If you’re new to, or seeking information pertaining the short-term rental market, there’s a-lot of terms, such as co-hosting that may not make sense.
Co-hosts assist in the listing management of your property as much, or as little as you want / need to properly get your space listed on platforms such as AirBNB, VRBO, or your own direct booking website.
Following the current trends, hosts are listing their properties on both OTA (online travel agency) sites listed above, excluding the brands solely focusing on hotel stays (i.e. Booking.com, Trivago, etc.) while also adding a direct booking site which is managed by the owner/manager, a stellar social media presence, and a Google business page.Done correctly, it flows seamlessly!
Sounds limitless, and painful, right?
In the scenarios where we’ve either helped manage properties from start-up to listing, or continue to manage all aspects of the property giving the host (owner) added freedom and assurance, their listing is managed properly and on average shows a 19% increase the first month. <insert owner/host sigh of relief>
Direct Booking
This aspect of STR properties give the owner/manager freedom to not only direct potential and current guests to pertinent information about their listing without the fear of getting banned from OTA’s (Yes, it happens and YES, they are watching, even in the messages.), but also add their personal touch in showing their amenities throughout space.
Personal websites offer complete independence and marketing gold. This added element gives you SEO power, limitless opportunities and if done correctly, a vehicle to know your guests on a personal level where future bookings shine!
Follow the Rules
In a typical OTA environment, you can’t share email addresses, or websites. When you do, you’ll get a polite message stating, “they know” and not to do it again. This limits your tangibility, and creates a monopoly for the OTA where the term direct booking scares the wits out of them. End game is OTA’s want guests to use them, and NOT going direct to the hosts.
No Gimmicks
Professionally speaking, co-hosts and property managers shouldn’t sell anything but their expertise, opinion and time to do what is needed.
If you have to travel through a sales funnel, RUN! Money invested into your space should yield a result and not a PDF that never gets looked at again, and quite frankly endless nonsense.
Managing Hosts
The DIY host with time, and the tools can be successful. The process itself is rewarding, especially on the actual hospitality aspect. When it becomes a burden, actual work and time consuming is the time to call on someone who can relieve the stress.
BREIG offers a wide range of management responsibilities, and assets to help you become the super host you we re destined to be.