The Italian Short-Stay Operators Bypassing Booking.com & Co. And how you can too.
There’s a new band of Italian short-term rental and hospitality operators bypassing Airbnb, Booking.com and other platforms. They’re going direct to their guests with marketing strategies that secure their independence. And they’re reaping the rewards.
By doing so, they’re saving a packet on booking fees, building brand loyalty, and creating a financial moat around their business.
Going direct means they don’t have to compete on someone else’s platform. And they’re not limited by geographical demand.
In this issue, I look at three operators who are killing it, and how you can do the same.
How to Change your Thinking and Reach more Guests Directly
The default approach for most short-term rental (STR) and hospitality operators in Italy is to turn to Online Travel Agents (OTAs) who market their stay and generate bookings.
OTAs are simply any online platform or agent that advertises vacation rentals on the internet to attract and book guests on behalf of the owner. This includes platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, nice2stay, Emmavillas and many more. Some OTAs offer a higher level of service than others, with Airbnb being the most basic, while luxury villa agents generally offer a more hands-on guest booking experience. For this article, I will treat them all as the same thing.
The business model is simple: OTAs market to guests and generate bookings. You provide the operations and fulfilment.
Using one or more OTAs is the obvious route for most, and for good reason. They have existing traffic, it’s the quickest route to market, and it’s easy to get started. But that doesn’t mean they are the best and only option for your marketing strategy.
Advertising with an OTA means high fees and playing by their rules. You never own your audience, and there’s always a chance of getting penalised by the algorithm. Or worse, banned.
As the saying goes, you’re building your house on someone else’s land.
Additionally, OTAs are heavily focussed on geographical demand, which means demand is finite and you have to compete against every other similar offering in your location.
There is another way: reach your prospective guests with direct marketing.
Modern consumers are searching more and more for unique experiences. That means they’re becoming less focused on typical tourist destinations, and more interested in meaningful experiences, slow travel and uniqueness.
And they’re waiting for experiences to find them.
This is what’s behind the rise in direct-to-guest marketing and direct bookings. And savvy operators are taking advantage.
The advantages are clear:
Operators save on booking fees. While raising their rates.
It means more profit and better revenue security.
With less direct competition against other operators in the same geographic location.
Revenue is diversified and more secure, no matter what changes are made to the OTA’s algorithm.
Reach is not restricted by geographical demand. Direct to guest marketing targets interest, not geographic intent, meaning you can appeal to a global market.
It’s a more effective way to build brand loyalty and repeat guests.
What types of stays and experiences can benefit?
There’s no doubt certain properties work better for direct-to-guest marketing than others.
The most suitable stays for success with direct-to-guest marketing need to have one or more of the following qualities:
- Exceptional design
- A unique experience not found elsewhere (retreats, classes, co-working, wellness, etc.)
- Amazing natural surroundings
- Unique design (not necessarily luxury, quirky or themed works too)
- Or any other unique factor that sets them apart from other standard offerings.
Essentially, the stay is the destination, not just a lodging for exploring the town or region.
The great thing about this strategy is that it’s not restricted to luxury offerings and big budgets.
Read to the end, and I’ll show you an example of how one rustic, single let with no road access is fully booked simply by posting regularly on Facebook.
Sometimes it doesn’t work, but you should do it anyway.
STRs or luxury stays that lack the important uniqueness factor will struggle to build a direct-to-guest booking funnel.
But they may not need to.
In locations where high geographic or tourist demand exists, simply listing on an OTA and delivering an exceptional service is often all that is required to succeed.
A stunning villa situated in Tuscany with a high-quality offering will do just fine on an OTA, as there’s strong geographical demand for exactly that type of experience.
But that doesn’t mean building your marketing profile is a waste of time.
I speak with many accommodation managers who tell me the same thing: a marketing presence outside of the OTAs is always beneficial, whether they’re getting lots of direct bookings or not. That’s because it helps build trust and gives potential guests a feeling of what it might be like to stay with them.
It’s often the little extra factor that means one place is booked over a competitors. It’s a fact that guests check out social profiles and other non OTA content before booking – so it makes sense to take advantage of this.
3 Italian property brands that are nailing direct booking strategies you can learn from.
Tenuta di Murlo
With an Instagram following approaching 1 million, Tenuta di Murlo are arguably the champions of direct-to-guest marketing in Italy. They have absolutely nailed it. And there’s a lot we can learn from these heavy hitters, even if you operate a more modest experience.