Are you feeling trapped by your reliance on Airbnb and other OTAs for your vacation rental bookings? It's time to break free and take control of your business. In this episode, we explore strategies to increase direct bookings, boost profits, and regain autonomy in your short-term rental venture.

Join me as I chat with Jennifer Spencer, a seasoned vacation rental marketing expert with over a decade of experience. Jennifer specializes in helping owners and hosts streamline their operations, enhance guest experiences, and drive revenue growth through direct bookings.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Discover the first steps to breaking free from OTA dependence
• Learn why diversifying your booking channels is crucial for long-term success
• Understand the power of a Property Management System (PMS) in simplifying your operations
• Explore effective strategies for nurturing guest relationships and encouraging repeat bookings
• Get insights on leveraging email marketing to boost direct bookings

‘Direct bookings are such a game changer. It gives you more control of your business.’ - Jennifer Spencer

Jennifer Spencer is a seasoned vacation rental marketing expert, specializing in assisting owners and hosts with the seamless onboarding of property management systems and dynamic pricing tools. Her expertise lies in streamlining, automating, and enhancing the guest experience, all while driving direct bookings and revenue growth. 

Jennifer’s journey in vacation rentals began over a decade ago when she started hosting guests at her ski and golf property in the Canadian Rockies. And in 2021, she expanded her portfolio to include a property in Maui - She likes to say she goes from Ski to Sea! 

Jennifer empowers vacation rental owners, hosts property managers to unlock the full potential of their vacation rental business and her digital course, The Automation Accelerator, offers a comprehensive, step-by-step program on property management system set up, that is a go-to resource for those wanting to optimize and automate their vacation rental business so they can diversity from the OTA’s, get direct bookings and grow profits!

Connect with Jennifer: 

Website: https://www.thehostapproach.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hostapproach/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehostapproach

**Don’t miss out on Jennifer’s Free Guide: Break Free from Airbnb -  https://www.thehostapproach.com/breakfree **

Ready to take control of your vacation rental business? Tune in to discover how you can break free from OTA reliance and achieve direct booking success.

00:00:00 Breaking Free from OTA Dependence

00:01:06 Introducing Jennifer Spencer: Vacation Rental Marketing Expert

00:02:17 Jennifer's Journey in Vacation Rentals

00:05:25 First Steps to Break Free from OTAs

00:08:53 Diversifying Booking Channels

00:14:12 Long-Term Benefits of Using a PMS

00:19:23 Email Marketing for Direct Bookings

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

Join me and your fellow STR operators and property managers to master optimising the guest booking journey with Book Direct Pro. 

Mark your calendar: 4 STEPS TO MORE BOOKINGS MASTERCLASS

Thursday, October 31st, 2024

11 am PST | 2 pm EST | 7pm BST

In this FREE live training, you’ll discover: 

• Why expanding your guest base is crucial for scaling your vacation rental business
• The secrets to not only capturing their interest but also gathering the crucial details that turn curious visitors into booked guests. 
• How to craft compelling campaigns that resonate with new guests and drive them to book with you. 
• The essential tool and templates that will streamline your marketing and supercharge your success.

Secure your spot today: https://bookdirectpro.com/nextmasterclass

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Work with Jenn to maintain consistency in your marketing and boost your direct bookings without spending so much money on it: https://directbookingsuccess.com/apply/

The ULTIMATE all-in-one marketing platform for short term rental is finally here! Check it out: https://bookdirectpro.com/

FREE GUIDE: 10 Ways to Drive Guests to your Website instead of Airbnb: https://directbookingsuccess.com/10-ways-to-drive-guests-to-your-website-instead-of-airbnb/

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

Join Jenn’s free Facebook group – the Marketing Hub: https://www.facebook.com/groups/strmarketinghub

Hey, are you feeling stuck relying on Airbnb for your vacation rental bookings? You're not alone. In this episode, we're going to dive into how to break free from the OTAs, regain control of your business and unlock the power of direct bookings. Whether you're a seasoned property manager or just starting out, you'll be able to learn how to boost profits, streamline operations, and finally, say goodbye to the OTA trap. It's time to take control and achieve success on your terms. Let's go.

