How More and More Hosts Are Saving Thousands in OTA Fees and Countless Hours With Hospitable and Boostly
Scaling your STR business introduces a whole host of new problems (pun intended).
More bookings mean more guest messages, more check-in instructions, more reviews to request, and more unexpected problems to keep on top of.
But that’s not all.
When you rely on OTAs, every new booking eats at your profits. Not to mention the added risk of letting a third party control what you can and can’t do.
However, a growing number of hosts are reducing their reliance on the OTAs, keeping more revenue within the business. and reclaiming countless hours every month by combining a Boostly website with Hospitable's automation tools.
And it all starts with Direct Bookings.
What are Direct Bookings?
A direct booking is exactly what it sounds like: a guest books directly with you rather than through an OTA such as Airbnb, Booking.com, or Vrbo.
Increasing your direct bookings saves you on OTA fees, allowing you to grow your revenue more easily without having to keep up with ever-changing policies.
As Hanno from Cape del Mar explains:
“Every OTA-only booking is a guest relationship you're renting instead of owning.”
When a guest books directly, you pay less in commissions, have more control over the guest experience, and create opportunities to encourage repeat stays.
For many hosts, direct bookings represent the difference between building a business they own and building one that's dependent on somebody else's platform.
How Boostly Helps You Get More Direct Bookings:
OTAs have their place in every STR business. But it’s like Blake at Duarte Destinations says:
“The sooner you create a way for guests to find and book you directly, the sooner you start owning your own business instead of just renting space inside someone else's.”
Boostly helps hosts create professional direct booking websites designed specifically for the short-term rental industry. Rather than sending guests to an OTA listing, hosts can drive traffic to a website they own and control:
For Hanno at Cape del Mar, the results have been significant:
His direct booking revenue has grown from $0 to $25,000 in just one year, creating a brand-new revenue stream.
For Jenny from Soulcation Collective, direct bookings became an important part of scaling from 1 to 5 properties while maintaining the flexibility to build a unique guest experience around her brand.
Every direct booking means less money lost to commissions and more money staying inside the business.
But perhaps more importantly, hosts gain ownership.
Ownership of their website. Ownership of their guest relationships. Ownership of their future.
And when you combine a Boostly website with Hospitable, those financial and lifestyle benefits really begin to compound.
Combining Boostly with Hospitable:
More bookings (especially direct bookings) typically create more admin time spent on communicating with guests, coordinating check-ins, requesting reviews, etc.
That’s why many hosts pair their Boostly website with Hospitable.
Hospitable automates much of the operational side of hosting, helping hosts manage guest communication and day-to-day tasks without being tied to their phones.
For Vic Partha at Partha Property Group, Hospitable removes the operational burden that often comes with direct bookings:
“Using Hospitable’s API booking integration on a Boostly site has led to much less anxiety with direct bookings. Hospitable provides protection for any bookings that come through my Boostly site.”
(Note: Protection applies when bookings are processed through Hospitable Direct or Premium)
And Joanne at The Works BnB says she couldn’t live without Hospitable and Boostly:
“Boostly has given us the flexibility to offer more traditional leases from platforms that don't have a booking element. And Hospitable has saved us 1000s of hours in guest messaging, and other things… I literally couldn't live without it.”
Boostly helps you get more direct bookings. Hospitable helps manage those bookings.
Together, they create a system to scale your STR business and save countless hours – all while keeping you in control.