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👋 Welcome to Boostly, where STR & MTR owners get the tools, strategies, and support to win more direct bookings — no fluff, no ads.
In this episode of The Boostly Podcast, I’m joined by Danny Rusteen from Optimize My Airbnb — former Airbnb employee, STR investor, and one of the most data-driven voices on pricing strategy.
Danny breaks down how to price your STR so you can achieve the rare combo most hosts miss:
✅ Higher nightly rate
✅ Higher occupancy
And he explains how to prove you’re pricing correctly using Airbnb’s Insights Dashboard.
✅ What to say when guests ask for a discount (and when it actually makes sense)
✅ The 3 L’s rule for discounts: Low season, Low demand, Last minute
✅ Why “set and forget” pricing tools quietly bleed revenue
✅ How Danny uses booking lead time to structure discounting
✅ How to use Airbnb Insights to compare occupancy + nightly rate vs similar listings
✅ Why Airbnb Smart Pricing is designed to benefit Airbnb (not you)
✅ The “far out premium” concept and why most hosts misprice future dates
✅ Danny’s real-world revenue lifts from changing pricing strategy
This is one of those episodes where you’ll pause… and go update your calendar immediately.
If you’re fully booked but your nightly rate is below similar listings, you’re not “winning”…
You’re just underpriced.
Danny shows you exactly how to check this inside Airbnb’s dashboard.
📲 Danny on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/optimizemyairbnb/
🎥 Danny on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OptimizeMyAirbnb
🌍 Danny’s site / resources: https://optimizemyairbnb.com/
Danny also runs a monthly live session where he shares his screen and walks through pricing in real time (with Q&A).
🎟️ Save Your Spot: Boostly’s Free 90-Minute Workshop
Master the systems top hosts use to hit 65%+ direct bookings
👉 https://boostlybootcamp.com/workshop/
📊 Try the Bookings Booster Score Card
15 questions. Instant insights. Personalised plan.
👉 https://www.bookingsbooster.ai/
📞 Ready to scale your direct bookings?
Book a free strategy call: 👉 https://boostly.co.uk/call
In this episode of the Boostly Podcast, I’m joined by voices from across the industry to break down what’s coming next and what hosts and property managers need to prepare for now.
Drawing on insights from operators, tech leaders, consultants, and founders, we cover the biggest shifts already happening beneath the surface, including:
• AI moving from hype to table stakes
• Direct bookings becoming a survival strategy, not a nice-to-have
• Automation reshaping guest communication, marketing, and operations
• Rising guest expectations and the return of high-touch experiences
• Consolidation across software and management companies
• Regulation, tourist taxes, and what they could mean for supply
• Longer stays, digital nomads, and stronger shoulder seasons
• Why revenue management and marketing are finally merging
I also share my own prediction for 2026 and why I believe this is the year the industry fully crosses into a new operating model.
If you’re a host or property manager who wants to stay profitable, future-proof your business, and reduce reliance on OTAs like Airbnb and Booking.com, this episode will help you see what’s coming before it hits.
Listen now and decide which side of the change you want to be on.
👋 Welcome to Boostly — where STR & MTR owners learn how to grow direct bookings, leverage content, and build brands that compound.
In this episode of The Boostly Podcast, I sit down with Rajan Chida — one of the fastest-growing real estate storytellers on Instagram.
At just 23 years old, Rajan has:
Built and launched a luxury STR retreat
Grown over 500,000 followers
Documented every step of the journey publicly
Turned storytelling into leverage, not noise
And here’s the kicker…
He didn’t start with:
❌ A finished property
❌ A big budget
❌ Fancy gear
❌ Experience
He started with a phone, a tripod, and the decision to document everything.
✅ Why “build in public” beats polished marketing
✅ How boring topics (yes, even septic systems) go viral
✅ The 3-second visual hook rule Rajan uses on every video
✅ How to turn construction, financing & setbacks into content
✅ Why personal brands don’t always convert — and how to fix it
✅ The real difference between personal brand vs property brand
✅ How Rajan uses influencers, ManyChat & systems to drive bookings
✅ Why your network is more valuable than monetisation (early on)
This is not an Airbnb success story.
It’s a leverage story.
Most hosts ask:
Rajan asked:
Bookings were a by-product.
🎟️ Boostly’s Free 90-Minute Direct Booking Workshop
Learn the systems top hosts use to hit 65%+ direct bookings
👉 https://boostlybootcamp.com/workshop/
📊 Bookings Booster Scorecard
15 questions. Instant clarity. Personalised plan.
👉 https://www.bookingsbooster.ai/
📞 Free Strategy Call
👉 https://boostly.co.uk/call
🤖 Ask the Boostly AI (24/7)
👉 https://boostly.co.uk/bot
👋 Welcome to Boostly — where STR & MTR owners learn how to win more direct bookings without relying on OTAs, ads, or gimmicks.