You are listening to the Direct Booking Success Podcast, bringing you all the information you need for your short term rental to stand out from the crowd. I'm your host, Jenn Boyles. As an owner and manager myself, I know how hard it can be to navigate the hospitality industry. I'm here to help so you too can have direct booking success.

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Direct Booking Success Podcast. I'm Jenn Boyles, your host. Thank you for having me in the podcast as part of your day today. I have Jennifer Spencer with me now. Jennifer is a seasoned vacation rental marketing expert. She specializes in assisting owners and hosts with the seamless onboarding of property management systems, those PMSs and dynamic pricing tools. Her expertise lies in streamlining, automating and enhancing the guest experience, all while driving direct bookings and revenue growth. Sounds awesome, doesn't it? Hey, welcome, Jennifer.

Thank you. Yes. I'm so glad to be here. Thanks, Jenn, for having me. That was a great intro. Thank you so much. Yeah.

So it's kind of weird, isn't it, when you're sitting there listening to somebody talk about you? Yeah, like, is that. Oh, nice. All right, let's.

Like, that sounds pretty great.

It does sound awesome. Be very proud. So I want to kick things off by sharing your journey so far in vacation rentals. Can you tell us, like, how you got started? I think you started about a decade or so ago, didn't you?

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, I know for sure. Yeah. So I am from Canada as well. We're both Canadians. I live in Calgary. And how I got started in the vacation rental business is that I had just always been interested in real estate and travel and interior design. And I had actually bought my first property when I was 24, pretty much out of university and so was always interested in real estate. But once I got started into the vacation rental business, the audience got started because my family, we were a ski family and we were coming back and forth from the mountains all the time. And so we decided to invest in a Vacation rental in the Canadian Rockies and as a ski property. And so we used it a lot in the wintertime. But then I was like, oh, you know, hey, maybe when we're not using this property, maybe we could rent it out and maybe cover some expenses or maybe make a little side income. And it actually turned out to be like, hugely successful. I loved it. And. And then I just kind of got into everything vacation rental related. So my background is actually marketing. I just spent like 20 years and did various sales and marketing roles for some big companies like Johnson Johnson and Kraft Foods and Unilever. But definitely my passion, like I said, was always real estate and vacation rental. So once I kind of got into the vacation rental side of things, I just kind of went all in. I spent a lot of time in Facebook groups giving advice. I went to conferences. I was invited to be a community advisory board for Expedia, which was. It was at the time, it was a homeaway with vrbo. And then I just really started to gain expertise in the tools that I was using. Onarez and pricelabs being two in particular, and just sort of overall, just general experience in running my vacation rental business. And people started to reach out. I had other owners starting to reach out and asking for help, for some help. So I started to help people. And then I was like, you know what? This is what I love to do. And people obviously see me as a trusted resource and helpful. And so I went all in. And In January of 2023, I left my corporate job and this is what I do now full time. So if I help other vacation rental owners. Yeah, like you and me.

Yeah, no, it's awesome. And I was so happy to have met you back in the spring at the CanStays conference in Banff. And that was wonderful. And I know we bonded, all with our love of marketing and our love of vacation rentals and our love of the Rockies and being Canadian and all that kind of stuff and having the same name. So, you know, why not?

I know we have a lot in common.

We do have a lot in common. A lot of things are common. And I know that we're both seeing sort of the same issues coming up again and again in those free Facebook groups online. And property owners and managers who are feeling stuck with the OTAs, like they're not sure quite how to get into direct bookings. What advice would you give if someone came to you at the beginning and said, look, I just feel stuck that I've got my bookings coming from the OTAs, whichever platform that may be. And not sure what to do to get feeling unstuck.

