Mark SimpsonHelping short-term rental hosts get the tools, tactics and training to grow direct bookings with confidence

Power is in Numbers: To Voice Out and Educate Guests About Book Direct

21 Jun 2023 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:53

This YouTube video (uploaded by Mark Simpson on June 21, 2023) is a speakers' conversation focused on empowering short-term rental hosts by encouraging them to educate guests to "book direct" rather than through OTAs. Mark Simpson sets a quantitative goal—recruiting 1 million hosts to educate their guests—and frames this as a strategy to regain negotiating power versus OTAs. The speakers cite market-share figures (Airbnb ~15% in 2017) and a prediction that Airbnb could reach ~70% by 2025, arguing urgency for collective action.

Questions this video answers

1 million hosts.

15%.

Approximately 70%.

Chapters

With anything else, whether it's your local association, whether it's the homeowners in your hoa, whatever you're dealing with. Power is in numbers. And that's why I'm building the biggest event in our industry. One, to box them out. Two, to give us a voice.
So my goal is to help 1 million hosts cut down our overlights. On Airbnb. It's not so much. I want to educate you. I want you 1 million to go and educate your guests. Because if you were to talk to 10 of your guests and say, book direct, what does that mean? 1 million people can educate their guests. Then we get that voice. So I want to show you what to do, then you can educate your guests. And that's how we get the foot at the table at the OTAs to give us more power back. Because we're in a dangerous position right now. In 2017. Sorry, in 2017. Yeah. Airbnb had 15% of the market share. Booking.com and Expedia were bossing this. The prediction is by 2025, Airbnb are going to have 70% of the.