When 55% of your bookings come from a market you never intentionally targeted, you’d be crazy not to pay attention. That’s exactly what happened to Siddhi Mittal, Co-Founder and CEO of Yhangry, when she discovered over half of her private chef bookings were happening at vacation rentals—not private homes. In this episode of the Booked Solid Show, Siddhi shares her unconventional journey from the Wall Street trading floor to building the UK’s largest private chef marketplace. She explains why guest experiences are now the deciding factor for travelers—especially Gen Z—and reveals how property managers are earning $150- $200 per booking through a simple affiliate link. Whether you’re managing 5 properties or 500, Siddhi’s insights on positioning upsells at the top of your funnel (not after the booking) could completely reshape how you think about guest experience and revenue. Summary and Highlights 🎙️ From Wall Street to Private Chefs: How Siddhi Mittal Built the #1 Chef Marketplace and What It Means for Your STR “The universe has your back. No matter what you’re doing, it’ll just work out for the better.” That’s the philosophy that guided Siddhi Mittal through the rollercoaster of building Yhangry from scratch—and it’s serving her well as she expands into the U.S. market with explosive growth numbers that make even Airbnb’s recent services launch look modest. 👩‍💼 Meet Siddhi Mittal Siddhi Mittal is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Yhangry, a marketplace connecting customers with local private chefs at surprisingly accessible price points. Her journey is anything but conventional. After studying Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at Columbia University, Siddhi spent six years on Wall Street’s trading floor before taking the entrepreneurial leap. Her startup, Yhangry (pronounced “why hangry”), emerged from a simple observation: hospitality workers are among the lowest paid, yet people assume private chefs are only for the ultra-wealthy. Her credentials speak for themselves. Yhangry was accepted into Y Combinator—the prestigious accelerator behind Airbnb, DoorDash, and Instacart—where getting in is reportedly harder than getting into Harvard. The company has appeared on the UK’s Dragon’s Den (their version of Shark Tank) and has served a quarter of a million guests in under 4 years. The numbers are staggering. In just eight months, Yhangry partnered with 130,000+ property units across the UK, including industry giants like Sykes, Travel Chapter, and Awaze. They launched in the U.S. in September 2025 and already boast the most extensive inventory of chefs in their category—surpassing Airbnb’s offerings on its platform by over 200%. 🔍 The Discovery That Changed Everything Yhangry’s pivot to the vacation rental space wasn’t part of some grand strategy. It came from paying attention to data. Siddhi was analyzing booking patterns when something unexpected emerged: 55% of all bookings were happening at vacation rentals, not private residences. This was particularly surprising because their customer flow already included a checkbox alerting chefs when a booking was at a holiday home (chefs need to bring extra equipment for those locations). Rather than ignoring this insight, Siddhi did what any curious founder would do—she started Googling. Within days, she discovered the STR conference circuit and simply showed up at Short Term Rental Scale in London. There, she heard industry leaders talking about the exact problem she could solve: guest experiences as a major differentiator in 2025 and beyond. The timing couldn’t have been better. The vacation rental industry was actively searching for ways to stand out, and Yhangry had already proven the model with real customers. 💰 The Economics: Why This Works for Property Managers Here’s where it gets interesting for hosts. Yhangry’s affiliate model is refreshingly straightforward. What You Do: What You Earn: Real Case Study: Kate & Toms, a UK property manager with 200-300 properties, implemented Yhangry integration across four emails and their guidebooks. In just 10 months, they earned $14,000-$15,000 in profit—simply by sharing a link. But here’s what Siddhi emphasizes: the money is secondary to the conversion impact. Kate & Tom saw increased booking conversions because they were offering experiences upfront. Guests weren’t just choosing where to stay—they were choosing an entire experience package. This aligns perfectly with what successful operators are discovering about guest lifetime value: when you create memorable moments, guests don’t just come back —they become ambassadors. 🎯 Upsells at the Top of the Funnel (Not an Afterthought) Siddhi dropped a counterintuitive insight that deserves attention: upsells shouldn’t come after the booking journey. They belong at the marketing stage—top of the funnel. Here’s the data backing this up. A whopping 55% of vacation rental requests on Yhangry come from guests who haven’t yet booked their accommodation. They’re still shopping around, but they already know they want a chef experience. When your website prominently features this option, you become the property they trust because you introduced them to something memorable. This reframes how we think about conversion optimization on direct booking sites. You’re not just selling a place to sleep—you’re selling the whole trip experience. VRMA 2025 statistics support this shift. Around 50% of travelers now factor experiences into booking decisions. For Gen Z, that number jumps to 65-70%. They’re choosing destinations based on what they can do there, not just where they’ll sleep. 