Guides
Plain answers for rental managers and tour operators who want more bookings on their own site - with the platforms' rules and fees checked and linked.
For rental managers
What Airbnb allows when you build a direct channelAirbnb has a written policy on guests, contact details and booking elsewhere. Most direct-booking advice ignores it. Here is what it says, in plain words, and what it leaves you.Read the guideWhat a guest page is, and what goes on itOne page per booking, on the guest's phone, with everything they need from the day they book to the day they leave. Here is what to put on it - and what to leave off.Read the guideAirbnb's 15.5% host-only fee, if you use property softwareAirbnb is moving hosts to a single fee paid by the host, and it is already mandatory for hosts connected through property management software. What it is, and what it does to your prices.Read the guideDeposits and rental agreements on direct bookingsOn a platform, the platform sits between you and the guest. On your own site, you set the protection. How to hold a deposit on a card, and what a rental agreement should cover.Read the guideWhere your direct bookings will actually come fromMost first-time guests will keep finding you on the platforms. Your direct channel grows from five other places. What they are, and how to build each one.Read the guide
For tour operators
Why travellers message you instead of booking - and how to fix itA booking by message is three questions and a wait. Most of them happen on a phone, in the evening. What a traveller needs to see to book there and then.Read the guideWhat FareHarbor, Peek, Rezdy and Checkfront costBooking platforms charge in different ways - a monthly plan, a percentage per booking, or a fee added to your customer's checkout. What each one publishes, checked on the date below.Read the guideKeeping Viator and GetYourGuide without double bookingsResellers bring travellers who would never find you otherwise. The risk is two channels selling the same seat. Two ways to prevent it, and how to choose.Read the guideOne calendar for phone, WhatsApp, hotel and online bookingsBookings arrive by phone, WhatsApp, hotel desks and your website. If they live in five places, someone gets missed. How to keep every booking in one place.Read the guideWhat a tour page needs so people bookA traveller deciding between you and two other operators reads your tour page on a phone, often at night. What it needs to answer before they will pay.Read the guide
For Costa Rica specifically
In-depth guides from Pulpería Studio, our website team.
Airbnb's rules against Costa Rica's legal obligationsWhich "Airbnb makes me" rules come from the law, and which from the platform.On pulperiastudio.comDisputes and protection on direct bookingsChargebacks, damage and cancellations when there is no platform in between.On pulperiastudio.comICT registration for vacation rentalsRegistering a rental with Costa Rica's tourism institute.On pulperiastudio.com
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