Why 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.

Should I stop listing on the platforms?

No. Keep listing. The platforms are good at one thing that's hard to do on your own: putting your place in front of someone who has never heard of you. A family in another state searching for a week on the water finds you because a platform showed them your photos. That's a real introduction, and it's worth paying for.

Where the math turns against you is the second time that same family books. They already know the house. They know where the spare key hangs and which beach is the quiet one. The platform isn't introducing anyone. But it still takes its cut.

Why am I paying twice on a returning guest?

A platform takes about 3% from you and adds about 14% on top of the price your guest sees. The first time, fine. That's the finder's fee for a guest you'd never have reached.

The second time, nobody found anybody. The guest typed your house into the search bar because they already decided to come back. The platform collects the same fee for standing between two people who already know each other.

Does a returning guest even need a platform?

The reason a stranger trusts a platform is that they don't yet trust you. The reviews, the payment protection, the messaging system, all of that is scaffolding for a first booking with someone they've never met.

A guest who has already stayed doesn't need any of it. They've slept in the beds. They've emailed you about the thermostat. They know you'll pick up the phone if something breaks. The trust is already there. So is your email address.

Am I allowed to take a guest off-platform?

While a booking is live on their site, platforms restrict contact and payment. You're not supposed to hand a guest your email and say pay me directly instead. That's the rule, and it's worth following.

Once the stay is over, that's a different situation. A past guest is a person you know, free to book wherever they like next season. If they come to you directly the following year, that's their choice and yours. The platform's hold ends when the booking does.

The platform earns its fee introducing you to a stranger. It doesn't get to keep charging you to talk to a friend.

How do I bring a past guest back directly?

1. 1
   Save their details while the stay is fresh

   Keep the guest's name, email, and what they booked: the dates, the week they picked, how many people. Do this at the time, not eight months later when you're trying to remember who stayed in July. Downwind keeps this for you so it's there next season.
2. 2
   Reach out before they start looking

   Late winter, before people lock in summer plans, send a short personal note. Not a newsletter. Two or three lines: good to have you last year, the same week is open, would you like it again? It should read like it came from a person, because it did.
3. 3
   Send one link to rebook and pay

   Give them a single booking link. They pick their dates, put down the deposit, and pay you directly. No platform sits in the middle and no 14% gets added to their price. You keep everything but the card processing.

What does the same booking cost through a platform versus direct?

The card fee lands whether you go direct or not. What disappears when you book direct is the 14% piled onto the guest and the per-booking cut taken from you. On one repeat guest that's a few hundred dollars. Across a season of returning families and the friends they refer, it adds up to real money.