💡 What Airbnb’s Services Launch Means for You Siddhi had some fun with a LinkedIn post about Brian Chesky’s Halloween costume—he dressed as a chef right before Airbnb launched their private chef services. The timing was perfect for a friendly jab, since Yhangry already had 200% more chef inventory than Airbnb’s offering in the U.S. But beyond the competitive angle, there’s a strategic lesson here. When Airbnb enters a category, it validates demand. Yet their instant-book model doesn’t translate well to personalized culinary experiences. A private dinner party isn’t like ordering delivery—guests want to message chefs, customize menus for allergies, and adjust for group dynamics. Yhangry’s conversational booking flow addresses this. Rather than forcing instant decisions, guests submit requests and receive personalized menu proposals from multiple chefs. They can see chef profiles, past clients (sometimes celebrities), and negotiate directly. This builds

Airbnb just changed everything with their new fee structure—and most hosts are sleepwalking into smaller profits. In this episode of Booked Solid, Sam Mistretta returns to share what he’s learned after 18 months in the trenches helping hosts drive repeat bookings through text and email marketing. Sam built a system that grew his own direct booking revenue by 400%, and his company, Go STR Marketing, now helps hosts achieve an average 650% ROI on their guest retargeting campaigns. We break down why authentic, personal communication outperforms corporate branding, why coupon codes aren’t the magic bullet you think they are, and the one rental agreement strategy that’s still flying under Airbnb’s radar. Whether you’re a new host or managing dozens of properties, this conversation will shift how you think about guest relationships and building a direct booking business that compounds over time. Summary and Highlights 🎙️ Meet Sam Mistretta Sam Mistretta is the founder of Go STR Marketing, a company that helps short-term rental hosts bring past guests back through strategic text and email campaigns. His journey began in 2022 when he left his corporate IT career to focus full-time on the short-term rental business he and his wife had built. With 18 properties and roughly 1,000 past guest contacts sitting in his PMS, Sam knew the easiest revenue was waiting in his existing database. When he couldn’t find an affordable solution to market to those guests, he built one himself. The result? A 400% increase in direct booking revenue within the first year. Word spread through his mastermind group, STR Secrets, and Go STR Marketing was born. Today, his team helps hosts achieve an average ROI of 650% while consistently beating hospitality industry benchmarks by over 700%. 🌊 The Airbnb Shift Every Host Needs to Understand The short-term rental landscape has changed dramatically. Lead times are shrinking. Competition is fiercer. And Airbnb has made sweeping policy changes that directly impact your bottom line. Sam and Gil walked through the major shifts: The new fee structure moves hosts from paying roughly 3% to now covering 15-15.5% in commissions. For a $200 nightly booking, that translates to a 12.9% reduction in earnings overnight if you don’t adjust your pricing. Airbnb’s communication changes now mask phone numbers, limiting your ability to contact guests to just two days after checkout. Chargeback policies now push disputed payments back onto hosts. And the platform continues tightening control over how you interact with guests. Sam put it bluntly: if you’re sleeping on these changes and not adjusting your strategy, you’re going to make less money this year than last—even if your booking volume stays the same. 🏠 Why Authenticity Wins in Guest Marketing One of the most valuable insights from Sam’s data involves branding. Some hosts want to project a large, corporate image. Others sign off with their first name and a headshot. The data shows which approach actually converts. Personal, authentic campaigns consistently outperform corporate-style messaging. Signing off with your name, including a photo, and sharing why you became a host creates connection. Guests who had a great stay want to feel like they have someone on the inside—not a faceless booking entity. Gil confirmed seeing the same pattern on the website side. Properties with genuine host bios and photos show longer dwell times and lower bounce rates. Even larger property managers with 50+ doors see better results when they introduce their team and tell their story. It’s not about size. It’s about making guests feel like they’re booking with real people who care. 💡 The Coupon Code Reality Check Many hosts obsess over crafting the perfect discount offer. Sam’s data reveals something surprising: the majority of re-bookers don’t use coupon codes at all. When guests had a great experience, they don’t need a discount to come back. They book because they trust you. They feel like they’ve got a connection. The coupon becomes secondary to the relationship. This doesn’t mean coupons are useless—they still work well for acquisition through influencers or local partnerships. But for repeat guest marketing, the emphasis should be on maintaining that authentic connection rather than leading with discounts. 