All Forum Posts by: Ben Szafran

Thank you Mark. We did. Hospitable finally released their direct booking widget that works well. We had a simple website frame in the widget and it is working well for us now.

0 Votes

Southeast NC, North Carolina

@Matthew Wilson call me 910-713-9323

0 Votes

Southeast NC, North Carolina

I have put a note out to one of my partners. Wilmington NC correct? If you are able to share address please do.

0 Votes

Los Angeles County, California

Quote from @Michael Baum:

Hey @Ben Szafran, I highly recommend Wordpress for the site. Lots of widgets and tools for STRs available and themes.

You don't really want to use WIX or something like that. They end up owning your site including the name. It's fine until you want to change providers.

Thank you. Do you have an example of one you use?

0 Votes

Southeast NC, North Carolina

Quote from @Ian Tyndall:

I switched from Hospitable to Guesty for this reason. The Guesty direct booking site and the Guest Arrival form are features that Hospitable did not offer.

The direct booking site works great out of the box. The guest arrival form is great at getting guests to share their email for future marketing. The Schlage integration for automatic deadbolt integration was an added bonus. I am now switching my locks over to Schlage because they are back in stock.

This seems like a step in the right direction without spending tons of money that won't give an roi. My wife really likes Hospitable so logistically may be tough to jump platforms at this time. We can take a look at it. Thank you!

0 Votes

Southeast NC, North Carolina

Quote from @Trent Reeve:

Quote from @Dave Stokley:

Quote from @Trent Reeve:

Quote from @Dave Stokley:

Quote from @Trent Reeve:

Quote from @Dave Stokley:

To preface this, we manage about 60 listings and do the vast majority of our bookings on Airbnb. We are just now considering a direct booking site.

We're on Guesty Pro, and looking into using their platform. The biggest downside for me is that if we ever leave Guesty or they go out of business or something we don't own the site. We're also looking at Boostly, which is more expensive but also more feature-rich and we own it.

The thing that has always kept me from doing it is the cost of replicating what you get from Airbnb for your 3%: payment processing (that'll cost you 3% alone), a massive marketing engine (what will it cost you in time/money to drive thousands of monthly views to your site?), AirCover (not as bad as the haters say...in fact I've never not got paid), and no guest reviews or customer support.

why cant you get what you get from Airbnb, but also have a direct booking site? great for return guests that want to save money. And with some, you can push direct booking reviews to VRBO, and you can get comparable Aircover insurance.

You can, you just have to pay a lot more for it.

Like I said… “the cost of replicating what you get from Airbnb…”

depends on your definition of "a lot more"

Indeed. What are you spending on yours, and what have the returns been?

i use OwnerRez. we have 3 properties so under $25 each, and then under $10/month or so for the direct website.

I'd like to hear more on this..

0 Votes

Southeast NC, North Carolina

Quote from @Brooklyn McCarty:

The book direct playbook by mark Simpson is a great book

Thank you!

0 Votes

Southeast NC, North Carolina

My wife is growing fast with her STR property management. Airbnb is her main platform for bookings. She uses Hospitable to manage all her properties. She also receives referrals from various sources where a direct booking site would make life easier for guests, my wife and her cpa (lol). Hospitable has a "landing page" feature that can connect to Stripe payment feature but the site does not allow for any real creativity or enhanced functionality at this point.. Anyone out there have recommendations or know a web person who has worked around Hospitable? Thanks in advance.

Ben & MaryChris

2 Votes

Southeast NC, North Carolina

Sagar,

Be happy to talk with you about coastal Wilmington Nc. Brunswick County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state. Multi family/apartments are very active right now. I run a residential real estate team and I have a commercial partner who has leads on land sites and prospective apartment projects. I am an active investor residentially and would like to dive into your asset class. Call or email anytime.

0 Votes

Southeast NC, North Carolina

Quote from @Ross M.:

Hi all,

This post is to introduce myself and get involved with the BP community. My wife and I are NC residents near Durham and are finally ready to invest in real estate. We have owned 3 primary residences and sold 2 of them as we have relocated twice over the past 6 years.

We're really interested in building a diverse portfolio of properties in different locations and of different types. We want to start with a STR in a coastal area in NC, preferably in Wilmington, Carolina Beach, or Kure Beach. Eventually we'd like to have one around the Smoky Mountains, in addition to LTRs and multi-family around the state or beyond.

In short, we are just beginning our real estate investment journey and have lots to learn. We'll be reading lots of BP posts to get educated, and of course would welcome any advice, especially from those experienced in NC real estate.

Thanks!

Hi Ross. Nice to meet you. I like the vision and growth you are laying out. My wife and I own 2 STR in Wilmington NC with 2 more coming online in next few months. My wife manages 15 units, soon to be 18 under her Super Host status. I am a established real estate Broker. Let us know if we can help or share experiences here on the coast. Cheers!

1 Vote

Coastal NC, North Carolina

All Forum Posts by: Ben Szafran

Ben Szafran has started 2 posts and replied 28 times.

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: Wilmington NC Airbnb

Post: FIRST POST - Investment Opportunity - Please Help

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: Connecticut Investor Looking in (Eastern) North Carolina

Post: First-time STR - looking in and around Wilmington, NC

Ben Szafran has started 2 posts and replied 28 times.

Biggerpockets Logo Post: STR direct booking site needed

Biggerpockets Logo Post: Wilmington NC Airbnb

Biggerpockets Logo Post: FIRST POST - Investment Opportunity - Please Help

Biggerpockets Logo Post: STR direct booking site needed

Biggerpockets Logo Post: STR direct booking site needed

Biggerpockets Logo Post: STR direct booking site needed

Biggerpockets Logo Post: STR direct booking site needed

Biggerpockets Logo Post: STR direct booking site needed

Biggerpockets Logo Post: Connecticut Investor Looking in (Eastern) North Carolina

Biggerpockets Logo Post: First-time STR - looking in and around Wilmington, NC

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: Wilmington NC Airbnb

Post: FIRST POST - Investment Opportunity - Please Help

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: STR direct booking site needed

Post: Connecticut Investor Looking in (Eastern) North Carolina

Post: First-time STR - looking in and around Wilmington, NC