them.

And if you're like me, I couldn't just say, see you in a few days to my then five year old daughter and take off. So I created something that I thought was lacking in our space, a way for us to get together online, learn, connect, and have some fun. Today is October 2, 2023, and this afternoon I'm going to be kicking off the third Direct Booking Success Success. I couldn't be more excited. This event is going to be the biggest and best one yet, and I'm here today to tell you all about it.

But before I do, if you haven't signed up yet, hit pause and go and do it now. Now head to Direct Booking Success. Okay, hit pause. I'll wait right here. Hit pause, go sign up.

It'll take you 2 seconds and then come back. This summit is a free three day event, so even if you're a bit late to the party, don't worry, we'll be there all week. So come on over. So let me tell you how the online summit will work, okay? If you're not quite sure.

Okay, there are two parts. The first are the presentations which are available to be watched for 24 hours. Okay, this year there are 22 presentations. So I've split them up into three groups. Each day of the summit, a group of presentations will go live to view for free for 24 hours.

No matter where you are in the world, you will get the same access. Now, the second part of the summit is in the exclusive Summit Facebook group. And this is where all the fun is. Speakers are going to be live streaming in to connect and answer your questions. Attendees are going to be sharing what they've learned in the presentations and we are all going to be playing bingo to win some fabulous prizes.

There will also be a couple of live events that I will hold on Zoom so you can connect with each other face to face. One is a networking event where you'll be split up into small groups to network. The second is a hot seat session where I'll be answering your questions and doing a bit more of a deep dive to help you find a way to get more bookings. It really is amazing that all of this is free. I mean, come on.

All the speakers have created value packed presentations for you. They have volunteered their time to help you. So let me go through some of those presentations that are in the lineup this year. Okay, ready? There's 22 of them.

Heather Baer is bringing us a presentation about tightening the niche. A journey in focused marketing. Jody Bourne will be navigating success helping you craft your content marketing roadmap without the stress and overwhelm of what do I do next? I'm going to be speaking about life beyond airbnb, helping you build that all important trust with guests to get them to book with you direct. What about this one?

How to create triple the content in half the time with Conchetta Cassidy. I know there'll be some great gems of wisdom in there. Megan Castor will be showing you how to write killer property descriptions that will convince guests to book. Daniela Darren, who runs a successful holiday business in Spain. She'll be teaching you how to thrive with digital nomads and remote workers, how to attract them and how to keep them coming back.

There are two presentations on AI. One is with Evan Dalgo. He is going to be unbundling the OTA's, e-commerce and AI strategies. I can't wait for that. And Bart Sobes will be joining us from Australia with his presentation on how you can use AI as a co-driver for increasing Direct Booking Success Success in your business.

If you are looking at how you can turn your business sustainability into an opportunity for more business, then you better check out Bob Garner's presentation. Yvonne Halling will be speaking on the seven key elements for a happy and prosperous hospitality life. I love her advice. How about creating repeat bookings and referrals? Jane Mack will be showing you tactics that you can use in your business.

Valerie Malone will be showing you how to unlock unique rental interiors that can help boost your bookings. And the double act of Tybo Mason and Yuvika Wally will be giving you some great advice on Instagram to get more bookings. Now. I'm not done yet. Okay, can you see how this is going to be the best summit so far?

Okay, stay with me for a couple more. Conrad O'Connell will be teaching you how to master search marketing. Attracting guests during the quieter period is what Kelly O'door is going to be concentrating on. Sarah Orchard will be giving you the information to turn your website into a Direct Booking Success magnet. How fab is that?

Lisa Roads is going to be joining and showing you how she scaled her property management business in another country while achieving Direct Booking Success Success before Airbnb even existed. Stacey St. John will be helping you manage your business remotely as a recipe for success. Michelle Woodman will be showing you tech that will make blogging and social media posting as simple as sending an email. Okay, three more to go.

Mike Denman is going to be speaking about advertising on Meta. Dave Cordner is going to be speaking about TikTok. And Tracy Northcott will be tackling branding. Now, wow. 22 presentations for free for you to view.

That will help you increase your bookings. Are you already feeling overwhelmed? I know it's a lot, but don't worry, because I don't want you to get overwhelmed. Because when you're overwhelmed, you stop taking in the information you need and get stuck. I know that feeling.

I find that when I'm overwhelmed, I can't concentrate on anything. I flit from thing to thing and don't really get anything done. So here's the thing. The presentations are free to view for 24 hours. There will be a group of presentations released each day Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

What I suggest you do is just watch the presentations that you need right now in your business, okay? The ones that will move the needle the biggest for you, just concentrate on them. This will help. But now you're probably worrying what you're going to be missing out on. Okay?

But don't worry, I've already thought of that as well. You can upgrade your free ticket to the All Access Pass. Okay? Having this All Access Pass means that you will have access to all the presentations forever. You will be able to watch them, go back and rewatch them whenever you want.

