Direct Booking Sites

[Devon Moore]

Hi Everyone!

I am planning to start a direct booking site for my short-term rentals. I have done some research but curious about the experience people here have had. 

1. Have you gotten insurance similar to Air Cover for issues that may arise?

2. I have seen that creating a site through a PMS is not a good idea since it makes it difficult to chnage PMS in the future and you may not have the full rights to your URL. Has anyone created the site themselves and connected it to a PMS somehow? I currently use hospitable.

3. What are the book keeping and occupancy tax challenges that are faced?

4. Are there any good resources I should look into to learn more about this process?

Thanks!

Devon 

[Michael Baum]

Hey @Devon Moore, so Air Cover isn't insurance. It just a simply "guarantee" that they will cover guest caused damage. It is spotty at best.

You will need real live STR insurance. Not home owners or land lord policies. Shop around. Call Proper, Foremost etc. Also contact your insurer and see if they offer a STR policy.

Regarding the PMS, it can be an issue. You need to create your own site. Maybe use Wordpress and register the domain at Bluehost? That way you control everything. Wordpress has a lot of widgets and plugins for STR stuff. A lot are free.

Yes you will need to remit taxes based on the regions rules. Some are monthly, some are quarterly. Just fire up a spreadsheet and enter in your data. You could try an app as well. Stessa or Wave.