📈 Direct Bookings Compound Over Time Both Sam and Gil emphasized a fundamental truth: direct booking success doesn’t happen overnight. It builds momentum over time. Sam compared it to investing in the S&P 500. It’s not sexy at first. You won’t see instant results. But three or four years later, you’ll look back and realize you built something substantial. This stands in contrast to the Airbnb dopamine cycle—chasing the next booking notification, constantly adjusting rates to fill gaps. Direct booking strategy requires patience, consistency, and a long-term view. You’re building an email list. You’re refining your messaging. You’re learning what resonates with your audience. The hosts who invest in this approach now will be far better positioned than those scrambling to react when the next policy change hits. For those just getting started, building your email collection strategy should be a priority from day one. 🔧 Tactical Advice: The Rental Agreement Strategy Sam shared a specific tactic that remains compliant with Airbnb’s current policies: automated rental agreements. After a guest books through Airbnb, you can send an automated rental agreement through your PMS that collects their phone number and email. Sam was initially skeptical—another thing for guests to click seemed like friction. But out of roughly 2,000 bookings, only two guests pushed back. The key is disclosure. Make sure your listing mentions that a rental agreement will be required. And if you plan to reach out to guests off-platform, Sam recommends waiting at least 15 days after their departure. Why? The post-stay review survey expires at the 14-day mark, reducing the risk of any policy enforcement. 📱 Why Your Website Matters for Co-Hosting Growth The conversation took an interesting turn when Sam shared a story about a client named Mike Munson. Mike had three verbal commitments from property owners ready to switch management companies. But when it came time to sign, they

From aerospace engineer to acquiring four boutique hotels in just 12 months—Harshad Lalan’s journey proves that systems thinking and strategic boldness can transform your short-term rental business. In this episode of the Booked Solid podcast, Harshad shares how he and his wife Ishita scaled from zero properties to a thriving portfolio by combining her design brilliance with his analytical systems approach. He reveals how they jumped from less than 1% direct bookings last year to over 30% this year, his framework for using AI to streamline everything from listing creation to hotel underwriting, and why surrounding yourself with the right people accelerates growth faster than any spreadsheet analysis ever could. Whether you’re just getting started or ready to scale aggressively, Harshad’s honest take on overcoming “analysis paralysis” and building delegatable systems will give you a new perspective on what’s possible. Summary and Highlights 👤 Meet Harshad Lalan Harshad Lalan is a hospitality entrepreneur, boutique hotel investor, and co-founder of 5 Seasons Homestays and Ishita Interiors alongside his wife, Ishita. With a professional background in aerospace engineering and systems design—plus experience as a licensed pilot—Harshad brings a unique analytical perspective to the short-term rental space. Together, the couple has built a portfolio of high-performing, amenity-rich properties across the U.S., transforming ordinary homes into what Harshad calls “Super Properties.” His engineering mindset drives everything from operational systems to guest experience optimization, while Ishita brings the creative soul that makes their properties stand out in competitive markets. Connect with Harshad: 🚀 The Journey: From One Property to Four Hotels in 12 Months Harshad’s path into short-term rentals wasn’t overnight success—it was methodical growth built on deliberate systems. Starting in 2017-2018, he and Ishita acquired just one property per year for the first two years. The process was cautious: Harshad spent nine months searching for their Destin, Florida property, meticulously checking ROI goals, distance from the beach, and amenities before pulling the trigger. By 2022, everything changed. With systems in place, confidence built through experience, and a team supporting operations, they accelerated dramatically. This year alone, they’re acquiring four boutique hotels—large investments that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. What made the difference? According to Harshad, three critical shifts: Risk tolerance evolved. Early on, limited resources meant every decision carried enormous weight. Now, a diversified portfolio provides cushion for bolder moves. Experience compounds. Multiple iterations taught them what success looks like—and more importantly, what warning signs to catch early. Community accelerates growth. Joining a boutique hotel mastermind connected them with lending options, partners, and expertise that shortened their learning curve dramatically. As Harshad noted, the mastermind fee felt steep initially but proved to be the best investment they ever made. If you’re considering joining a mastermind or coaching community, Harshad’s experience validates that surrounding yourself with people who’ve already achieved what you’re pursuing can collapse years of trial and error into months. 