Mark Simpson shows why Airbnb's 15% commission eats your profit and how to move guests to direct bookings instead. A client named James hit 30% direct bookings in 90 days using a simple funnel: website, email capture, and follow-up offers. The math is straightforward: every booking off Airbnb keeps more money in your pocket.
What if shifting just a few of your bookings off Airbnb could double your profit without adding more stress? Most hosts don't realize this, but every fully booked month could actually be costing them thousands. And I'm not talking theory. I've tracked the numbers across thousands of stays. And there's a clear tipping point where going direct stops being a dream and starts becoming the biggest lever for your profit. In this video, I will show you exactly where that point is when it pays to finally ditch the platforms and and how you can make the leap with total confidence. A few years ago, one of our clients, let's call him James, was doing everything right. High occupancy, top reviews, busy calendar. On paper, he was smashing it. But when we ran the numbers, something didn't add up. Despite being fully booked, James wasn't making any real money. He was handing thousands in commission to Airbnb every single month. And worse, he had no idea who his guests actually were. No emails, no repeat business. Just a never ending treadmill of new bookings that made him busier, not richer. Does that sound familiar? That was his turning point. I'm Maximus and of boost Lee. Since 2016, we've helped over 2,400 hosts add 30% more direct bookings, often in 90 days, by fixing the funnel and keeping the profit in every single day. And if you want the full checklist from this video, there's a link in the description where you can grab it and join my next live workshop as well. I will show you how to reach 65% diet bookings by this time next year. So let's talk about the leap for simple maths. I'm going to put the Airbnb commission at 15%. Take a simple two night stay at 180. Average daily rate, roughly 15% commission. That's 54 gone. Now, you do that 10 times over a month and that's 550. Stretch that across a year and you've lost 6,000 on one property. And that's before peak season rates make the leak even bigger. This isn't a one off expense. It's a slow bleed that compounds across every stay, across every season, across every property. Now, here's the truth that I've realized. Most hosts never calculate this. Occupancy is a vanity metric. Profit per stay is what keeps the light on. And a busy calendar can still leave you skin if you're leaking margins on every booking. So here's a very simple formula. Profit equals ADR. Average daily rate times Length of stay times 1, minus your fees minus your costs. When you cut the commissions, protect your ADR and extend stays. You don't need more bookings, you need better ones. That's why fully booked isn't the goal anymore. Healthy margins is. So when should you actually go directly? Here's the short answer. Right after your first day. Let the OTAs introduce you to new guests. Make sure they never need to find you again. Protect your high value nights, your peak weekends and your shoulder season. Those dates carry your profit for the year. Move those to direct first, then build your funnel. Start with a really good website that turns lookers into bookers. Not a free PMS template graveyard. It needs a clear book now button above the fold, real photos, live rates and availability. All the trust signals that we've talked about. And a map with reviews and a slogan that says the best rate. When you book direct, you get the best rate. Direct message that keeps parity but also adds value. Offers the extras that cost pennies but feel like pounds. So things like early check in partner perks welcome gifts. That combination can turn lookers into bookers. Next, we've got to capture your guest data every stay. Should you be growing your database on arrival? A simple wi fi or email capture one field that is frictionless. And then before checkout you can offer something very simple like love your stay. Lock your rates in for the next time you book direct. Then after checkout, which you will send normally three days after checkout, a little thank you email request, a review, give them insider tips plus as well ask for referrals. You can you can do little seasonal nudges when local events are happening over the year. But that all comes from getting the email address. And here's what to track your website conversion rate, you got to aim between 2 and 5%. You want to be also tracking your repeat guests and your referral rate and your email list growth. You got to aim for 30% direct over the next 90 days. That's the first milestone. And remember, don't chase direct by cutting the price. Keep your rate parity, protect your margins and win the value. So what we've got to do is we've got to avoid these free traps. Don't undercut the OTAs blindly. You'll train guests to chase discounts. Don't send traffic to a slow or leaky website. Don't skip on the follow up. If you don't email your guests, the OTA will. And after three months James had hit 30% direct again. Same workload but more margin. And for the first time he knew his guest by name. That's what this is all about. It's control. So it's control of your profit, control of your pipeline, control of your business, but most importantly, control of your brand. And now, just like James, he's moving one step further to building his direct booking ecosystem. Because the goal isn't just to reduce the OTA fees, it's to own your business, end to end. If you want to join James and start building your direct booking system, there's a checklist below. And while you are there in the description, you can sign up to our next workshop, which will show you how to get to 65% direct over the next calendar year. And if this video has hit home and your mindset is shifting, and if you want to delve deeper into the world of direct bookings, click on this link below and you'll see you on the next video.
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