The Boostly Podcast: Episode Summary
Title: Hospitable Uncovered: What Every Host Must Know
Release Date: February 24, 2025
Host: Mark Simpson
Guest: Blake Blair, Duarte Destinations
Introduction
In this insightful episode of The Boostly Podcast, host Mark Simpson delves into the intricacies of property management systems (PMS) with guest Blake Blair from Duarte Destinations. The discussion centers around Hospitable, a prominent PMS in the hospitality industry, exploring its features, benefits, and practical applications for hosts aiming to optimize their booking processes and enhance guest experiences.
About the Guest: Blake Blair and Duarte Destinations
Blake Blair is the driving force behind Duarte Destinations, a thriving hospitality business that specializes in managing short-term and midterm rentals. With a strategic approach to maintaining high occupancy rates, Blake has expanded his operations across multiple U.S. markets, including Houston, Austin, the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, and Big Bear, California. Recently, he is venturing into Hawaii, signaling significant growth. Additionally, Blake spearheads the Houston Hospitality Collective, a platform that unites hosts for collective marketing and offers a unified direct booking website, fostering a collaborative community among property owners.
Introduction to Hospitable PMS
Mark Simpson introduces Hospitable as a versatile PMS that Boostly partners with, emphasizing that the podcast aims to provide unbiased insights by featuring hosts like Blake who utilize various PMS solutions. Blake shares his journey with Hospitable, revealing that his initial experience stemmed from assisting a client with system integrations. This hands-on involvement led him to appreciate Hospitable's evolving features and ultimately adopt it for his own properties.
Notable Quote:
“As their business grew and as their system grew, I decided to switch myself over to Hospitable because I saw what great features they were adding and how much they were improving.”
— Blake Blair [04:15]
Key Features of Hospitable
1. AI Messaging
One of Hospitable's standout features is its integrated AI messaging system. Blake highlights that Hospitable was among the first PMS platforms to incorporate AI, enhancing responsiveness and accuracy in guest communications.
Notable Quote:
“I have guests that may ask a very specific question and somehow the AI is able to draw from the listing and find the answer... it’s really neat to be able to use that AI messaging.”
— Blake Blair [04:32]
2. Integration with Google Vacation Rentals
Hospitable's seamless integration with Google Vacation Rentals is a significant advantage. This connection ensures higher visibility in search results and directs potential guests to the host's customized direct booking website rather than Hospitable's landing page.
Notable Quote:
“With Hospitable's connection with Google Vacation Rentals... it takes you to my boostly website and that takes them straight to my page... which is what I like to see.”
— Blake Blair [05:20]
3. Direct Booking Website
Hospitable allows hosts to link their listings directly to their personalized booking websites, fostering trust and providing a cohesive brand experience for guests.
4. Messaging Customization
The platform offers robust customization for automated messages, enabling hosts to tailor communications based on booking channels, property specifics, and guest information.
Notable Quote:
“You can customize what conditions they are, then you can put what messages go out or what part of that messages go out... it's all under one template.”
— Blake Blair [14:22]
5. API Connections and Airbnb Promotions
Hospitable's flexible API connections prevent restrictions imposed by Airbnb, allowing hosts to run promotions and make changes directly on Airbnb without being tethered to the PMS's interface.
Notable Quote:
“With Hospitable's connection with Airbnb, if you wanted to run a promotion, you could, because there's not that connection there that forces you to use your PMS to make changes on Airbnb.”
— Blake Blair [08:09]
Benefits for Hosts
Cost Efficiency
Blake emphasizes Hospitable's cost-effective pricing model, which charges based on active bookings within a 30-day window. This approach significantly reduces PMS costs, especially for hosts employing a hybrid rental strategy.
Notable Quote:
“I cut my PMS cost in half when I made the switch. So that’s helpful.”
— Blake Blair [18:16]
Scalability
Hospitable is ideally suited for hosts managing between one to five properties. Its features cater to both individual and co-hosted properties, making it a flexible choice for growing portfolios.
Notable Quote:
“Ideally, I think Hospitable is good for anybody between let's say one to five properties... for the purpose of time saving, when you have a larger portfolio...”
— Blake Blair [16:12]
Collective Integration
Through the Houston Hospitality Collective, Hospitable enables seamless integration of multiple owners' direct bookings into a unified website, enhancing collective marketing efforts and providing guests with a diverse range of property options.
Challenges and Wishlist
Desired Features
Blake identifies potential enhancements that could elevate Hospitable's functionality:
-
Text Messaging for Guests: Incorporating SMS-based automated messages would streamline guest communications beyond email.
Notable Quote:
“A text messaging option where it'll send out the automated messages to your guest via text message, I think that's huge.”
— Blake Blair [10:28] -
Unified Login for Personal and Co-Hosted Properties: Allowing a single account to manage both personal and co-hosted properties would simplify operations for hosts handling multiple roles.
Notable Quote:
“A unified login would be great. So that way I don't have to go into my personal and then co-hosted properties.”
— Blake Blair [10:28]
Recommendations for Hosts Considering Hospitable
Blake advises hosts to ensure comprehensive integration of all their platforms and tools within Hospitable before venturing into direct bookings. This includes linking Airbnb, VRBO, pricing tools like PriceLabs, and security systems such as Schlage locks. Additionally, he stresses the importance of customizing automated messages to align with specific property needs and guest interactions.
Notable Quote:
“Before you can jump into the direct booking space... you need to make sure all your connections are set up within Hospitable.”
— Blake Blair [12:55]
Impact on Blake's Business
Adopting Hospitable has had a profound positive impact on Blake's operations. The cost-effective pricing model has halved his PMS expenses, and the platform's integration capabilities have facilitated the growth of his Houston Hospitality Collective. By streamlining direct bookings and enhancing guest communication, Hospitable has enabled Blake to focus on expanding his business and supporting other hosts.
Notable Quote:
“All I need is their widgets, their widget codes and then we scrape their property into the boostly website, grab their widget code, throw it in and it makes it seamless.”
— Blake Blair [19:43]
Conclusion and Contact Information
Mark Simpson wraps up the episode by acknowledging Blake's valuable insights into Hospitable and its role in modern property management. Listeners interested in exploring Hospitable or connecting with Blake can visit Duarte Destinations' website at duartidestinations.com, engage with him on Facebook, or reach out via WhatsApp. The episode underscores the importance of selecting a PMS that aligns with individual hosting needs and encourages hosts to leverage tools like Hospitable to achieve greater control and efficiency in their rental businesses.
Notable Quote:
“Hospitable found a way to appeal to a majority of hosts... it’s a great product for, for people to try 100%.”
— Blake Blair [21:07]
Connect with Blake Blair:
- Website: duartidestinations.com
- Facebook: Duarte Destinations
- WhatsApp: Accessible via his website
For more information and to watch the episode, visit the Boostly YouTube channel at boostly.co.uk/youtube.
This episode of The Boostly Podcast provides a comprehensive exploration of Hospitable PMS, offering hosts actionable insights to enhance their booking strategies and operational efficiency. Whether you're a seasoned host or just starting, Blake Blair's firsthand experience with Hospitable presents valuable lessons for building a resilient and profitable hospitality business.