Airbnb vs direct bookings and what hosts actually need to know
You built your booking calendar on a platform you do not control.
Most hosts never say that out loud. It shows up differently. A knot in your stomach when Airbnb announces another fee change. A quiet dread when a guest cancels and the platform sides with them. Refreshing your phone, waiting for bookings that used to arrive on their own.
If that is you, you are not behind. You are just running into the limits of a system that was never really yours.
Here is the short answer. Airbnb vs direct bookings is not a choice between one or the other. Airbnb is a marketing channel. Direct bookings are a business asset. Keep the OTAs for visibility if they serve you, but build your own website, email list, and guest relationships so your calendar never depends on one platform's decisions.
Now the longer answer, because the details matter.
Is Airbnb bad for your vacation rental business
No. Airbnb is not bad. It is a marketing channel with a high commission and strict terms. It puts your property in front of millions of travellers you could never reach on your own, and for many hosts it is where the first booking comes from.
The problem is not Airbnb. The problem is dependency.
When every booking flows through one platform, that platform effectively owns your business. It sets the fees, holds the guest relationship, and decides what happens in a dispute. You do the hosting. It holds the control.
Vivian Yip, a host with nine properties in Austin, Texas, felt this directly when Airbnb cancelled bookings during COVID. Her calendar changed overnight and there was nothing she could do about it. That experience pushed her to restructure her whole business (she shared the full story on episode 97 of the Direct Booking Success Podcast).
OTAs feel safe until they don't.
What does OTA dependency actually cost you
OTA dependency costs you three things. Commission on every booking, ownership of the guest relationship, and the ability to make your own decisions about pricing, refunds, and who stays in your property.
The commission is the visible cost. The invisible costs are bigger.
- The guest relationship. On an OTA, the guest belongs to the platform. You often cannot email them after checkout, invite them back, or offer them a reason to return. Every stay is a one-time transaction.
- Your brand. Your listing sits in a grid next to every competitor in your market, formatted to the platform's template, written for the platform's algorithm.
- Control. Refund decisions, policy changes, algorithm shifts, and account suspensions all happen to you, not with you.
Deana Steele, who runs a luxury vacation rental agency in Kelowna, British Columbia, put the alternative plainly on episode 86 of the podcast. "I don't have to be concerned about the price in the market. Because we have a lot of people who just come directly to us. They don't shop around." That is what owning the relationship looks like. No race to the bottom.
What do direct bookings give you that Airbnb cannot
Direct bookings give you the guest relationship, repeat business, full control over pricing and policies, and a business asset that grows in value over time. A guest who books direct is your guest, not the platform's.
The numbers from real hosts tell the story.
- Rose Tipka runs a $3 million portfolio in Ohio Amish Country at 80% direct bookings, with a 60% return guest rate. Her repeat guests are the engine of her business.
- Heather Bayer built her Ontario company to 95% book direct over 20 years, and when she sold it in 2022, the direct booking model was a big part of what made it worth buying.
- Michael Guildford, who manages 14 apartments in Brisbane, frames it as business value. "The best business you've ever owned is the one you just sold for seven figures. And direct bookings, that data list increases the value of your business."
Direct bookings aren't the goal. Control is. The bookings follow.
Can you keep Airbnb and still grow direct bookings
Yes. Most hosts who book direct still list on OTAs. The goal is diversification, not abandonment. Even 20% direct changes your business, because those are the guests you own, the repeat stays you can invite back, and the revenue no platform can switch off.
Brianne Hamilton manages more than 22 properties across Canada and the US and runs at about 20% direct bookings, built through intentional marketing rather than by accident. Her take on episode 98 was simple. "You have nothing to lose by putting together a website... and just having that available access to get direct bookings."
On episode 121, vacation rental marketing expert Jennifer Spencer laid out the same principle. List on multiple channels, including newer ones like Google Vacation Rentals that send travellers straight to your own website, and let a property management system do the heavy lifting so diversification does not become a second job.
You don't have to do everything. You have to stop relying on one thing.
How do you start moving toward direct bookings
Start with a name and a website, add a property management system so you can take bookings and payments, then capture guest emails and stay in touch. That sequence turns one-time OTA guests into repeat direct guests over time.
Here is the practical order, drawn from Jennifer Spencer's advice on episode 121.
- Give your property a name. A brand guests can remember and search for is the first step out of the OTA grid.
- Get a direct booking website. It does not need to be fancy at the start. Many property management systems include a hosted website that is enough to take your first direct booking. If you want the full picture of what comes next, start with how to get more direct bookings for your vacation rental.
- Put a property management system in place. One calendar, one place to manage payments, guest screening, rental agreements, and messages across every channel.
- Capture guest emails. A rental agreement signed at booking is a natural moment to collect an email address, whatever channel the guest came from.
- Stay in touch. A short email a few times a year. Property updates, local news, early access to popular dates. Jennifer sends her past guests a happy new year note in January and still gets bookings from it months later.
This is not a weekend project. It is a system you build once and then run. Marketing is a system, not a sprint.
Frequently asked questions
Should I leave Airbnb completely
Probably not, and certainly not overnight. Hosts like Heather Bayer reached 95% direct over many years. Keep the OTA listings that earn their commission and build your direct channel alongside them. The mix shifts gradually as your repeat guest base grows.
How long does it take to grow direct bookings
Expect gradual progress, not a switch. Your first direct bookings usually come from past guests, so every OTA stay is a chance to earn the next booking direct. Hosts who capture emails and stay in touch consistently tend to see repeat direct bookings within their first year of trying.
Do guests really save money when they book direct
Yes. Guests avoid platform service fees when they book direct, and many hosts pass along part of what they save in commission. Lauren Madewell, whose family has run Auntie Belham's Cabin Rentals in the Smoky Mountains for 30 years, says on episode 106 that saving her guests money is part of the point. Money saved on fees gets spent on the actual trip.
What do I need before I can take a direct booking
A website where guests can see the property, check availability, and pay. A way to take payment and a rental agreement. A property management system covers most of this in one tool. After that, it is marketing. Being findable, being trustworthy, and giving guests a reason to book with you.
The real question is not Airbnb or direct
It is this. If your OTA account disappeared tomorrow, would you still have a business?
If the honest answer is no, that is not a reason to panic. It is a reason to start building. A name, a website, an email list, a system for staying in touch. Every piece you put in place is a piece of your business you own.
And if the reason it has not happened yet is that marketing never actually gets finished, that is exactly what STR Content Lab exists for. A monthly membership where hosts plan and finish their direct booking marketing together, for $97 a month.
Start there. Give your future guests a reason to find you, and a way to book that belongs to you.
