33% Direct Bookings with NO Marketing?!
Richard has spent the last 20 years running multifamily rental properties in Connecticut. He’d never planned to get into short-term rentals.
But when looking for a property in Massachusetts for his wife’s son, he stumbled upon a nearby bed-and-breakfast.
It wasn’t good enough for the step-son, but Richard saw potential.
So he sold his property in Connecticut, purchased the B&B, and converted it into an Airbnb STR.
At the start, 100% of his bookings came via Airbnb.
Although he had never faced any issues, Richard instinctively knew (probably from two decades in the industry) that the only way the business would thrive was via more direct bookings.
So when he found out about Boostly, he didn’t hesitate to sign up.
“Only 1-2% of bookings come from Airbnb now.”
Richard’s bookings are split almost perfectly into thirds:
~33% Direct (via his Boostly website)
~33% Expedia
~33% Booking.com
Just 1–2% Airbnb & VRBO combined.
And even when he does get a stray booking via Airbnb, Richard uses a sneaky tactic to offset the extra fees so he makes the same amount as he would from a direct booking:
“I’ve been pretty poor as far as marketing is concerned.”
Richard has far from maximised the marketing opportunities available to him – he doesn’t use Instagram or Facebook at all.
See, his average guest is around 60-years-old who visits his property for:
- Village events
- Weddings
- Family gatherings
- Autumn foliage season
- Ski trip
And so most of them find him either through Google or word of mouth.
However, this hasn’t stopped his business from continuing to thrive – his costs are more than covered even during the quiet months.
Even so, he admits he could further boost his profits and direct bookings by leveraging email marketing and rebooking systems more (both included with his Boostly website).
But Richard is proof that you don’t need to use everything Boostly offers to reap the benefits.
A Boostly website alone might be all you need to build a low-stress STR business that pays you well without any other online presence.