Yeah, yeah, no, for sure. So great question. So I definitely would recommend that they should get a website. Okay. And then part of getting a website and having a property management system in place, I also recommend that they should give their property a name. So it's kind of part of the branding. Okay. So I would say you need to start to take the steps in order to diversify and get off of being fully reliant on the OTAs like Airbnb and Revolt. Now they are a big component of your business as well. It doesn't mean like not to list them, but definitely you need to start to lay that path. So I would say you should look into getting a property management system in place, because with a property management system, it gives you the opportunity to have a hosted website. There are other ways to have a website too, but sometimes going with a PMS website can be quite seamless and easy to do if you're just getting started out. But there are other lots of great options. And then that PMS gives you the opportunity with that website to be able to direct people to come and book directly through you. And there's lots of different ways that you can do that and sort of get the word out that you do have a website and that people can book direct with you. Now, with a PMS2, this allows you to seamlessly control the whole process more so you can start to take payments. You can have a little bit more control over some of the listing sites, even Airbnb, there's some benefits if you're API connected with the pms. So that would be my top recommendation, is to get a PMS in place and then also get a direct booking website in place as well. Those would be the first two I would go for. And then there's lots of other stuff that you should obviously do and build on that as well.

Well, those sound like great first steps to start people from sort of breaking free of feeling stuck with the OTAs, Airbnb and sort of transitioning to more control over their bookings. Because I think that's what we all really want. It doesn't even seem to be that you will make more profit in the long run. But that doesn't even seem to be the driving force anymore. It really is the control, don't you think?

Yeah, I agree. I mean, I think it's. It's both. Right. I think that if you can take more control, you actually will earn more money. Like you'll have more. You'll have the opportunity to increase your revenue, which is also key, and increase your bookings. Right. But yeah, I mean, I think you just don't want to be fully reliant on just one channel. It just leaves you really vulnerable. And if you are really serious about having a vacation rental business and not just being an Airbnb or you want to grow your business, you want to add more properties, you definitely want to treat this as a business. And treating this as a business means putting systems and processes in place and making sure that if something were to happen, I mean, sometimes, you know, Airbnb lists people off a site when like your business would just be gone. So it's just so important to just make sure that you can diversify and maybe even one day you're fully independent. Right. But definitely, yes, you, you want to make sure that you're just not reliant on one. One booking platform solely that you want to have. You want to diversify for sure.

Yeah, no, I think that's great advice. So let's talk about diversifying. Can we go a bit deeper into that? What exactly does that mean when we're wanting to get more direct bookings rather than the bookings on the OTAs?

Yeah, so I think what I would say is that you should diversify across channels. So don't just be reliant on Airbnb. Definitely. If you're not on vrbo. Vrbo, then you should consider that because it is also a very strong channel. Google Vacation Rentals is a new player and it can be a great site to get increased exposure and reach. And it basically just redirects the traveler to book directly with you anyway. I mean, of course you have to have your own direct booking website already in place to take advantage of that. I would also consider, you know, booking.com is something to consider as well. It's a huge international traveler site. There are, you know, some limitations with booking.com and do your research, make sure that it's a fit for your business. But it is a growth channel. It's seeing double digit growth. So I would suggest that as well. And then there's some new players, there's hopper and whims. They're sort of focused more on the budget conscious traveler and last minute bookings and, you know, those are worth considering as well. Or if your business is really unique, you know, there's some really neat sites that cater to if you host pets or, you know, if you're glamping, you know, so, like, just consider that. And then also regional sites, there's some really great strong regional sites out there. So, like, I think Florida has some, Alabama, Maui has one. You know, where if people are specifically coming to your destination, then that's a great place for you to be. And most of those don't have some of those. The regional sites don't have guest fees. So again, it's almost acting like a direct booking website for you. And, you know, you might get more bookings because it's more affordable for the traveler to book your place on those sites versus some of the other channels. So, yeah, those. I would definitely, you know, take a look. And the key is if you are using a PMS, you can list on all these other channels and it doesn't cost you a ton of time or energy to manage it because your PMS is going to be your central hub. So you can have diversity, Right, without having to go into each individual channel, upload photos, write descriptions, stay on top of pricing, you know, watch, you know, your minimum stays and your offers. That's the beauty of a PMS, right, if you get that reach without having to put all that time and energy into, you know, managing all of these individual sites. So that's that. The two go together. That's why, yeah, it's super important to have that PMS that helps you get that diversity.

You answered the question that I hadn't even answered yet. Sorry, Mona, again, you answered that question before I even got to answer it. Because I was going to say, now this sounds great, diversifying using all these different channels, but I don't want to be doing that manually. So the PMS is really the linchpin in this strategy, isn't it?

