Reacting to Brian Chesky's C.E.O Airbnb Sway Interview and Direct Booking Question

This episode of the Boosu podcast is sponsored by xivu. Zivu is the direct booking revolution. They have got PMS Channel Manager. They've got a fantastic service that I recommend that everybody check out. I've known Naim, who's the founder of xivu for a long time now and I've told him since day one, listen, Naim, just crack one thing, get really good at one thing and focus on that. He goes, no, I'm going to do everything. So not only do they have properties, they property management, they do a PMS channel manager, they've got an academy, they do everything. And also as well they now integrate with Google Hotel ads, which is really exciting because Google Hotel ads is going to be a very key area of your marketing in 2021. So if you haven't already, go to boostly b o-o s t-l y.co.uk explore e x p L O R E. That'll take you to a landing page where you can find out a little bit more about Xevu and how they are revelation revolutionizing the direct booking journey. And you can also book a call in and have a chat with them to see if they will be the right PMS for you. I'm also excited to say that XIVU and Boostly websites have now combined together. We have, they and us have come together, We've linked our APIs and it just means that you're direct booking WordPress website with Boostly is now straight connected into Xevu so the guest doesn't have to leave the website to create and complete the booking, which is a game changer. I cannot tell you how much of this is a game changer. It's going to save time. It means that everything will be so smooth and it just knocks out any traction in the guest booking process. So please do go check out Booster Codk Explore and if you want to go check out boostly websites, boostly website.com okay everybody, are you ready for today's episode? It's going to be a good one. Leave a hashtag live in the comments if you're watching with us. Leave a hashtag replay if you're watching on the replay with us. And also as well let us know where you're tuning in from in the world. If you're on the audio, if you're listening in the car or walking the dog, then just literally pick up the phone, send me an Instagram message and let me know where you are watching or tuning in from this. So uk, thank you so much let's get on with today's show. Welcome to the Boostly Podcast. My name is Mark Simpson and I give hosts just like you the tools, the tactics, the training, most importantly, the confidence to get your own direct bookings and where you don't have to rely on Airbnb for bookings. And in today's episode, I'm going to be reacting to a recent podcast interview with Mr. Brian Chesky where he was asked about the book Direct Movement. Now, the podcast that we are talking about, it is the, the podcast is Sway, and the episode was called Airbnb has a Hate Group Problem Too. Now, I was talking about the, the riots, the, the terrorist action up in Washington, D.C. at the start of January 2021, where these hooligans stormed the capital and did all sort of things. And obviously the, they were traveling from all over America and they were staying in Airbnbs. That is what the episode started off as. The, the interview was really good, really pinned Brian Chesky on a couple of points. But one thing that really caught my eye was when he was specifically asked about the book Direct Movements. Let me just play this to you.

Now. One of the things that hosts can list their homes on other services like VRBO or asking potential guests to go to Craigslist to book there for a cheaper rate. Are you worried about that issue of people going off your platform or finding other ways? How do you combat that?

Now, really interesting how he responds to this. You can tell that he was a little bit perplexed to get asked this question. I'm sure that this is maybe the first time he's ever heard the word book direct. But let's just listen to his answer.

Not too worried about it because we don't think it's happening very frequently. And the way to combat that primarily is to make a service so good that they don't have a reason to take it offline. For example, you take it on Craigslist, your home gets trashed, you might not be insured, you do an Airbnb, you have a million dollars coverage.

Yeah, there is.

Now, you hear that? That is very good marketing spiel that Airbnb booking and Verbo and all these companies have used from day one. So the, the question that she asked was, obviously guests are taking it off platform, off platforms and going to things like Craigslist. She didn't mention specifically about websites or a pms, but there are fantastic tools out there, so this doesn't happen. Now, what he's doing here is, is that he is just playing the Rhetoric that so many OTAs have done over the years is that, listen, book with us, host, let book with us, because then your property is safe. Guests book with us because then you know that your booking is genuine. Now this is the trust issue. This is why it's so important that you utilize services like iprac, that you have things like Super Hog and powering you behind the scenes that does the guest verification and have good insurance. Like, again, like Super Hug at the I practice. You've got to use these tools out there and then you got to talk about it on your website, in your social medias, on your emails. You've got to explain to the hosts, sorry, explain to the guests that when they book direct, they are secure. You know, you're protecting you and you're protecting them. This is the marketing material that Airbnb are pushing out all day long, booking.com are pushing out all day long and this is why they're saying book via their platform. So this is really key insight when it comes to marketing. And this gives you everything that you need to know and what you need to talk about the safety aspect, the trust aspect. So look at your website. What can you be doing today to portray the act of confidence and trust in your business? If you get that right, your direct bookings will grow and grow and grow. And as always, I will be there to give you more help, tip and advice. So again, massive thank you to our sponsor for today, xivu. We really do appreciate it, all the help and support that you have given us over the years and thank you for making this podcast one of the best out there and thank you for watching. If this is the first time that you have tuned into one of our podcasts, boostly.co.uk forward/podcast, we've got a brand new website now, boostly podcast.com please go check it out and if this is the first time that you have discovered this, please do hit the like button. Go and subscribe and go and check out the full back catalog. We've got over 150 episodes. The YouTube channel is one of the biggest in the world of hospitality. The blog is fantastic and it's got all the tools and tactics and the tips and the advice that you need to increase your dairy bookings. For now, thank you very much for tuning in and I shall be back tomorrow for another lesson.