📈 From Less Than 1% to 30% Direct Bookings Perhaps the most striking transformation in Harshad’s business this year has been his direct booking strategy. Last year, direct bookings accounted for less than 1% of revenue—essentially just the occasional repeat guest who happened to remember their website. This year? They’re sitting at 25-30% direct bookings. The shift required a complete mindset change. Rather than treating direct bookings as a passive bonus, Harshad built a cohesive strategy around two distinct approaches: Capturing OTA Traffic Through Brand Recognition Every listing title now follows a specific format: property name + “by 5 Seasons Homestays.” Instead of cramming amenities into the title like most hosts, Harshad prioritizes brand visibility. Here’s why this works: Airbnb titles become H1 headers on property pages, which means they get indexed by search engines. Over time, guests searching for unique property names or “5 Seasons Homestays” find the direct booking site instead of returning to Airbnb. The descriptions reinforce this branding—mentioning the management company name throughout. It’s subtle, but these small nudges add up. When guests do land on the direct booking website, they immediately see how much they’re saving. Right beneath the booking total, a direct comparison shows savings versus Airbnb pricing—often $700 or more. That visual confirmation removes hesitation. Acquiring New Guests Through Influencer Marketing The second strategy targets people who haven’t discovered them through OTAs at all. Harshad works with regional influencers near their properties, inviting them to stay and create content. But here’s the key: the goal isn’t immediate bookings. Instead, influencer content drives traffic to landing pages designed for email capture. From there, they nurture leads through targeted campaigns. When local events approach—like Oktoberfest in Asheville—they email their list with available properties for those specific dates. Since many guests book last-minute (especially post-flood in Asheville), these timely triggers fill occupancy gaps without requiring price drops. This approach mirrors what successful hosts like Lindsey Rodriguez recommend: building email lists as assets that generate bookings on demand, rather than relying entirely on OTA algorithms. 🤖 Using AI to Systemize Everything If there’s one theme running through Harshad’s operations, it’s systematization—and AI has become his most powerful tool for achieving it. Listing Creation in Minutes Creating property listings used to consume hours of careful writing and formatting. Now, Harshad uses a custom GPT trained on his preferred format, word counts, and platform requirements (Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, and Hostfully). His process? Open the custom GPT, dictate a voice note describing the property—bedroom count, location, design inspiration, key highlights—and receive a complete, formatted listing within seconds. As he explained during our conversation: rather than thinking about structure and content simultaneously, he separates the creative stream of consciousness from the formatting process. The outcome? Better listings, faster. Hotel Underwriting With AI Assistance Boutique hotel underwriting involves complex spreadsheets projecting multiple years across multiple units. Traditional tools are often buggy, with macros that fail unpredictably. Harshad’s solution: upload the underwriting format to AI, provide prompts, and let it perform initial checks and balances. This doesn’t replace due diligence—it accelerates the screening phase so he can quickly identify which deals

What if the secret to better bookings wasn’t flashier photos or bigger marketing budgets—but simply finding the right words? In this episode, we sit down with Genevieve White, a travel copywriter and coach based in Scotland’s remote Shetland Islands. Genevieve helps vacation rental hosts and tourism businesses move beyond bland, AI-generated content to create messaging that actually connects with guests. You’ll discover why copywriting isn’t about grammar perfection or clever wordplay—it’s about understanding who you’re writing for and having the confidence to tell your story authentically. Genevieve shares her proven frameworks for identifying your ideal guest, developing your unique brand voice, and transforming everyday moments (like feeding sheep with apples) into compelling stories that inspire bookings. Whether you’re struggling with a blank page or feeling like your website sounds too generic, this conversation will give you practical tools to write copy that sounds like you—not a travel brochure. If you’ve ever thought “I’m just not a good writer,” Genevieve’s approach will change your mind. Summary Highlights 🌍 Meet Genevieve White: The Copywriter Championing Connection Over Conversion Genevieve White is a travel and tourism copywriter, coach, and author of Boldly Go, the definitive copywriting guide for travel professionals. Based in Scotland’s Shetland Islands—closer to Norway than mainland UK—Genevieve brings a unique perspective shaped by years as an English teacher abroad and a deep passion