In this episode, I’m joined by Britney Max from Mountain Mama Cabins, one of the best real-world examples of social media actually driving bookings in the short-term rental space.
If you’ve ever thought:
“I’ve been posting for years and nothing happens…”
“TikTok is just dancing and trends”
“Social media doesn’t convert for STRs”
This conversation will challenge everything you believe.
✅ How Britney went from one cabin to multiple properties
✅ The exact TikTok & Instagram strategy that drives 65–70% direct bookings
✅ Why viral videos don’t automatically mean sales
✅ The hook structure that stops the scroll
✅ How she films, edits, and batches content (even living out of state)
✅ Why direct bookings reduce stress — not just fees
✅ The mindset shift that makes putting your face on camera easier
✅ What STR hosts must do before social commerce becomes mainstream
This is not theory.
This is real strategy, real systems, real results.
Social media doesn’t fail STR hosts.
Unstructured content fails STR hosts.
This episode shows how:
Storytelling beats posting
Hooks beat aesthetics
Systems beat motivation
🎟️ Save Your Spot: Boostly’s Free 90-Minute Workshop
Learn the systems top hosts use to hit 65%+ direct bookings
👉 https://boostlybootcamp.com/workshop/
📊 Bookings Booster Scorecard
15 questions. Instant insights. Personalised plan.
👉 https://www.bookingsbooster.ai/
📞 Book a Free Direct Booking Strategy Call
👉 https://boostly.co.uk/call
🤖 Ask the Boostly AI (24/7)
👉 https://boostly.co.uk/bot
🎯 WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE🧠 KEY TAKEAWAY (DON’T SKIP THIS)🎟️ FREE TRAINING & TOOLS
After hundreds of episodes, insights, and conversations, this is the final episode of STR Daily.
In this closing chapter, we look back at the journey — from launching the show and hitting 36,000 downloads to uncovering the biggest lessons about AI’s impact on hospitality, travel, and business.
You’ll hear:
• What we learned about growing a podcast and building an audience
• The key shifts we’ve seen in AI and short-term rentals over the past year
• Our biggest takeaways from interviews and analytics
• What’s next for our team — and where you can follow our new projects
This episode isn’t just a farewell — it’s a reflection on how far we’ve come and where innovation in hospitality tech is heading next.
Thank you to everyone who listened, shared, and supported the journey. STR Daily may be wrapping up, but the conversations around AI and growth are just getting started.
The Middle East travel market is booming—Gen Z, mobile-first bookings, and Saudi’s Vision 2030 are redefining demand across the region.
Plus, Expedia partners with Perplexity to launch Comet, an AI-powered browser that turns trip planning and booking into a seamless, conversational experience.
Join our Facebook group
Follow Boostly and join the discussion:
YouTube
LinkedIn
Facebook
Want to know more about us? Visit our website
Stay informed and ahead of the curve with the latest insights and analysis.
We explore how Amex GBT and SAP Concur are redefining corporate travel management with “Complete,” an AI-driven platform integrating booking, payments, and expenses into a single seamless experience.
U.S. hotel operators brace for a softer earnings season as analysts forecast weaker RevPAR trends despite continued investment in large-scale developments and luxury openings nationwide.
Join our Facebook group
Follow Boostly and join the discussion:
YouTube
LinkedIn
Facebook
Want to know more about us? Visit our website
Stay informed and ahead of the curve with the latest insights and analysis.
In this episode, we cover Service Properties Trust’s $71 million hotel sell-off and a wave of openings, closures, and portfolio shifts across the U.S. and Caribbean.
Plus, new research shows hotel chains are cautious on AI while independents move faster, reporting real revenue gains from automation, marketing, and dynamic pricing.
Join our Facebook group
Follow Boostly and join the discussion:
YouTube
LinkedIn
Facebook
Want to know more about us? Visit our website
Stay informed and ahead of the curve with the latest insights and analysis.
In today’s episode, we explore how hotels are shifting from traditional SEO to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to stay visible in AI-powered search, and what the latest U.S. government shutdown means for the meetings and events industry — with billions of dollars in travel at stake.
Join our Facebook group
Follow Boostly and join the discussion:
YouTube
LinkedIn
Facebook
Want to know more about us? Visit our website
Stay informed and ahead of the curve with the latest insights and analysis.
We explore how Vrbo is deepening its integration within Expedia by expanding distribution, tying vacation rentals into the One Key loyalty program, and testing AI-powered reviews to meet global demand, while Hospitable takes a different path by raising $1.5 million from its own customers and employees to fuel AI innovation, platform reliability, and sustainable growth in short-term rental management.
Are you new and want to start your own hospitality business?
Join our Facebook group
Follow Boostly and join the discussion:
YouTube
LinkedIn
Facebook
Want to know more about us? Visit our website
Stay informed and ahead of the curve with the latest insights and analysis.
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