About 3 yrs ago I’d posted inside a Facebook STR group about a Smokies cabin owner who only does direct booking via their website (decades of email contacts this way) & guests must snail mail a check for their total rental in advance, plus leave another check in the cabin to cover the housekeepers cleaning fee. Everyone laughed at that time about how antiquated his process was….until now. His massive email database keeps his business booked up & cash flowing without any fees for him nor the guests, so he never even has to advertise nor do social media posts. #winning 😅

I’m exploiting the Airbnb exposure and when guests tell me they want long term, I tell them book one night make sure you like it, I get the five star review, then make ‘em a lease . They keep a bit more and I make a bit less, but I still make good $, they ❤ me for looking out for them and making it about helping pets and vets not just $, and i still get most guests from Airbnb vs dealing with seo

I remember when airbnb, was mainly just owners of a second home that let people rent it out when they weren’t using it. But now everyone’s making it a business buying multiple houses and getting whole teams to take care of them. It’s lost the personal touch of direct bookings. That’s why I don’t use Airbnb anymore. It’s too business like before it felt like just friends letting you use their house and you just pay them a little money To use their space. But now I just feels like more of a corporate America 🙄

When AirBnB's biggest proponents are sharing why it is important to not rely on their platform, they better be paying attention. Over 26k views in one day, and so many others saw the "Airbnb is dead" in the title while scrolling. If AirBnB's PR team isn't already talking to @Robuilt, then they should be fired.

I agree - i am a super host and a guest booked a monthlong stay at my place. They loved it so much they asked to stay weeks / months longer if not through the end of 2023. 3 weeks into the 4 week (initial) booking the power went out unexpectedly and the guest wanted to leave. Understandable. However Airbnb immediately deducted MY earnings to cover THEIR AirCover policy (which are separate buckets) without notifying me in advance, asking my permission, or consent. After weeks of continuing to push the issue - about how my strict cancellation policy on long term stays entitled me to FULL payment if the guest leaves midway through - they basically agreed and refunded me back 50% of what they took. However I was still at a loss. They decided to override my cancellation policy to cover their AirCover insurance policy which is not my responsibility. And it was only after me contesting for weeks did they comply. That was a big eye opener about how skewed the protocol is in favor of guests over hosts. Not cool.

Sounds to me like the downfall of ETSY for sellers. They protected sellers until they didn’t and then they sided with buyers 100%. I say grow your business through these mediums but always have a strategic exit plan and start to guide your customer to your own site because ultimately Etsy/Airbnb has all the power and Can and will shut you down unfairly. Etsy did this to our $200K annual business. Unfortunately we didn’t recover, I wish I would not have put all of my eggs in one basket. 😢

Should always go with the direct booking approach. It’s your business, don’t let another company take money off the table.

I don't know...Rob just strikes me as someone who doesn't get complacent ever and is always looking for the next challenge. I really admire that!

Honestly, this has been a gripe of mine with Airbnb for quite some time, and I'm glad you both discussed this. It's great as a newbie hearing insights from a veteran in the space.

Airbnb is terrible for coverage. I was a guest last month at an airbnb rental, and the apartment was broken into- (it was firmly locked, and police verified that lock and door was broken open). Airbnb did not cover anything- not the loss of my computer or guitar. I am completely disgusted with airbnb. Just to note I also am a superhost with my own listing. Even though I sent airbnb the police report, police photos, the host confirming the break-in = airbnb said no, they didn't have enough information and refused to cover the loss of my computer or guitar (not even partially!) ! Incredible!! Airbnb is terrible, considering the amount of money they have made from me, as both guest and host. I cannot imagine what they would be like if it were something more serious, like the house burning down etc! It should be a warning to everybody!

The Airbnb Support rep really drove me nuts. A guest broke house rules and caused damages to the property. She left a retaliatory review after I reach out to Airbnb about the issues. 
I initially called Airbnb support in 2022 about the retaliatory review and requested removal but no action was taken. Two years later 2024 I called Airbnb Support again; I was shocked that I got a warning from the Airbnb Support rep. She accused me of manipulating/coercing/threatening guests to remove negative reviews. I could not believe that. It’s like double wounds to me. I did not get any support and instead I got hurt twice! Anyone here please help?

LOVE how you handled this. AirBnb sounds like they need a wakeup call

About time Rob. :D Jumping on the same page as other professional hosts! I am happy that you are bringing this info to your followers. I've been following Mark for years.

