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- [00:00]
Mark Simpson
Hi, everyone. Welcome to the Boostly Podcast. This is the podcast that gives hosts the tools, the tactics, the training, and most importantly, the confidence so you can go out there and get yourselves direct bookings. We've got Arthur from Stay Fi with us today. He's a returning guest. And if you're in hospitality and you don't know about StayFi, where have you been? Stay Fi is one of the best ways to not only get direct bookings, but to market your business. It is, I'd say, hospitality's worst kept secret because everybody needs to know about this and it is the best way to, to, to, to get your guests to come back and book. So we're going to be talking today with Arthur about how you go about getting those emails, what mistakes to avoid, and all the things that you can do to make your business stand out from everybody else's business that doesn't take part in email marketing in general. So welcome along, Arthur. Thank you for joining me today.
- [00:53]
Arthur
Yeah, thanks for having me again.
- [00:54]
Mark Simpson
So, Arthur, for those who haven't heard of Stayfi, can you just give a little teaser as to what it's all about?
- [00:59]
Arthur
Yeah. So StayFi offers a service which I'm sure you have encountered at a coffee shop or an airport or a hotel where when a guest in a vacation rental logs into the Wi Fi or joins the WI FI network, in order to gain access, they have to put some information in what we call a captive portal, which is branded with your company's name and logo. And so that way we collect the name, email, phone number of not just the booker of the vacation rental, but everyone staying there, which could be 5, 10, 15, 20 people. And then within StayFi, we also have all the tools you need to go ahead and then follow up with those guests to make sure that they come back and book with you direct for their next stay, or refer you to someone else in their network that wants to come and enjoy your vacation rental.
- [01:47]
Mark Simpson
That's really cool. And for people who, in this industry, some will have heard of property management systems, what's the advantage of using like StayFi to build an email list compared to these other methods that some of the listeners might already know?
- [01:59]
Arthur
Yeah. So definitely the big difference is one, we're going to capture data from guests no matter which platform they booked on, whether it's Airbnb, VRBO, booking.com, etc. So we're going to capture that information no matter the OTA they came from. And then, of course, the second and most important advantage is we're going to get after the non booking guest information. So a lot of times the PMS or whatever tools you're using maybe to get an email today, they're just focused on the booker. And the unique characteristic of vacation rentals often is that they are large and have very large parties of many, many adults. And we just want to make sure that you're getting brand awareness amongst everyone there, not just the booker. And that's not just great for remarketing in terms of other stays that can also be helpful in terms of upsells getting other helpful trip information in front of the non booking guests like a guest guidebook so they ask less questions. So there's all sorts of advantages associated with engaging the entire guest party and not just the booker. And the WI fi is definitely the best entry point to do that because it's something everyone will engage with during the course of the stay.
- [03:06]
Mark Simpson
And this is the thing, isn't it? Because most people have some sort of system where they get one guest's email. But ultimately if you're not collecting everybody's email, then you're missing out on a huge percentage of people who are coming to stay with you, who may come and stay with you again, but you can't retarget and remarket unless you're grabbing those emails. And this is something which I read in one of the magazines which basically says that 67% a guest is worth 67% more a returning guest than trying to spend money on marketing to new people. So it's really important that people who have interacted with our businesses in hospitality really do know about our next offers and potentially that we've got their direct information to remarket to them is super, super important. Is there any kind of examples where you've got where somebody's used StayFi and you've seen a noticeable jump in repeat bookings and particularly direct bookings?
- [04:01]
Arthur
Yeah, of course. You know, we've done a ton of case studies whether it's somebody with just one listing or hundreds, where over time they were growing their direct booking percentage. And not just that, but also their overall occupancy rate. Because the email list is also a great way to advertise nights maybe are not getting booked through the channels. And that's one of the most important things to emphasize is it's not just about cannibalizing an Airbnb booking with a direct booking. It's also about selling nights that otherwise would have gone unbooked. If you're only on third party channels, one that springs to Mind is we have a customer in Canada called Cottage Stays. They're a mid sized property manager, you know, between 20 and 40 listings. They already were doing great with direct booking, so in their high season they were already 100% booked direct. But what they used the email list for was actually to help push solar season months because up there in northern Canada it's very hot in the summer. Not hot temperature, it's a little hot temperature wise, but very popular. But in the fall and spring when they're still open, not as booked. And so they leverage the email list to get nights booked in those weeks of the year. So you can think of the email list not just about driving up your direct booking percentage over time, which is obviously important, but think of it as a whole new source of demand that is going to complement channels so that you can increase your overall occupancy rate and get occupancy rate and get more nights overall booked 100%.