Yeah, a hundred percent. Yeah. So it gives you the simplicity to streamline your business and get depth in terms of where you're listing. And for sure, the PMS makes things so much easier in all things, even with guest communication. Right. It can streamline your guest communication no matter where they are booked. Right. It can streamline that for you because you can automate all of that email communication or channel communications. You can even go straight from the PMS to the channel, depending on the PMS, depending on how it's connected to some of the listing sites. But typically Airbnb and Vrbo can be managed straight from your PMS tool.

Yeah, yeah. And that PMS is also where you can start without having to invest a large chunk in having that first direct booking website.

Correct? Yeah, depending on the PMS for sure. But I think most of them will offer a hosted website and they're pretty easy to get up and running for somebody who's not super tech savvy or doesn't have a lot of time and they just really want something pretty turnkey. I would definitely suggest that if you're looking for a little bit more, then you can always go to other Solutions, you know, WordPress or other platforms that are out there and you can do that as well. Just because you start your website in a PMS doesn't mean you have to be there forever. Right. You can always grow into something more custom that better meets your needs. But it can be a great place to start for sure.

Yeah, yeah. And I think something that I tell clients that I'm talking to that haven't started with a PMS or don't have a website yet, I say start with the easy option, which is just what you said, start with the easy option. And then as you grow and you have that investment available, then look at creating something that has all the bells and whistles, but, you know, yeah, grow into it. So I can see that Airbnb makes it really easy for hosts to manage their property, to keep them on the platform and all of that. I can see property managers, hosts being sort of hesitant to invest in a PMS, not just for the money, but the time that is going to be spent having to set it up. So what would be the long term benefits? Do they outweigh that initial learning curve or the cost?

Yeah, a hundred percent. I can even say when I only had one property. And I actually forgot to mention that we expanded our business and we have a property in Maui as well in 2021. So it's just not my mountain property that we have anymore. But when I only had one property, I was like, I don't really need, you know, a property management system, but I was doing everything manually. Like it was crazy, right? And just, even the anxiety of like, oh, did I miss to do this or do that? So yes, I mean, of course, depending on the property management system, there's always going to be a learning curve and getting it set up, but they're just, it's just. Oh, I mean, once you do, it's just such a game changer. First of all, it gives you more control of your business. Okay. And having more control means that you can manage that whole guest experience. You're in charge of the whole booking process. You can also make more money and there's ways to do that for various reasons and that the guest is coming to you to book directly. And so you have the opportunity to make a little bit more than maybe what you would make on the channels because you may not be paying any commission fees or maybe you're capturing a portion of those guest fees as part of your pricing on a direct booking website. So there's definitely ways that you can make more money. It's going to streamline your whole process. So you make a change once in the channel in your property management system and then it's going to send it out to all the different sites that you're in. So that's also going to save you a ton of time. Depending on where the booking has originated from, you can also be in control of payments. So again, you're the ones that you're the merchant on record. You have the opportunity to make those decisions on refunds or anything to do with that part of the booking process. Okay, now, not for Airbnb bookings, I think for Airbnb, for even no matter what PMS you're on. I do believe that Airbnb always handles the funds, but there are some of the other listing sites like the Vrbo. If you are on a PMS and you're API connected, then you actually are the merchant on record. And so that once you get the booking, then you're now in control of funds and you get payment at time of booking. You're not waiting for a payment at time of check in. And then you're not at the mercy of the listing site offering refunds on your behalf, for example. That can be very frustrating as well. You do have the ability to also do guest screening because I know sometimes people are concerned about that. They feel like Airbnb gives them that extra confidence with their air cover and you think that they're vetting guests, but it allows you to do the vetting. You can do the vetting. You can have rental agreements signed, you can have IDs uploaded, you can have integrations with other tools like superhog that will help you with verifying guest identity and give you that security around taking direct bookings. You can streamline all of your guest messaging, which makes for just ease and that's again across channels. So it doesn't matter how the guest has come to you. Once they're in and they're into your property management system, then you can start to then run your bookings the same. Right. So there's time savings there. It's great for team communication as well because you can send automated messages to your team. It has other integrations with other software that can also enhance your team communication. If you're a bigger property manager, for example, or an owner with multiple properties, and you've got a lot of moving pieces with other folks that are helping you manage your properties. And yeah, I mean, I'm. Oh, gosh, the list probably goes on. There's probably more I. Probably something I'm forgetting about, but it's endless. And so, yeah, if you can get through that learning curve, it's just like I said, I think 90% of my business is automated. Like, I. Running my businesses do not take me a lot of time, and that's because I have the systems in place and I've taken that time to get things set up properly and set up. Right, right. And that's the other thing, too. I see a lot of people will have a property management system in place, but they don't use all of its features. And so that's also, you know, I work with folks to help them with that so that they are maximizing what the tool can do for them from a streamlined perspective, but then also how they can earn more money, how they can use it to increase their revenue. So.