Yes! Airbnb has created a system for support to flowchart their way to a resolution between guests & hosts… Airbnb won’t change until it hurts them in their pockets, most large companies won’t until revenue plummets. So for the hard working hosts that are able to pivot, this is a good thing (although going through the change and costs can be a challenge)

I agree. Airbnb delisted a property of mine for a month and canceled all bookings because a nuisance neighbor called and claimed "party" although there was no music playing or noise or any disturbance of any kind. It didn't matter that we had video evidence to show there was no party or noise. It's so beyond asinine that I don't even have words to express it. If they hear the word "party" it is the host who takes the brunt

LOVE this topic! I'll definitely be looking into this once I get up and running.

Don't rely on aircover!!!! The policy will not cover most damages. There's a house in my neighborhood that flooded and caused 300k in damage from guests clogging a toilet and airbnb would only give them about 10% (31k)

Great video Rob! Really helpful!

This was great. Thank you Rob and Mark. Lots of stuff I was already feeling and discussion...great to know I'm not in the camp alone. Direct booking has been a big push for me to get my hands around once we got established. We started our business with renovation of 6 units and building 4 domes last year and we are focused on systems and tools now. We have a niche, we have unique market position and we have a great value proposition when it comes to other offerings in our market. Direct booking and the challenges you covered in this interview are absolutely timely. Thank you again.

14:00 A word of caution for any owner. Ask about refresh and sync times when connecting multiple sites to any channel manager to avoid overbooking. “Instant book” does not mean the unit will “instant close” on all other websites to prevent overbooking. In theory, yes. In reality, some are 6 hours. Read carefully who is ultimately responsible for over bookings - the owner.

Not in the short term rental business but in our vertical (ebike content) leveraging SEO (search engine optimization) traffic traffic has been driving the growth of our brand exposure. Most of our traffic now comes from website traffic (via SEO/Organic Traffic). IMO you should invest in creating content to drive traffic to your direct website while also leveraging the newsletter

When your starting out these guys make you feel small. 40 property portfolio 👀. I took it as inspiration and thank both of you gentlemen for the insight. 🤙🏽

Great Guest, and interview, Rob! I appreciate you, for the content and insight that your podcast provides; and, also for you sharing your personal experiences and knowledge. I especially appreciate your process in Marketing ... thank you; and, may you and your family, continue to be Blessed.

I started setting up a direct booking website for my bnb yesterday for the exact same reason. Airbnb is blocking highly rated guests from booking my rental for the October 28 & 29 dates. I talked to customer support and they basically said "we are doing this to protect you from parties and there's nothing you can do about it." This is a massive mistake they are making. It's great to see other hosts not taking it either.

I don’t know, direct booking for a guests could be a complete nightmare, because some Airbnb hosts are just not professional. Too many host want to collect the money, but don’t want to give a quality experience. Old towels, dirty beds, hard bed with stains, no hot water, power outages, no Wi-Fi, and bug situations our common issues that come up with some of these hosts. It’s important to know how to run a polished and professional business before doing direct bookings. Otherwise, the business will fail due to BBB reports, lawsuits and other issues.

Airbnb will focus on guest retention over hosts because guest can only book their stay 1 time, via 1 platform. Hosts can list the same property on multiple platforms.

If ABB switches to listing host fees only, suddenly they will begin to care much more about keeping hosts happy and successful; a 6 week penalty will be punishing to their own profitability. There must be a glut of available rentals for ABB to shut anyone down right now; it shows that with buyer fees they don’t expect to lose any revenue because they know the renter can find alternatives on their site.

Agreed! Pivot! ABB doesn’t have the right to impact my income while I support 3 children without notice 💔No way good bye

i had a similar issue. If a guest complains and tells airbnb the place "smells", they get their nights for free and if it was a longer booking, the rest of the time frame is blocked. so you loose all that money. for me it was 3 months and i was counting on it. NEVER make yourself dependend on a monopoly.

Great episode, Rob. Thank you. I must ask. What is your snake plant reading?

Great video, tremendously informative and timely. Thank you!

I like sticking with mid term rentals. Less risk and same profits

I came here for learning about STR. Became big fan of Mark Simpson, I love his style of answering questions. Great for people who get mentorship from him.

