In the pursuit of direct booking success, the unexpected twist lies in the diverse and heartfelt narratives shared by industry experts. As each guest delves into their personal experiences, listeners are captivated by the emotional resonance of their journeys. From the quest for autonomy to the forging of authentic connections, the multifaceted nature of success unfolds in a tapestry of perspectives. But what will these inspiring stories ignite within you?

In this episode, you will be able to:

• Master the art of direct booking success to increase your revenue and independence.
• Take control of your brand to stand out and attract more guests.
• Enhance guest experience and build sustainable practices for long-term success.
• Create a community around your rental and add value for a loyal guest base.

My special guest are Kelly Odor, Yvonne Halling, Thibault Masson, Daniela Derin, Sarah Orchard, Rebecca Lombardo, Travis Wilburn, Lisa Roads, Bob Garner, Zach Busekrus, Adams Taranda, Sara Sokol, Heather Bayer, Louise Brace, Jane Mack, Tracey Northcott, Christianne Crump, Mark Winship and Annie Sloan.

The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:08 - Introduction to Direct Booking Success

00:02:05 - Control and Brand Building

00:07:38 - Guest Experience and Relationship Building

00:10:01 - Security and Sustainability

00:12:56 - Celebrating Direct Booking Milestones 

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

Follow Jenn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directbookingsuccess

Join the Marketing Hub Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/marketinghubforholidayrentals

Hello and welcome to the direct booking Direct Booking Success podcast.

I'm delighted to be here with you today. I'm your host, Jennn Boyles. Today I'm bringing you something rather special. When I started helping others in their marketing for direct bookings, I needed a name, a business name, a brand, something that I could build that would let others know what I was doing. After much thought, I landed on the name direct booking Direct Booking Success.

I then went on to name all the parts of my business using this brand. Now, why did I decide to use the word Direct Booking Success? It is so subjective. Well, this is the exact reason why I chose it. Because your idea of Direct Booking Success might not be my idea of Direct Booking Success and vice versa.

And this made me curious about what the different versions of Direct Booking Success there were out there. To you, Direct Booking Success could mean building a six or seven figure business. But it doesn't have to. It could be all about being able to stand on your own 2ft and not rely on online travel agents at all. It could be about having a business that works around you and your family life.

And I find this so interesting. I love finding out what this means to each person that I interview on the podcast. So today I'm bringing you those answers. I've gone through all of the episodes that I've published in the last year and a half and pulled out some of my favorite answers and have put them together for you today. So let's get started.

What does direct booking Direct Booking Success mean to you? Ultimately, I guess it comes under the umbrella of being in control of your business. So if I were to break it down, I would think it's about being in control of your guest data or your email data, whichever is most important. Being in control of your business rules. So you have your cancellation rules and that's what you stick to because they're your rules and being in control of your outlays.

So things like whether you're having to pay fees to third parties in order to attract bookings for your business, having. Control over the flow of bookings into your hospitality business. That means being able to attract direct bookings on demand when you need them. It means not experiencing the feast and famine of the high season. Low season.

It means having peace and tranquility, peace of mind and yeah, peace of mind. So that you are not constantly on the search for more and more bookings. Just leave a small margin to pay for what we need to pay. And as well, kind of direct booking Direct Booking Success also is some kind of validation. I don't say that, but feel you are some kind of entrepreneur.

That's also a way to feel like, yeah, I am an entrepreneur. The freedom to set our rules into our home. We're not depending on anybody, our policies, a cancellation saying who I allow into our home because they're all individually owned, but I feel them like mine. I have a responsibility for this. Yeah.

So yes, direct booking is freedom. Freedom to build your business on your own land. Really a huge thank you to Kelly Odor, Yvonne Halling, Ty Bow Mason and Daniela Darren for starting us off. They were all speaking about the control you can end up having when you are focusing on building your own business with direct bookings. Now let's hear more about how direct bookings can help build your brand instead of someone else's.

For me, it's building that capability in your business, that marketing capability, so that you can take those bookings direct. So investing in your website with a good booking engine, like we said, having that email list and getting whatever percentage of bookings that you want to handle direct. When people are speaking and recognizing your brand and recommending your brand, your local brand, I think is huge. I feel it's about creating or building a good brand. A brand that attracts your ideal clients like a magnet, that when they see it, they feel trust, they can see professionalism and that it's easy for them to book with you directly.

Repeats referrals and reviews the three r's, repeats referrals and reviews. Because when you build a brand, and I talked about it in my presentation, that is based around sustainability and you would attract great people, they come back, they refer you and they write a brilliant review. But I think the biggest question that you should be asking yourselves is do we want to build a consumer facing brand? Because I think that that's what you have to do if you want to have Direct Booking Success with direct bookings. In a nutshell, it means control and building a brand.

