Successful Marketing - Collaborating With Other Hosts To Boost Bookings

Welcome everybody to the new episode of the Boostly podcast. This is the podcast that gives hosts the tools, the tactics, the training, most importantly, the confidence to go out there and get more direct bookings. Today we're talking about marketing strategies and this particular host who we've got the on the behind the Host podcast is based in Houston, Texas. We're going to be talking about his collective there. And as I've mentioned, we go behind the host on this episode and we pick out short term rental hosts who have got interesting businesses and ask questions about their business which you as a host can take into your hospitality business. And there's tips, tricks and tactics that you're going to learn from this very special guest. So my name is Liam Carolan and today we've got Blake Duarte on He's from Duarty Destinations.com and that's spelled D U A R T E Destinations.com and we really excited to dive into his business today. And if you do get a chance, go onto his webpage, check out not only his cool properties but also particularly because he does co hosting and management. Check out those sections of his website because he's ever so clear with his offer and certainly something which I was impressed with before we jumped on this call. So welcome along. Blake. Thank you for joining me.

Thank you for having me.

Jake. Can you give yourself introduction where you're based, where your properties are based and the number of properties and anything else you'd like to share?

Yeah, so I'm based in California and my Airbnb is actually going to be. Sorry, short term rental is actually going to be in Houston. That's the one short term rental I have right now. And then I have a couple of long term rentals, one in Indiana, one in additional in California. So as I went on to the journey of marketing with the short term rental in Houston, I recognized that it was a lot of, a lot of effort and ended up forming the Houston Hospitality Collective to create more of a group effort as to marketing strategies. Nice.

Nice. And what is that collective? Just talk us through what the collective is, is it's not a term over here in the UK that we're ever so familiar with.

So I, I was looking at different types of words to use for this because I was looking at collaboration and collective just seems to sit better as to what we're doing. But it's a group of hosts who together, we put our properties together on one website and as we move to market ourselves, we're marketing ourselves as a group. So right now we have three other owners signed on to this collective? We just went live with the Boosted website about a month ago and as we grow I have different plans on how, how to continue the marketing strategy. So as we've got the four owners now on four different properties on the collective, I've also got two local businesses. One's a realtor to help us out as we continue to expand. And then I recently was able to talk with Top Golf, which is a golf event center, one of which is close to my short term rental. And they agreed to allow advertising on our website as well. So that way we can create a incentive or a event for guests to participate in while they're staying at our, at our short term rentals. So as we expand the different businesses that I get to join the collective, it's not just hosts, it's also going to be local businesses. We can create a simultaneous referral process so that our guests go to their business and then when they host events and when they have different types of venues going on, then they can refer to us that their guests can stay with us. I think it provides a little bit more of a premium experience for them because instead of sending your guests to maybe are hosting a wedding or an event, they're going to be staying at a very nicely decorated short term rental that's a little bit higher than a hotel.

I love that. That's what I call a win, win, win. Because that is a win for you as a host. You've got guests and people who will come stay with you for your guests. They've got great referral places to go and visit. And of course for that place you also get an income, so works well for everybody. Where did the idea first come about for the collective and how did you put it into practice?

So the ideas came about just out of starting to try to market myself. And it actually was very difficult. And as the difficulties piled on, I recognized the need to make this more, I guess in a group sense. So that way we can have a stronger effort and put the efforts out and get a stronger gain. So as I'm speaking with different businesses, for instance topgolf, one of the questions they asked me, well, how many markets are you in? And I had to explain, well, right now we're only in the Houston market. But as we expand this model, as we build it out and we can expand, you know, to different markets nationwide, which topgolf is nationwide. So I can understand why they would want to see how far we can build this relationship. So as we grow and gain More short term rentals on the collective, then we can market ourselves better and be a better option for the, the local businesses that could refer to us.

That's cool. And what is the incentive? Obviously you've got your, your own short term rental, but do you get any, I guess, cash from advertising these other people's properties or from the business itself?

Yes. So instead of sending out bills or hey, I've spent X amount on advertising, let's figure out how to split this as a collective. Instead of running that model, I kind of separated it off and instead I'm talking to each owner that's interested in seeing what their needs are. What is it that you're looking to do? What are your needs? For me, first, the collective is the primary goal, to create that group and so that way we can work together and if an owner has more needs then we can expand further. So I based a pricing strategy on joining the collective based on the owner's needs. Some owners, they say, hey, I like my website or I like my, where I'm listed at and I just want a link. That's great, we can do that for you. We'll just, we'll set up a link for you. At least you're still on the, on the collective site so we can feature your property and I charge them a very low fee. But some owners asked, hey, I'm going to need a co host. Can you co host for me? You're in this market, can we, can you do this? And yeah, we can do that. So we went over different types of needs based pricing and as I built out that needs then we, we negotiated on a price on how that worked best for us. And each individual owner is going to have different needs, so they're all going to have different pricing.