Yeah, yeah, no, I see that too. It was a lot. But pms, a property management software is huge. And I think that it is a beast to invest in and to learn. But it's called work for a reason. We do have to do some of the work. And I know Airbnb, low barrier of entry, easy, get in there, start renting your room, your house, whatever. But like you said at the top of the show, if it's going to be your business, you need to act like it's your business and actually do the work which is in these systems. Okay. So we've diversified. We've decided we're going to look at other channels and other ways of getting bookings in. We decided to get that pms, take that leap and get that and get it set up. We've got ourselves a website, whether that's through the PMS or outside of it, but we've got somewhere where people can actually book and we can take that payment. So that's great. What is the next thing we can do to sort of get unstuck with the. Like, we've got sort of the systems in place, but what next do we need to do?

Yeah. So then I would say from there, like, that's your base and then you can really start to promote it. Right. So one of the other advantages of having the PMS is that you can Capture emails at time of booking. Right. Which you can't really do if you don't have something in place through Airbnb and VRBO or maybe even some of the other channels. So by getting somebody to sign a rental agreement, you can capture their email. And once you have that email, that is golden because it gives you now a gateway to continue to have those conversations with guests after they've left your property for their first day. And you can then nurture that and you can get them back and you can have them as returning guests. So that is key. So I would definitely recommend that you would need an email service provider. So there is sometimes confusion that people think that a PMS can do that for you, that that can be your way that you stay in touch with your guests. And that is actually not what most PMSs are for. They help you manage the business and your properties kind of right before the stay, during the stay, and then sort of immediately after if you're returning a security deposit or something like that. And then that kind of ends. And so you would need to transition at that point in taking those emails and having them in an email service provider, for example, like Mailchimp ConvertKit, there's a whole bunch out there.

Book Direct Pro. That's one that we can mentor.

Yes, yes, yes.

It's like having your operational systems with your PMS and then you've got your marketing systems with something like BookDirect. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Cool.

Exactly. Yeah. So, yeah, and then that's when you start to nurture your guests. So I recommend that you can send promotional emails, you can let guests know when you've got like last minute openings, you can send promo codes. That's another thing with pms. Depending on the pms, you can offer a promo code to your past guests so that they can then come to your website. You can put the promo code in and then they can book Direct and get that savings. Or you might just want, you know, a touch point like, hey, this is what's going on in the area. Or sometimes I like to do updates on my properties. At least once a year I like to try to update something and then I'll send out notification, hey, listen, we just put in a whole brand new deck out here or all new furniture or whatever it is. Right. If I think it's something that people are going to value and they want to know, then I share that or I share new stuff that's happening in the area. So yeah, definitely those touch points. Make a difference. It keeps people remembering you. It makes it easy for them to reach out and book. And I've sent emails out and I've sent an email like in January I usually do, just to say happy New Year to all my past guests. And people save those emails and then five months later they respond to that email and say, hey, we're thinking of coming in the summer. Can we book direct with you? So it makes a difference. And that's how you start to build that repeat business. And it's great. I mean, it's so great when people come back to you and they want to book direct with you. And then when you've got that trust already, that guest has already come and stayed with you and you've probably got a bit of a relationship with them. And so that's how it all starts. So, yeah, I definitely would recommend getting, capturing emails, having a system in place so that you can stay in touch regularly. How often you do that, I mean, that's up to you. I think if you've got something exciting to share or you want to just keep people up to date, you can do that. So I would recommend at a minimum, four times a year, maybe once a quarter. And if you've got an area that more people are coming to more frequently, then send out more frequent emails. And people can always unsubscribe. If they're not wanting to hear from you. They'll. They'll unsubscribe. But I think if you find that nice balance, I think people will still want to hear from you. So, yeah, and it works like, I definitely, I get a lot of bookings from the email marketing that I do that I send out to my past guests.