for meaningful travel experiences. After teaching English in Hungary, Romania, and China, Genevieve settled in Shetland where she spent years writing for Promote Shetland, crafting content that encouraged visitors to discover the islands’ remote beauty. But it wasn’t until she formally trained as a copywriter that everything clicked. She discovered that effective copywriting wasn’t about perfect grammar or flowery language—it was about genuine connection, clear communication, and confidence. Today, Genevieve works with boutique stays, cultural tours, and sustainable travel businesses to help them find their authentic voice and attract guests who truly align with their values. Her human-centered approach emphasizes storytelling that highlights what makes each destination genuinely special, moving far beyond generic travel brochure language. Through her coaching practice and her mailing list, Campion Club, where she shares twice-weekly copywriting insights wrapped in stories from her life and work, Genevieve is on a mission to help travel professionals write copy that creates connection first—with conversion as the natural byproduct. ✨ Why Your Everyday Is Someone Else’s Awesome One of the most powerful concepts Genevieve shares in this episode is deceptively simple: your everyday is someone else’s awesome. She recounts working with a client who runs a Scottish farmhouse stay. Initially, the host’s copy was flat and generic—it could have described any rural property anywhere. But when Genevieve started asking questions, the conversation transformed. The host lit up talking about her sheep, each one named, including one that reminded her of a character from Friends. She described children feeding the sheep apple slices, their faces lighting up at this simple interaction. This seemingly mundane detail—spoiled sheep with names—became the heart of compelling copy because it represented something the host had stopped noticing: city children experiencing genuine connection with animals for the first time. The lesson? Stop trying to sound like every other vacation rental. The details you’ve stopped noticing—the sounds, the rituals, the quirky personalities of your space—are precisely what create memorable experiences for guests. When writing copy for your direct booking website, resist the urge to describe your property the way a corporate hotel would. Instead, channel the energy you’d have telling a close friend why your place is special. As Genevieve puts it, when you love what you’re writing about, that energy transfers to everyone who reads it. 🎯 The Three Foundations of Effective Copywriting Before you write a single word of copy, Genevieve insists you need three foundational elements in place. Skip these, and even the most polished prose will fall flat. Understanding Your Ideal Guest Copywriting ultimately isn’t about being clever or demonstrating grammar expertise—it’s about truly understanding who you’re writing for and using language that appeals to them. Genevieve doesn’t mean surface-level demographics. She’s talking about psychographics: What do they worry about at night? What book are they currently reading? How do they commute to work? She even employs a drama technique called “hot seating” in her group trainings, where participants rapid-fire questions at someone role-playing their ideal guest. This playful exercise reveals insights that traditional questionnaires miss, helping hosts move beyond generic “families looking for relaxation” descriptions toward genuinely understanding the humans they want to serve. For vacation rental operators building their guest acquisition strategy, this foundational work determines whether your copy resonates or gets ignored. Clarifying Your Brand Voice and Content Pillars Many hosts get distracted by visual branding—colors, logos, fonts—while neglecting the words they use. Genevieve emphasizes having real awareness of what your brand represents, including your core themes and content pillars, which should underpin every piece you write. Why are you running this vacation rental? What values drive your hosting decisions? What experiences do you consistently create? These answers form your content pillars—the recurring themes in everything you write. Just as importantly, you need to identify your unique voice. In an industry drowning in bland, AI-generated content that all sounds identical, your distinctive voice becomes your competitive advantage. This connects directly to improving conversion rates on your website because guests can sense authenticity—or its absence. Writing Conversationally, Not Formally Here’s where many hosts stumble: they slip into “writing mode” and suddenly sound stiff and corporate. Genevieve notes that effective copy sounds like someone speaking to you—copywriting is much more like spoken English than written English. Her solution? Record yourself explaining your property to a close friend, then transcribe it. The difference is immediate. That recording captures your natural enthusiasm, your authentic vocabulary, and your genuine personality—elements that disappear when you’re staring at a blank page trying to sound “professional.” The most effective vacation rental websites don’t sound like they were written by a committee. They sound like a conversation with someone who genuinely loves what they do.

