The independent host’s guide to direct bookings.
Practical guides on taking bookings directly, collecting payments, and cutting platform fees, written for owners who run their own short-term rentals.
The math on one stay
Direct booking vs platform fees: what you actually keep on a $2,400 stay
A plain, worked comparison of what a booking platform takes versus taking the stay directly, run on a $2,400 booking, so you can see where every dollar goes.
Read the breakdownThe Canadian Family Who Couldn't Pay Me, and What It Taught Me About Taking Money From Guests Abroad
A family from Montreal booked our Cape Cod house and then couldn't pay through the app I always use. Here's how they ended up paying, what it cost them, and what I'd do differently.
ReadHow do I collect payment for a direct booking?
Three ways owners collect direct-booking payments compared, plus how to take a deposit up front and let the balance collect itself before check-in.
ReadHow do I turn a rental inquiry into a confirmed booking?
A vacation rental owner's plain guide to replying fast, confirming dates and price in writing, and getting the deposit paid with one link.
ReadHow do I stop double bookings across my calendars?
Double bookings almost always come from the direct booking you take by email or phone. Here's why that gap opens and how one calendar closes it.
ReadWhy your repeat guests should book direct
Platforms are worth paying to meet a new guest. Paying that fee again on someone who already knows your place means paying twice for the same introduction. Here's how to bring repeat guests back directly.
ReadHow do I get guests to pay before check-in without chasing them?
Take a deposit at booking, let the balance collect itself before arrival, and stop chasing payments over email. Here's the two-payment setup I use on our Cape Cod place.
ReadLodging and occupancy tax for vacation rental owners, explained simply
A plain guide to lodging and occupancy tax for small vacation rental owners: what it is, who pays it, and how to handle it on a direct booking.
Read