Yes. The full PDF is free. We are sharing what we have learned working with property managers running CraftedStays in production.

Free guidebook · Direct bookings

Free guidebook

The Ultimate Guide to Direct Bookings.

Everything we'd tell a property manager who's just decided to go direct. Branding, site launch, demand, conversion — 42 tactical tips compiled into a single reference. Free, no fluff.

Built from real operator data, not theory

Used by CraftedStays customers hitting 30–48% direct bookings

Free download, instant access

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Send it to me — I'll start building.

What's inside

Five sections. One playbook.

Built for property managers who are ready to stop renting their demand from Airbnb and start owning it.

01 / FOUNDATIONS

Components of going direct

The real anatomy of a direct booking funnel — what each piece does, what most operators miss, and the order to build them in.

02 / BRAND

Building your brand

How to position your portfolio so guests remember it. Naming, voice, design system, and the early choices that compound.

03 / LAUNCH

How to launch your site

The shortest path from "I want to go direct" to a live, conversion-ready website. PMS connection, content, schema, and indexing.

04 / DEMAND

How to market your business

Demand channels that actually work for STR operators — SEO, AEO, email, retargeting, repeat-guest engineering. No paid-ad burn.

05 / TACTICS

42 tactical tips to get started

The specific moves we've seen real operators run to grow direct booking share — sourced from CraftedStays customer outcomes and the broader industry.

Why this matters

Don't build your business on someone else's land.

Operators running 90%+ of their bookings through Airbnb and Vrbo have a single point of failure. One algorithm change, one policy update, one account review — and the revenue drops without warning.

Direct booking isn't about leaving the OTAs. It's about owning the demand you've already paid to acquire. Repeat guests, referrals, organic search, AI-engine discovery — the channels that compound instead of decay.

This guidebook is the foundation. Brand, site, demand, conversion — the four pillars that turn a vacation rental portfolio into a real direct booking business. Fill out the form, get the PDF, start building.

FAQ

Common questions.

Why do I need to fill out the form?

We will always keep your personal information private. We ask for your information in exchange for a valuable resource so that (a) we can personalize the CraftedStays site to your needs, (b) send you information by email that we think you'll find genuinely useful, and (c) follow up if you'd like help putting the playbook into practice.

Is it really free?

Yes. The full PDF is free. We're sharing what we've learned working with property managers running CraftedStays in production. Keep us in mind next time you have direct booking questions.

Who is this guidebook written for?

Property managers and short-term rental operators who are ready to take direct bookings seriously — anywhere from 5 to 500+ properties. The fundamentals apply at every scale; the tactics scale with you.

How do I get the PDF after signing up?

After you submit the form, the PDF link is delivered to your inbox immediately. Check spam if you don't see it within a couple of minutes — sometimes the first email gets filtered.

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