All the presentations are going to be jam packed with learning strategies and tactics to help you along with the ongoing access to all 22 presentations. The speakers and sponsors and I have put together a bunch of amazing bonuses for you, too. Listen to this. Nine training courses, seven guides, four books, two consultation offers, and one amazing toolkit. The value of the All Access Pass is over $3,000 and you can get it for a fraction of that cost.

When you register your free ticket, you'll be giving an amazing limited time deal on it. If you've already registered, then you can still upgrade. In fact, if you're listening to this right after the Summit has happened and are kicking yourself for not getting involved in it, the all access pass cart will be open until October 13, 2023. Now, once the Summit actually starts and the presentations drop, the price goes up. So I would get in there right away, head to the Direct Booking Success website to check it all out.

Okay, so I've got two more things to tell you about this year's Direct Booking Success Success. The first are the amazing sponsors who have signed up to help keep this a free event for you to enjoy. The gold level sponsors are Operto and the Direct Booking Success Success. So let me tell you a little bit about okay? Operto is really an amazing one stop shop to help you automate your property care and deliver an exceptional digital guest experience.

Okay, there are three areas that they can help you with. The first is their automated property care. They optimize everything you need to manage your properties, like custom checklists maintenance, issue tracking, streamlined payroll reports, laundry and linen forecasting. They also help with digital check-ins for your guests, digital guidebooks, guest verification, as well as Upsells. And if that wasn't enough, they also provide smart locks, Direct Booking Success, energy management, and noise monitoring.

The best thing about all of this is that it consolidates all you have to do as a property manager into one easy to use platform. This will save you time, money, and energy. I guarantee it. Now. The Direct Booking Success Success is how I help others just like you with increasing Direct Booking Success Success.

You've probably figured out that I'm behind it just from its name. It is a six month mentorship program where I work with you to create your own Direct Booking Success Success action plan. What you then do is just follow it to build up the Direct Booking Success side of your business. Some of my clients have been 100% book direct and have been able to leave the OTAs altogether. Others, like me, maintain a presence on the OT platform, but drive 70% plus Direct Booking Success Success.

Think of all the money you could be saving commissions and the control you could have over your own business. Your business, your rules. And all attendees of this year's Direct Booking Success Success will be invited to a very special Live Masterclass next week, where I'll be showing you how you can use what you've learned at this summit to create your very own Direct Booking Success sales engine. This would be your very own marketing action plan that brings in Direct Booking Success Success while you sleep. So watch your inbox for more information on that exclusive invitation.

For attendees of this year's Summit. The silver level sponsors are iBooked.online and STR advertising. iBooked.online is run by Bart Sobies. They are Direct Booking Success website experts. If you don't have a website yet, then this is where to go.

Short and sweet, head to their website, iBooked.online to sign up. STR Advertising is Mike Denman's brainchild. And if you're thinking that meta advertising needs to be confusing and expensive doesn't, Mike is the guy to help you with that best in the business. The bronze level sponsors are Bookly and Touch Stay, and I'm so excited to share some information about this new company, Bookly. They make Direct Booking Success landing pages, like mini websites that are super easy and accessible.

You don't need to be a tech whiz to set it up. You simply paste in an OTA booking link and then drag and drop your content. You can use it as your link in Bio on Instagram, as a complement to your website, or as a mini standalone website itself. It is truly an amazing product. The guys at Bookley have been so amazing and generous.

You can have 15% off when you use the code DBS and I'll put the links in the show notes, so don't worry. Touch Stay is the last of our sponsors. They provide the most amazing digital guidebooks that don't just look pretty, but are packed full of helpful tools for you. They have kindly set up a guidebook for this year's Summit, so watch your inbox for the link. Now, how can I host this Summit again without playing Bingo?

Last year was so much fun. It was so great seeing all the attendees calling out Bingo as the days went on. And there were some great prizes. This year we have even more. Okay, I'm just going to tell you about a couple because I'm still finalizing a few as I go.

One Summit attendee will receive a full scholarship to join my six month mentorship Direct Booking Success Success. And another lucky Summit attendee will work one to one with Mike Denman of STR Advertising to produce a meta ads campaign. Both of these prizes are each valued at one $500. Amazing. And all you have to do is play Bingo, post your winning card in the Summit Facebook group and you could win.

Wow. This week's Direct Booking Success Success. Summit is going to be amazing. And if you're still with me thank you. Now, one of the questions I asked in the Summit Facebook Group last week was just asking where in the world attendees were.

The locations were amazing. People from all over the globe are joining in to this year's Direct Booking Success Success. I'm so very proud to be hosting this amazing event again this year. The Direct Booking Success Success is the only free three day online event dedicated to helping you increase your Direct Booking Success. Head to Direct Booking Success Summit to sign up if you haven't got your free ticket yet, and I'll see you there.