What I love about this is, and I talk about this often is that there's a great book and a great thought leader from Daniel Priestley, who is an author of a book called the Key Person of Influence. And he talks about making yourself indispensable and giving value to those around you and in your local market. And then all of a sudden the people that they'll think of when they've got a particular problem or a particular need will, will be yourself. And that sounds like what you've done there is by building this collective, depending on what the needs are of the host, as you mentioned, you're positioning yourself as the expert obviously in the market, but then also because you're satisfying so many different people's needs when it comes down from you know, like the shop within the collective, the topgolf, you know, the hosts involved, that ultimately you're going to get some really great opportunities come your way from creating this value.

Quick break from the podcast to let you know that the two Boostly books that we brought out, the book Direct Playbook and the book Direct Blueprint, are two of the top rated and the best selling in the hospitality category on Amazon. For just two pounds you can grab both of those books. Right now the foundations and the structures that you need to put in place is in the Blueprint and then for 101 marketing tactics that is in the Playbook. So go and grab a copy on Amazon now just type in Book Direct Playbook or the book Direct Blueprint and we'll see you on the other side.

Have you had any challenges in getting this all together so far? And if so, how have you overcome them?

So my biggest challenges are all about the integrations. So as you know, as I dove into the Boostly website structure and dove into the different types of systems, I had lots of questions and finding ways to get things integrated was my number one, my number one issue. And I reached out to a lot and started a lot of discussions on our Facebook groups and whatnot and to try to figure out what exactly is going to be the ideal text set or ideal groupings, but it's going to end up being subjective to each person. So as I researched it, trying to figure out all of these integrations have been the, the hardest, hardest part of this and in order to overcome it, it's been a lot of trial and error and I've been thankful of, of the hosts in my collective who've, you know, they bear with me and, and, and work with me on different transitions as we switch from different PMSs because one doesn't have features that the other might and as we grow and develop. So it's very, it's very nice to have owners that are interested in the group marketing strategy so that way we can work together as we grow and deal with some of these difficulties.

Cool. This feels like a great way to segue onto the tech side of things. So is there either a piece of tech software or app that you use in your business that you really rely on currently, or one that you've found that really works well for you and your business?

So I have been quite, I guess, astonished with ownerres and the, the extreme abilities that it has that there's a lot of different ins and outs. And so I'm on that frequently trying to make sure that everything's optimized. So that way as much as is automated as possible and using that pms, the reason why I went with them was their widgets for the website. And as, as I scroll through my website, I like the way that you can transition from the website, look through dates, pick which property you like and then you can book without having to be taken to three different pages to get there. And I think that's going to be. That was one of the features that really brought me to them and they're a piece of technology that I end up using every single day to manage the business.

Fantastic. Really good property management system. One of the ones that Boostly is partnered with. And you know, for anybody listening to this, who wants to go check them out, just type in owner res into Google and go and check them out. I think they do demonstrations and things like that. And although we don't recommend a particular pms, we've got lots of partners. You know, particularly for the feature that you've mentioned there, it sounds like it's really working for you in your business, Blake. So that's really good. Good to hear. What has been some of the biggest wins and wow moments during your journey.

So I think getting, signing on there, our first business to the collective was the biggest win because it gave validation that the, the idea is good, the collective idea that, you know, it gave proof that, hey, this is, this is going to be able to expand. And as we move on, I can see how many other businesses we can get in to satisfy whatever needs that they're looking for because each business is going to be different. Right now we're marketing for a couple of different bars and restaurants because I know that they hold events as well. And so being able to take a large party and book at a VIP room at a restaurant or a bar, that's going to be, it's going to allow us to create additional revenue sources as far as if we could do like upselling, we could do affiliate marketing, that type of thing. And that's really where I see, you know, expanding this collective and moving forward.

That's cool. That's cool. What top tip would you have for a host who's getting started in the industry?

I think that you have to, you have to try, you have to, you have to fail almost. You have to put yourself out there and make the efforts. I know when I first listened to the. The Boost Lee book on audio, I was, I didn't understand. I. I got a little bit confused and I had to go back, relisten to it again, but then have it in front of me in text version because it took a little while to process. And so as, as I went forward and continued to take these steps to grow my business, I could remember, oh, I remember that part in the book or that chapter was in the book and then I could go back and refer to it. And so even though I didn't get a firm grasp of what was going on in the beginning, as I continued on, I knew that I had a reference in the back that I had read months prior. And so as long as you continue, you'll be able to develop and grow and succeed.