So yeah, yeah, love it, love it. Email is so powerful. And I think people, I've heard this before with clients like, oh, but I get emails and I don't like to get them. And I'm always hitting delete and I'm like, well, are you talking about those salesy spam emails that you get? Yeah, you know those ones that are like, I got to buy this, buy that. I just don't want to do that. And I'm like, that's not the kind of email you should be sending out. So if you're in that mindset that you're going to be spamming people or you're going to be just sending them. Come book now. Book now, book now.

Who wants to get that?

You don't want to get it, so don't send it to anybody else. So I Love your idea of sending out that Happy New Year. When something's been updated, when there's something new in the area, I think that's really powerful.

I also do, because especially my mountain property books out. And so I will do a pre booking, letting my past guests get a chance to get an opportunity to book their summer dates before it sort of gets really busy. So I'll often send something out in the spring as well to do that. So. And again, that works, right? And people appreciate it because people are busy, right? And probably in the back of your head you're thinking, oh, I need to book my summer dates and we're busy and you forget and you get that email and then it prompts you, oh, yeah, I better. I better lock my dates in for next summer. Summer. So, yeah, I think if you have something to share and something like you said, like, I don't need to be spammy, but if you have something genuinely that you want to share that you're excited about, I mean, that can resonate with your guests. Right. And they'll appreciate it.

Yeah, love it. Jennifer, really, really amazing stuff here. And you've got something for those listening, don't you?

I do, yeah. So I do have a free guide. It's called the five Proven Methods to Break Free from Airbnb or just five Proven Methods to Move Beyond Airbnb. And I cover all of these steps that we've discussed and in a little bit more detail on how you can get started around doing some of these things that we've talked about today. And yeah, so I can either share the link or I don't know if you shared it. Do you want to know the link or.

Sure, tell us the link and I'll put it in the show notes as well.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's the host approach. Break free. So you can grab that, go to my website and you can just put your name and email and. And then you can instant download that. That guide and that has, yeah, lots of great tips. Basically, it kind of just covers everything that we talked about today.

Great. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for sharing your. Your advice and your experience. And I. We didn't tell anybody this, but you're actually sitting in Maui right now. You're not in Calgary. You're not as we're going to fall here. And I don't know if there's snow in Cal yet, but I'm sure it's not far off. But you've escaped. You're over in Maui, which is awfully Nice.

Yes, I am. I should. I should have mentioned that. Yes, I am in Maui. And which is also one of the great things about having vacation rentals, right? Is that you get to enjoy them for yourself as well. So one of the perks of this business. So. Yeah. And thank you so much for having me, Dan. I know we've been planning this for a while and it's been so great. I love chatting with you. And yeah, we just have such a great back, very similar backgrounds and great energy. So thank you so much for having me here today.

Oh, you're so welcome. Thanks so much, Jennifer. Thank you. And I'll put those links in the show notes.

Awesome. Talk soon.

A huge thank you to Jennifer Spencer for sharing her expertise in how to break free from Airbnb. If you are looking for more ways to get direct bookings and drive your own success for your vacation rental, head to my free group on Facebook. It's called the Short Term and Vacation Rental Marketing Hub for Direct Booking Success. The link will also be in the show notes and I hope to see you there now. Coming up next on the Direct Booking Success podcast, I'm going to be sharing the three types of marketing advice you can totally ignore, wondering what they could be. You'll just have to tune in to the next episode to find out. Until then, go out and take action for your own direct booking success.

Hey, thanks for listening to the Direct Booking Success podcast. For more information about this episode and others, head to the website directbookingsuccess.com podcast. See you next time.