- [05:31]
Mark Simpson
And who doesn't want more bookings, especially when it's slow? And I guess one of the things that I often see is that people don't spend enough time just getting the emails or actually emailing out to people. And this is one of the things which we're trying to encourage people to do by listening to this, this podcast in general is just take action and go and get, go and get a software which you can then email people. So you know, stay, fight, go and start off by getting stay fi and just send your first email ultimately. Because until you start sending these emails and start marketing, then there's no way that you're going to get all of the potential that your business could get unless you are direct marketing. And this is why Boostly is so big on direct bookings, that ultimately it increases your margins, it increases your profit. And there's plenty of softwares around now that can help you to do this. Yes, your PMS can, yes, there's other, other ways of doing so. But this is where you really want to capture everybody's data. So one thing when it comes down to data that people worry about is depending on where they are in the world. And of course StayFi is available. People will be listening to this in lots of places, the us, the uk, perhaps Europe. One thing they'll be worried about is their local data regulations and are they allowed to collect data and all the stuff to do with privacy and all that stuff. How does StayFi help with this? Is it, is it all legit? Is it all okay for us to be doing this to our guests? And collecting the data that we do.
- [07:01]
Arthur
Yeah, I mean, I think that's one of the great reasons why collecting data on the captive portal or like the WI Fi splash page works is because we can comply with any local opt in regulation. And by default, when you use StayFi with our own email tool, we are always placing a marketing opt in checkbox on that splash page and making sure that every guest that receives your emails has opted into your marketing program. And that's the most important thing when it comes to email marketing. And then obviously whenever you send an email through our tool, we include all the unsubscribe links that you're also required to. And so we definitely want our customers to be compliant with email rules and we kind of enforce those if you do use our email tool. So you can't go astray and do something that's not compliant.
- [07:49]
Mark Simpson
That's cool. And just extending on that question ever so slightly, what if people are just generally a bit worried about collecting information from guests? They feel like they don't want to be too salesy. What would you say to those hosts?
- [08:02]
Arthur
I'd say there's a few different angles to look at it. One is presenting your brand on a captive portal. Actually I think makes you look more professional as an operator because in the mindset of the guest, right, especially if they book through Airbnb, we need to educate them through a series of messages that you are not a quote unquote generic Airbnb, that you are an independent brand run by a real person that offers direct bookings. And there are some associated benefits to booking direct. Right. So we need to have multiple touch points over the guest journey to educate them in that process and especially educate the non booking guests so they're not just saying, hey, we booked an Airbnb. And so presenting your brand on the splash page is one great way to do that. And of course, following up with them right away. The splash page is also a great entry point to give the guests valuable information. So one thing that you can do with StateFi, for instance, is right after they log into the WI Fi, you can email them the guidebook for this property automatically with an automation. So you can present the splash page as providing valuable information once they opt in and log in. And of course, if a guest doesn't want you to market to them, they can always not check that checkbox or they can uncheck it if it's pre checked. So we're always giving the option to guess whether they want to receive messages from you or not. So you know, very, very, very, very rarely do we ever hear of any guests complaining. And in fact, it's usually quite the opposite. They're usually impressed. And it's part of that education process to teach people about the independent brands in our space and the advantages of booking direct versus going through a third party channel.
- [09:43]
Mark Simpson
Ultimately, it's about feeling the fear and doing it anyway for, you know, we might be worried about how people perceive our company, but until we start putting our brand out there and in front of people, how do we know we've got to get that feedback loop, haven't we? And for anyone listening going, I don't know what a splash page is. Ultimately that's, that's the page where somebody first logs in that they'll see and they see your brand, right? And they say that human needs seven touch points before they'll really recognize, you know, a brand or, or really start to be familiar with it. So by having these touch points, by showing people your brand and, and our values ultimately as, as hosts, then it means that next time they see that brand, so the next time they see the email that comes through or your logo, then they're more likely to engage and go, I trust this brand. Right? And this is what it's all about. What's one of the common mistakes you see from hosts when sending either their first email or getting email marketing set up in general, and how can they avoid it?