As a frequent AirBnB guest user, I would be VERY hesitant to direct book with a host that I had not used before. (as in I would never do it) At one point there were so many poorly equipted hosts that I gave up on AirBnB too. At this point, I am back using the platform. With hosts that I book with as returning guest, we generally go outside of any platform and use a simple pdf contract agreement and a direct transfer of funds. Good luck with your enterprises

The best way to evaluate any insurance policy is to look at the exclusions page. You should do the same to see what air cover covers you for. I haven’t looked at this, but I’m sure it’s not going to be favorable for the host..

great video ! 🔥

Direct booking is the "old school" wild wild west way that existed before Airbnb.

Airbnb needs a class action lawsuit from hosts

We need to create a host friendly website.

Good info here! Hello from Seattle! We are building our own little beach hotel in the Philippines!

The title is misleading, your changing your marketing strategy not your entire business.

If this is click bait Rob, it worked.

I absolutely hate Airbnb. It is so unfair.

Great content, you can never get tired of this movement #bookdirect

I couldn't get into short term, I prefer leasing to non profits for commercial leases 5-10 year garunteed money for aging out foster kids.

If I'm starting out with one studio in my home, do you suggest I run direct bookings through a website or sign up for Airbnb?

Omg same here about the bed bugs it was definitely not!!!

If you have a good clients and referrals then sure, direct book. Airbnb just makes the whole process safer and more convenient for those who don’t have repeat clients.

Now there is this thing called hotels where you pay to stay overnight and can get food delivered to your room. Having to stay at some weirdo's house is a thing of the 13th century.

so important regarding email lists

Thank you!!

The problem with direct bookings is that you get less views on airbnb which drops your rank in the listing. Once it starts falling, it falls fast and then if you don't have enough direct bookings to cover yourself, you won't get much from airbnb because people aren't booking your place. It's a dangerous game...

Awesome insights

Good luck rolling the dice with direct bookings... Matter of time until something happens. Airbnb has the cash and resources to go to bat for you.

Mark is the biggest G in direct booking

This was great thank you! Sounds like soon you’ll extend your neeksleeps to your host camp members to post their listings too! That be huge! Good bye bnb 🎉

Hi, Rob! Really good video! I’m a host here in the PH 🇵🇭. Im not sure how direct bookings work there but would you charge a refundable security deposit from your direct booking guests in case small damages are done? For example, stained linens or broken appliances? Thank you & hope to get your thoughts. :)

23:19 we have this to help us build our email list

The 2.99% + $.30 is the card processing transaction fee. Which is pretty much the same, if not cheaper at stripe. I guess you can absorb or pass on that fee.

Now this is content!!

Thanks!

I disagree with this idea of spreading bookings out between multiple platforms. I think it depends on your market. I do only Airbnb outside of Yosemite and stay about 90 percent booked year round. I think the algo does better when you commit full in. They will also have your backbif you have a good listing that makes them money. I have had to step up to put in the work to get some asinine reviews removed. Airbnb customer service is increasingly outsourced and aweful. Trick is to escalate the claim until you get an American supervisor. The outsourced reps just want to solve the problem the easist way which is by a refund to the guest.

In Canada, we are experiencing a AIRBNB STR Ban essentially limiting our rentals to only our principle residence. This podcast was great, in terms of both parties providing so much value in their responses to their conversation. I've seen many people but I understand why your videos are so highly valued, because the value is here.

As a costumer, how can I find a place to stay ? Where should i look to find few direct booking places to choose from ?

I am do new to this STR world so I apologize if there is a video out there but how do we get guests to find our direct booking website when society is so use to booking through Airbnb and or Vrbo?

I also am a Superhost that had two lake reach out to try and book for Halloween but were blocked bc of "parties" even though they weren't coming for that.. This want the first set of booking that were blocked!

Eff air BNB . Running a commercial business in residential neighborhoods. It should be illegal. If you decide to rent an air BNB remember nobody inspects them. Dirty sheets, cameras in bedrooms.

good advice fomo

What kind of entity do you register to own every property to be use for short rent ? LLC ? S Corporation? C Corporation? Do you registrar before you buy o after ?

If deciding on going the direct booking route, the REAL challenge is to generate TRAFFIC to your listing.

Hello Chat and Rob's team,Could you please provide a list of the top five insurance companies that offer international coverage for vacation homes (in the US, Mx, and CR)?. Any suggestion is more than welcome Thank you! BTW great video!

Last time I used Airbnb was 2019. It's just not worth the hassle anymore.