You know what? I think that's an awesome bit of advice and I just want to draw everyone's attention to it. So first of all, I'm going to plug the book, which is the book Direct Playbook. Anybody listening to this who hasn't checked it out, go to Amazon and search the book Direct Playbook by Mark Simpson. And it's a really useful overview of what you can do to get more direct bookings. But what you've mentioned there, Blake Rings, so true. Because there's so much to grasp as a new host in this industry that sometimes it can feel overwhelming. And actually what that book does is give you a idea of what tools are out there and what you should be considering. A bit like, if you was to undertake a DIY job, you've got to have a rough idea of all the tools that you've got available in your toolkit. And that's kind of what that book does. It kind of gives you an overview. And then because you know what tool does what, at any stage, you can dive in and find out a bit more or reread that chapter or go and find some of the useful video content around it as well. So I think that's a really great piece of advice and thank you for that. How did you get into this industry? What did you take me back before? What you do now? What what did you do and how did you get started in hospitality?

So my dad actually has a lot of long term rentals. He developed his own portfolio, you know, long, you know, over the last 20, 30 years. And so as I started buying properties, I followed his model of long term rentals and how to produce passive income just based on long term rentals. So as I grew my portfolio, I stumbled upon short term rentals. And what happened was my dad called me one day and he said, hey, somebody wants to rent one of my long term rentals, but they want to put it on as a short term rental. What? What is this? And I said, I've never heard of that. I don't know, let's look into it. So I dove into what is Airbnb arbitrage, or, you know, rental arbitrage as it's known, and learned a whole system to figure out what it is that other people are using our long term rentals for. And as I tried to learn that system, my dad's question to me was, well, why aren't we just doing it? Why is someone going to rent it from us and then throw it on as a short term rental? Why can't we do the same thing? And so I had to really dive in, learn the ins and outs, so that way I could confidently tell him whether or not a property that we had was capable of, of turning into a short term rental as opposed to renting it long term or allowing someone else to arbitrage it. We've actually given up a couple of properties to arbitrage because the way I ran the numbers, it didn't make sense. But they, whoever it was that wanted to rent it, thought it was a good idea, they rented it. And I can tell you that one of those properties didn't work out for them because I don't know how they did their numbers, but it just didn't work. But that's how I stumbled upon the short term rentals and ended up buying my own first short term rental in Spring, Texas, which is just outside of Houston.

Nice. Nice. And yeah, that is great. I mean, rental arbitrage. It's funny that you've come across it from the landlord's point of view because often when people are listening to this podcast, but also searching information, often they're coming across arbitrage as a way to cash flow. So it's interesting that you've come across it from a landlord's point of view. And as you say, there's now a lot of landlords out there who are looking for people to do rental arbitrage in their properties. It can be a good way to cash flow. So very good. Thank you for that. What is the future of your business or what do you picture for the future of your business?

I think this collective thing is going to be the future for me. I'd like to start with the Houston market, which is where I'm at, and I can get in on the weeds, but I have quite a long term plan as to how to develop the business. I know there's lots of different integrations that have to be Done. I'm waiting on a couple of different updates from different vendors to see how we can build that out. But as I build out the infrastructure and as I build out the plan, what I'd like to do is model that plan in another market. And preferably it'd be a market that I'm in, but if I'm not in that market, I'd have to be heavily invested into it. So that way I go out there, I make the connections to the networking so that way I can create that collective. I've got a couple of properties coming up on short term rental to be added to my site soon. One in Big Bear, California, one in Havasu, Arizona. So as those markets or as my portfolio grows, those markets come up. I can see if we can mirror that collective system and apply it to another market.

Nice. I like it and I wish you all the best for the future. It sounds exciting to, to be looking at that market and certainly something that I've not come across before. So definitely drop us an update once you know, as, as things grow, which would be cool.

If you're struggling on how to get direct bookings and overwhelmed on where to start, then I recommend you go and book in a call with Boostly and our team right now. We can walk you through exactly what we're offering, how we can help you and give you a portfolio of websites that we have worked with that are matching not only your niche, but could be in your location as well. Boostly has helped over 2000 hospitality businesses all over the world increase their direct bookings. And if you are interested, then all you need to do is go to Boostly. B O O s t l y.co.uk call and book in an appointment with one of our sales team.

You mentioned there was a few resources and things that you went and watched some videos which you consumed. What would you recommend to the people listening? Where did you find your information? Who should they be following, what podcasts, what youtubes videos and all of that kind of stuff. What, what would you recommend?

So I started out with the raw belt youtubes or I've actually found him on TikTok even though he says he doesn't prefer the TikTok platform. And I started off there and I ended up joining his teachings or his lessons and that's where I started out, that's where I got a lot of my foundation from. So Raw Belt's a good source to really learn the basics. Now as those basics come in, it's a good foundation. But then as I'VE developed my business and developed where I plan on taking everything. I stumbled upon Boostly because I needed my own direct booking site. I needed my own control over how I manage my bookings. And so I've moved on to the Boosity Academy, moved on to Boostly podcasts to try to expand that knowledge as well. When I'm looking for something a little bit more obscure, a little bit more maybe not generic, I'll Probably, I check YouTube to see, you know, who else is asking that question or who else is out there searching for it. I know, I think it's Airbnb automated comes up as a channel often. He's got good information.