- [10:42]
Arthur
Yeah, I'd say that there is definitely some hesitancy of like, oh, if I don't send the perfect thing, I shouldn't send anything at all. I definitely think it's better to do something than nothing. The biggest mistake you can make is to not email at all. And then once you do get around to emailing, your list has gone stale. So you can imagine if you logged in, provided this host with your email, and they didn't contact you for nine months, and then out of the blue you got an email, you probably will have forgotten that you opted into their email list. You probably forgot who they are and why they have it. So it's really important that you start emailing right away. We help a lot with that by having automation so you can set up an email in a minute that gets sent when they log in, you can send another email. Once they check out, you can send an email a month later. Those automated touch points are great because you set up an email one time and you know it's being sent to everybody on the schedule. But then it's important at some point to layer in a Monthly newsletter because you want guests when they are in the booking kind of time period for their next trip. The most important thing is that they remember to go to your website to look there as well. In addition to going to all the channels, which they're probably going to do. And that's why it's just important you're in their inbox every month. So that when they're in that trip planning phase, they remember your brand and want to engage with it and remember the benefits. So that's the other key thing is just making sure you are driving home that value message. Most operators we find the main value message is booking direct will be less expensive than booking through a channel. So that's the easy basic one. Obviously you can get more sophisticated and offer other types of benefits like free show tickets or you guaranteed early check in, late checkout. There's all sorts of other things you see people do, but the basic one is drive that value money saving message and just doing that repeatedly in every email just so that it clicks with them. You know, they have to see it several times, right. So that when they are trip planning they do compare the rate on your site versus the rate through a third party channel.
- [12:43]
Mark Simpson
101 of the key things is actually do be best value direct. There's so many hosts which, you know, they say hey, I'm not going to get direct bookings, but I don't know why. And you go and check and actually if they are more expensive on their website versus the, the ota, well that's a known goal. So definitely if there's one thing you do right now or after this podcast is, is if you listen to this, go and just check your direct book and website price versus your OTA price and make sure there's lots of tools which will help you make sure the pricing is, is right. But ultimately that's one of the key things and one of the things that has occurred to me that I remember you helping me with some advice on and that was when you're saying people should, you know, ultimately just get started. Sometimes they worry about making it the perfect email, as you've mentioned. But one of the questions which I remember posing to yourself and to Mark not too long ago, which was how is best to kind of construct that email? Your message, should it be something which got lots of pictures, something with, you know, jazzy text and stuff like that, or should it be a simple email? And the, the main answer back was like, hey, start with just simple text. It's one of the things which is most straightforward, like you're writing to a friend. You can then just put simple text in, get it sent and ultimately you can always adapt and build and change stuff over time. So, you know, this is one of the things that people can take away is ultimately just get something out there early. And I know that StayFi, you guys have got some templates, right that can help people with this.
- [14:18]
Arthur
Yeah. So we have a lot of what we call kind of one click pre built templates where even now we pull in information from your property management software. Even so we have one template that looks at your calendar for upcoming dates and we'll actually pull in the details, photos, prices of properties that have availability in whatever window you specify. So we're definitely getting way more sophisticated in helping people build emails that convert and actually push specific properties and dates. Because if you have a limited or smaller portfolio, we don't want people to come to the website and be disappointed because everything is already booked. Right. So we're thinking of smarter ways to help engage your audience with the actual availability that you want to get filled. And the other thing, going back to the plain text email as I think if you're a smaller host, maybe haven't invested a lot into brand assets, maybe you don't even have a logo, you just have a name. The plain text email just fits so nicely into that brand because you're still presenting yourself as a more casual host, still professional, but not at the level of sophistication of maybe someone with a brand and a very fancy website. And so that creating that one to one channel of hey, you stayed with me before, if you want to come back, just email me and I can get you a better rate. That is a great way to get started. It's going to have a high open and engage rate and at the end of the day a lot of folks who are booking short term rentals, they want to work with people and not with, let's say kind of anonymous brands. So don't be worried about leaning into the personal brand, especially if you're on the smaller side because that's kind of maybe what many of your guests are looking for.
- [15:59]
Mark Simpson
Anyways, I think it's great advice and yeah, thank you for sharing those, those nuggets with us. What would you say is the best time? So somebody who's listening to this at the moment, just going, well, I know I need to do this, but I just don't know when, when is the best time to send these emails and what kind of content should we put in there? To encourage direct bookings. I know you've, you've mentioned the message which is, you know, it is cheaper direct. What would you say to people who are worried about repeating that message too many times?