That's what I love about it. Once you kind of have your foot into direct bookings, having access to all of these business levers that you previously didn't have access to, a whole new world kind of pops up. You access data about your guests, you understand fully what your guests want, what they need, what they expect. You can tailor to those needs, you can implement various additional services on your properties, such as, I don't know, renting, kayaks, massages, whatever. The possibilities are endless there.

It's just this kind of, this switch that you're a brand, you now control everything, you have all these business levers under your control. I mean, yeah, it suddenly becomes a large, super exciting, creative world to kind of function within. And that's what I love about direct bookings. Direct bookings are like the true translation for me into that small, little creative, exciting world. And yeah, that's how I would put it.

You've just heard from Sarah Orchard, Rebecca Lomberto and Travis Wilburn, Lisa Rhodes, Bob Garner, Zach Boozy Cruz and Adams Tarandon. Now, what about our guests and their experience? What does direct booking Direct Booking Success mean to you? The opportunity and the privilege to provide my guests with the experience that I want to give them from before they've even booked to after they've checked out and pass that until their next stay or the next email they get from me. So being able to control, maybe that sounds bad, but being able to control every aspect of that guest stay and provide them with the experience that I want, that's what that is.

For me, repeat guests were just building this wonderful community of guests. And those repeat guests become marketing ambassadors, welcoming the people into your home that you want in your home. Okay? Because it has to be a two way model. You can't just invite everybody into your home and people won't respect your home.

And I think as much as it is a business, you have to love that business. So it's about welcoming people into your home and making them friends and making them repeat guests. Receiving those five star reviews, for me. It'S very much about bringing in a personal level to it. It brings a lot of trust and loyalty, I think, as well.

And I think direct booking as well, I know a lot of people look at it and think, well, we save some commission and we get people direct to us. But it also brings a lot of repeat customers as well. Having those people come to you direct means, to me, that whole sort of loyalty bet that they will ask other people to come and book with you. And it just creates that overall experience, better experience. And I think it's quite nice.

Obviously, all I knew was direct bookings, but what I gained from it was that whole piece of, it's like another part of your whole relationship of your business with your customers. When they book direct, you get a really better feel of the types of customers that you get. Thank you to Sarah Sokel, Heather Baer, Louise Brace, and Jane Mack for your words of wisdom. Now, our last group of answers are quite eclectic, and I want to thank Tracy Northcott, Christianne Crump, Mark Winship, and Annie Sloan in advance for their answers, too. What does direct booking Direct Booking Success mean to you?

It mainly means having a real pride, a sense of accomplishment, of what we've built for not just my family, but for the community. We have very close ties with our community. I've got restaurants that when I walk in there, I'm the superstar. Because they know that I've brought them customers. They know that I've brought them people who are spending money and having a great, not just spending money, but enjoying and then taking those away as memories.

Direct booking Direct Booking Success means security to me because thinking of the pandemic and how the OTAs had all these crazy ways in which they managed, whether the guest reservations would be canceled automatically or whatnot, and it also means security in the sense that I own my guests, I can communicate with them, I can set whatever rules I need. And I know this isn't necessarily revolutionary to me. I think a lot of people feel the same way. But direct booking Direct Booking Success really is security and it's building your own. I mean, I think that's critical and that's what we want.

And so I love what you're doing, Jenn. I think it's known that the time and effort that people put into creating their direct booking operations is time well spent. Direct booking Direct Booking Success, basically sustainability means longevity. And it means the fact that we're building a business that actually has value, it has a tangible existence and it thrives beyond myself and Caroline having to have our hand on the tiller all the time. Because if you build a client base, if you build that trust, you've got a business that can sustain itself.

If ultimately five years down the line or ten years down the line, we decide we've had enough of all of this and we want to move the business on kind of thing. Then going to a potential buyer, for example, this is just an easy, clear cut example and saying, yeah, our business involves sticking it on Airbnb and hoping that people book, you've got no value there. That's not actually a business in that sense. The fact that we've got a loyal customer base who come back to us year in and year out or week in and week out for working contracts is that we have a business that has sustainability and it has value. That for me is what it's all about.

Obviously it's financially beneficial for us to drive direct bookings as opposed to paying OTA commissions. But for me, it's about more than that. It's about starting with the end in mind. What are we trying to create here? And building something that has value that ultimately we have options with in the future?

This may be an odd answer for your first direct booking, because once you have done that, you've overcome the hurdle. You've had someone, particularly if it's from SEO, you're like, I did it. I set up my systems enough that it is now possible and you can only go up from there. It is just getting to that first part and getting off of Airbnb. If it's someone rebooking, sure.

But if it's a new booking, I mean, that to me is ring a ding ding. I did it and I know how to replicate it and do more of it. Well, there you have it. So many different answers from hosts, property managers and experts. All the people that I have had on the podcast in the past year and a half.

Thank you so much for all of you for listening and for coming on the podcast. Now, what I really want to know is what does direct booking Direct Booking Success mean to you?