STR Direct Bookings, PMS, SEO, API/Tech feedback

[Gretchen Quinlan]

Hello! I'll be launching my first 2 STRs in in the next couple of months and would like to set myself up from the beginning to not be completely reliant on Airbnb. I understand listing on Airbnb is necessary, but think of it like Amazon, needed but you never feel great about it. I'm considering listing 4-5 ways 1) Airbnb 2) VRBO 3) Booking.com 4) Direct 5) Furnished Finder. Many will think this is overkill but launching an STR in the current market comes with challenges. What are the best tools I can use to accomplish this that I should look into? My full time career is in digital marketing and have some web design skills but API setup and advanced web design I want to avoid. Some brands I keep hearing about are OwnerRez, Hospitable, GoDaddy, Stripe, Square, Guesty, Wordpress, Wix, Hostaway, Smoobu... I'm also aware tracking local taxes can be difficult. Tell me about your tech set up!