- [16:29]
Arthur
Yeah, I mean, I think that's one of those things that can just be subtly interlaced. Like on your website. It should say that right on the front page there we have in our kind of standard email template, there's always like a little section at the bottom that's like book, direct and save that you can customize. Then when it comes to the content outside of that, I definitely think it really comes down to your destination, understanding your calendar and who your guests are. So some like easy ones to start with are events in your destination. Whether that's ones that happen every year or there's special occasion events, that's a super easy one. Just figure out, get a calendar of what's happening in your destination and then, you know, feature those as they are relevant, kind of like in the appropriate booking window in advance. Another one is if you are a property manager or even someone who owns and operates multiple properties, you can feature specific homes like the X home, the Y home, maybe ones that person didn't stay into, or new homes that are joining your portfolio. As you should also include your owners, if you're a property manager and a co host, into your email newsletter so that they can see, hey, this person is going above and beyond to promote my properties. And then of course, availability and discounts is an easy one if you know, you have. Or cancellations is another great one. So if someone cancels and you have a, you know, a some somewhat open cancellation policy and they do so X days in advance, then you can feature that opening right there. So you know, events, properties, cancellations and discounts and openings, those are kind of a great one to start. And then the other one would be like brand building. So your story that maybe makes more sense in like a sequence, like as part of the introduction, once they subscribe a dedicating email to who you are, why you're in hospitality, why you run this property or multiple properties. And then one other one which can be great is if you have other services. So let's say you provide or help arrange services for your guests. That can also be a great thing to emphasize as it may also be a differentiation with a direct booking versus an OTA of just making it easier to fulfill on those types of things for your guests.
- [18:45]
Mark Simpson
That's amazing. I mean, I'm gonna listen to this back as well because. And I advise everyone to do the same because ultimately those. When somebody says, hey, I don't know what sent. Well, there's so much that you could do from just that little segment there. So thank you so much, Arthur. So one of the reasons that we've invited you on is because I know you guys have got this new feature. As we're in springtime of 2025, you've got a new feature. Can you fill in the boostly listeners on the new feature of StayFi?
- [19:18]
Arthur
Yeah. So we're launching a new product called StayFi Express, which makes it much more affordable and easy to launch our captive portal service in especially larger homes. So to give a little context today, when you want to set up StayFi in a property, you purchase these devices from us called access points, made by a company called Ubiquiti, or you purchase them from Ubiquiti outside of the United States, like in the uk and then we help you set them up. Those range from like $100 to $200. And it's a very great solution if you have a regular size home and you just need to purchase one device. When you do have a very large property, you have to purchase many devices and then mesh them together. What we found is that a lot of those homes, they already have something like an EERO mesh, right. Or a deco mesh. And so what StayFi Express does is it's a less expensive device that plugs into your consumer mesh system like an EERO and then will turn that EERO network into the StayFi captive portal. So it's a really great solution if you do have homes where you've already invested in what we call like a consumer mesh system, because we could take that system and turn it into a StayFi network at a much lower cost than purchasing the access points that we traditionally have been selling.
- [20:35]
Mark Simpson
That's awesome. So basically, if you're listening to this, you've got a large home and you've been holding off just because you're worried about will WI fi reach all areas. Ultimately, there's no excuse. Now go and check out StayFi, check out this new feature and you're able to have StayFi in all areas, it sounds like. Is that right?
- [20:54]
Arthur
Yeah. So if you're happy with your ERA setup like your consumer mesh, we're just going to turn that guest network you've been using into the network with the captive portal and the upfront costs are going to be much lower because you just need to buy one little device from us as opposed to buying, you know, three or four access points and replicating that mesh with our other hardware.
- [21:15]
Mark Simpson
That is super, super cool. And I know being more accessible for people is super important. It's something which us at Boostly have worked on as well with. I know we've now got an interlinked system where anybody who's with Stay Fi and got the Boostly websites that will all work together now through Boostly Connect. And there's a lot of these, these exciting features which just ultimately make it very, very easy for anybody listening to this to do more direct bookings. Which is the entire aim of why Mark Simpson started this podcast is ultimately if you just do one little action from every podcast that you listen to, then you're going to increase your direct bookings. And certainly with tools like Stayfi and putting into action email marketing, then you increases your chances of direct bookings in success massively. So, Arthur, thank you so much for coming on. If people want to check out StayFi, where do they go? What's the links to go and check out?
- [22:14]
Arthur
Yeah, so just go to stayfi.com and on stayfi you can sign up for our service. So you don't need to book a demo, you don't have to have a call. Anyone can go to statefi, create an account and get started. And then of course if you do have questions, you can go to our demo page and book time with our team and get a one on one tour of the product and help you get started collecting emails and sending more marketing. Which at the end of the day is going to improve your business, make it more resilient and profitable.
- [22:44]
Mark Simpson
Amazing. So guys, you heard it here first, the new feature for StayFi. You've heard how to do email marketing, what to send and all of the things that ultimately is going to increase your direct bookings. Big thank you Arthur for coming on the Boostly podcast. I hope we have you back as you're a returning guest this time and we hope to have you back again in the future and tell us all the new updates. Thanks for listening to this on the Boostly podcast. We'll see you on the next one. Bye for now.