Yeah, that's Sean Radovich, I think his name is.

Yeah, yeah, he's got some, some good info. I think that I've taken some of his ideas and on like pricing strategies and applied it to my own and it's kind of worked out pretty well. So you know, as, as you try and as you grow, you have to reach out to different areas because different people know different things and you can't just stay in one, one area. And I think that Mark Simpson definitely recommends that. He talks about joining other Facebook groups and getting out there and, and I didn't even have a Facebook before I did any of any of this. So Facebook is, is a resource where you can reach out, you can ask questions and it can take you down different paths.

100% great advice and just a few shout outs. Rob Abistolo from Rob Built and I've actually used his videos to send to people myself and say, hey, check out some of these great explanations how to list Airbnb and stuff like that. And of course he's now on one of the biggest podcasts in the world as well. Now for retail, for property, for real estate. Cool. So what do you like to do for fun, Blake? As we bring these to a close, we just like to add a couple of just fun, light hearted questions. So what do you like to do for fun?

So I like to travel. I have two kids, so we travel. My wife, my two kids. We travel a lot and so we like to go out and have experiences. I think that enjoying an experience is going to be memorable. It's going to be something that stays with you. Lots of photographs, you get lots of time together and you're not going to be able to get that time back. So we like to travel a lot. We go to our Houston property quarterly. We go, since we're in Southern California, we go out to the beach. We used to go camping often. You usually try to go once a month to get those experiences out there. But as we are now traveling more for our short term rental business, we had to cut down on that camping. And now we're doing more market research. We're traveling out to. I'll be out in Arizona next week looking to see, you know, where we're going to take our next step. But we like to include our family when we're doing that. Keep our, you know, our kids with us and do all that traveling together, so that way we can make it more of a family experience and not just business.

That's cool. That's cool. And how old are your little ones? You mentioned you got two children.

My son is 8 and my daughter is 4.

Amazing, right? Age. So, yeah, traveling suddenly instead of camping, like you say, suddenly, the need for some of these places, which are, you know, entire properties. And also the great thing is that they're tax deductible because it is research, as you say. It's fantastic. One question I'd love to ask Blake is if you could have any superpower, what superpower would it be?

Oh, I'd love to know. I'd love to know what people were thinking. I think that I. I feel like I. I talk to people often. I have lots of conversations with them, and I'd love to know if what we're talking about is resonating correctly, you know, or if what we're saying is working. Because I'd like to continue that down that conversation. Keep going. And so if. If you and I are talking and things are going well, you know, I'd like to keep that going. And if you have any questions that you. This happens often where people have a question and they're afraid to ask it. If you have a question that you want to bring up and I can answer that for you, I'd love to answer it. You know, having that knowledge or having that ability to really understand what people are thinking, I think that'd be great.

That's a really cool one. Although I think it could be dangerous as well. At times. I'd go crazy from, you know, sort of here. And there'd be times where I switch it off. Basically, yeah. As we reach the end of these, Blake, we love to ask, is there a mantra or a saying that resonates with you?

I think I mentioned it a little bit earlier. I like to go with, you only fail when you stop trying. And I think that that happens often where people, they stop themselves or they feel like they, you know, they can't continue and then they stop. And that's the only time when you fail. If you're continuing to try, if you're continuing to make efforts and build your business or, or improve yourself or anything, you're not going to fail unless you stop. And I think that sits well with me.

Nice sentiment to bring it to a close on. Thank you so much, Blake. I'm going to throw the mic open now.

Thank you.

To be able to promote your business, your collective, where should people come and find out more about yourself and your business?

So you've already brought up our website. If you'd like more information on the Houston Hospitality Collective, Our website is HoustonHC.com and you can find us also on Instagram, It's A. It's instagram.com/dwardy destinations and instagram.com/houston hospitality Collective. You can find us on the Facebook with the same social tags. And as we expand and grow more, hopefully you give us a follow and I can give updates as to more properties, more businesses signing on and. And how we move forward.

Awesome. Thank you so much, Blake. And for anybody listening who wants to know how to spell that, for the purpose of the podcast, this D U A R T E Destinations, dwarty destinations. And if you enjoyed this podcast and you think somebody else you know will get some value from this, please do share it with that person and get them to come and listen to Bruce Lee also. Thank you so much, Blake. Was there anything we missed along the way or any last shares before we bring it to a close?

No, I believe we covered everything.

It's cool. It's cool. It's been fantastic to find out about your business. Thank you for spending your time with us and yeah, I'm sure we'll speak again in the future. Bye for now, buddy.

Thank you for having me.