“Your website is everything. It’s your marketing. It’s your digital front door.” Frank Bosi from Hostfully knows what separates hosts who struggle with direct bookings from those who thrive. In this episode of Booked Solid, Frank shares the small, intentional steps that build sustainable direct booking revenue—without burning out. From his luxury hotel background at Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons to leading partnerships at one of the industry’s most customer-obsessed property management platforms, Frank breaks down exactly how to build trust, create seamless guest experiences, and finally take control of your booking channels. If you’re tired of feeling stuck on OTAs or wondering why your website isn’t converting, this conversation will change how you think about your direct booking strategy. Summary and Highlights 🎯 Meet Frank Bosi: From Luxury Hotels to Short-Term Rental Innovation Frank Bosi serves as Senior Director of Partner Development at Hostfully, where he’s spent over five years building meaningful integrations and helping vacation rental operators scale their businesses. But his journey into the short-term rental space wasn’t conventional. Frank’s career began in luxury hospitality, working in leisure and corporate sales at prestigious properties like the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons in New York City. When he relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina to open and rebrand a luxury hotel, he brought with him a deep understanding of what makes guests book direct: trust, consistency, and exceptional experience at every touchpoint. COVID changed everything. Six months into his new role, Frank was laid off—but that setback became the catalyst for discovering Hostfully in September 2020. The skills he’d honed in hospitality sales transferred seamlessly to the vacation rental world, and he quickly recognized that the principles driving direct bookings in hotels applied perfectly to short-term rentals. Now, Frank champions a philosophy that resonates throughout Hostfully’s culture: partnership over transactions, responsiveness over automation alone, and co-building solutions with the very hosts they serve. His approach reflects his Type A personality—hands-on, detail-oriented, and deeply invested in customer success. 💡 Key Takeaways: What You’ll Learn Frank’s conversation with Gil reveals practical wisdom for hosts at every stage. Here’s what this episode covers: Your website determines everything. It’s not just a booking tool—it’s your brand’s first impression and your most powerful marketing asset. If guests can’t book in two to three clicks on mobile, you’re sending them straight back to Airbnb. Direct bookings aren’t one dramatic shift. They’re built through small, intentional actions stacked over time. Start with a trustworthy website, layer in email marketing strategies, add strategic discounts, then introduce upsells and automation. Culture drives customer experience. The most successful property management platforms don’t just build features—they listen relentlessly to users and protect team culture even through rapid growth. Luxury hotel principles translate perfectly. Whether you’re managing a five-star Manhattan property or a three-bedroom rental in Houston, the fundamentals remain: clean design, transparent policies, professional photos, and ownership of the guest relationship. Digital guidebooks aren’t just nice-to-haves. One Hostfully customer reduced support calls from 12,000 to 10,000 monthly while increasing revenue by 6%—simply by deploying comprehensive guidebooks across their portfolio. 🏡 Why Your Website Is Your Digital Front Door Frank doesn’t mince words when it comes to website performance. Having worked with some of the world’s most recognized hotel brands, he understands that booking experience directly impacts conversion rates. “The first thing is your website is everything,” Frank explains. “It’s your marketing. It’s your digital front door, and it has to be simple, clean, mobile friendly. And guests should be able to book it in about like one, two, max, three clicks.” This principle matters more than ever as mobile optimization becomes non-negotiable. If your booking flow feels clunky or confusing on a smartphone, guests will default to the familiar simplicity of OTA platforms. Frank emphasizes that your website represents your brand’s first guest interaction. That experience sets expectations for everything that follows—from check-in communication to the stay itself. Hosts who invest in polished, conversion-optimized sites see immediate results because they’re finally capturing the traffic they’re already generating. The integration between Hostfully and CraftedStays exemplifies this philosophy. Rather than settling for embedded widgets that feel disconnected, both teams invested significant development time creating a seamless booking flow. Dates selected during property search carry through to the booking engine. The experience feels native, not bolted-on. “We don’t want to just be another logo on Hostfully’s marketplace,” Gil notes. “We want folks to have a really good experience.” Understanding how to write a direct booking website that converts requires more than technical prowess—it demands guest-first thinking at every touchpoint. 📈 Small Steps, Big Impact: The Direct Booking Roadmap One of Frank’s most valuable insights challenges the all-or-nothing mentality many hosts bring to direct bookings. Instead of viewing it as one massive project, he breaks it down into manageable phases. Start with your direct booking website. Make it clear and trustworthy. Ensure mobile optimization and fast load times. Then layer in email marketing to nurture past guests and inquiries. Build in strategic discounts that reward loyalty without training guests to expect constant deals. Finally, introduce upsells and automation that free you from inbox management while generating additional revenue. This progression allows you to learn and adjust at each stage rather than overwhelming yourself trying to implement everything simultaneously. “Direct bookings aren’t one big push. It’s not one big move,” Frank explains. “They’re small intentional steps that build on one another.” This approach proves especially crucial for hosts managing their first few properties. Frank consistently praises new operators who invest in proper systems early. Learning property management software and building direct booking infrastructure with one listing creates scalability that becomes invaluable at ten or twenty properties. The alternative—waiting until you’re managing dozens of units before implementing these systems—creates unnecessary stress and often leads to costly mistakes. Hosts who leverage niche strategies early set themselves apart from competitors who chase volume without strategy. 🤝 What Makes Hostfully Different: Culture as Competitive Advantage When Gil asks what sets Hostfully apart in a crowded property management software