Hi Rob, Here in Toronto, Canada we landlords have another huge concern with direct bookings - professional tenants who move in and refuse to leave (and stop paying) it takes 8 months or more to get a hearing with the LTB (landlord tenant board) and even if you win - it’s nearly impossible to recover the loss. Some landlords have lost 100’s of thousands because of this backwards and defective system. Airbnb provides us with a layer of protection against this - if a guest books on Airbnb we can simply call the police and have them removed. However, if they book directly, they are considered tenants and have police have no jurisdiction and your only recourse is filing with the LTB.

Thanks everyone here for helping with the housing shortage, appreciate you

What about all of the commercial taxes that apply as a hotel or traditional commercial property?

Be careful….airbnb shuts down listings for any reason! Don’t put your eggs in one basket.

“Robuilt” would be a good name to replace Airbnb…

Last month I had a guest leave my place a mess. I left the guest a negative review, and the guest left a very positive review for us. Obviously, we couldn’t see each other’s reviews until they were posted. Once he saw my negative review, he called Airbnb and redacted his positive review. I couldn’t believe that Airbnb took my positive review down. I’m aiming to become a superhost and without positive reviews, this isn’t possible. His action was clearly retaliatory, and I earned that positive review.

Has anyone ever gotten paid out by air cover?? Maybe as said here, for media purposes, but idk that it’s worth the $, but they do always answer my phone calls and work things out with me n guests so I think they are like any other business , they’re doin their best

Rentals are going down because there are a lot more people doing it. It’s simple supply and demand. There’s a lot more supply than demand nowadays so each host is getting less and less bookings.

As someone who’s freelanced as a web dev and now an artificial intelligence architect and 10+ years house hacking growing up around rentals, the seo thing is gonna be a thing

@marksimpson dropping knowledge bomb after knowledge bomb.

Time to sell everything and cash out?

I saw Mark’s presentation in Orlando. Timely and important information. #bookdirect

Do you hospitable or guesty platform to book or it's a independent website

Air cover and homeowners insurance does not protect you if the home burns down. He should know this.

I learned a lot from this but can offer two comments: as a regular airbnb guest who gets top comments (clean, quiet, pleasant... basically I'm an ideal guest), I have only once had to complain to airbnb about a host (he charged a damage deposit which apparently is now prohibited) and ghosted me when I asked for it back. He messaged me once saying he was in Mexico (irrelevant) and would get on it. Airbnb tracked him down and I received my money immediately. In this instance I would say that airbnb was rightly protecting the guest. Second comment: please don't put me on your email list. Nothing puts me off more. If I liked a place and am returning to the area, I will return to the same place. I don't care what the heck the deal of the month is if I'm not in the same state, province, country.

Hello Rob, Not sure how to get in direct contact with you but I would like to discuss your interest/direction on some property I acquired that is 1/4 mile from a state park and within 5 minutes from 2 others. (Crowders Mt, Kings Mt, and Kings Mt Military state park) Also there is a casino in its infancy stage, less than 5 minutes away, and about 30 -35 minutes from Charlotte NC. I own/manage commercial real estate locally, and overall my income streams collectively require only about 10-15 hours of my time a week total, and my wife is a stay at home. So together we have lots of time to act as a cleaning crew/maintenance. My folks were initially going to get involved in the project , but I directed them towards some commercial property opportunity that I plan to manage for them. So this dream will eventually become a reality, as cash can pile up again in 2-3 years, or interest rates go back down.

Take the direct booking. Easy

I love airbnb! They make me a ton of cash

Excellent! You’re a brilliant sexy bad boy 😂 playing a game of chicken and email marketing are fantastic tips. Collecting emails like hotels do. Thanks guys! Great message 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Only 30 days or more in NYC

I live in FL and visit Orlando often. Their model has been this for decade now. We book through AirBNB or VRBO but as soon as you enter the property they are advising to book your next stay directly through the property management.

My apprehension is visibility. How do people find our place? ABB is where people look for our place. We are in a pretty small town. Not sure how people would find us if we were direct.

Furnished finder yall.

Couldn't the guest(s) call you on your business phone through your business email to contact you outside of airbnb, who already did the booking? Is that banned on airbnb?

I think you can’t put other marketing material in the photos. I feel like it’s in their content policy but I have seen people do a similar thing.

It is time to shake free of Airbnb if at all possible. The faster Airbnb goes out of business, the better.

I avoid AirBnB whenever possible. I travel all the time. As a guest it's shit.

I prefer direct biking due to crazy service/cleaning feee add ins on AirBnB plus all the crazy restrictions to buy j hosts and guests ..