The Bookster Podcast

The Scottish visitor levy is now live and Edinburgh’s first quarterly returns are due. Colin and Robin return to explain why the percentage model is so hard to get right, and how Bookster helps hosts track and submit what they owe.

A year after our first episode on the visitor levy, Simon Beattie is joined again by Bookster co-founders Colin Guthrie and Robin Morris. The levy has moved from theory to practice, and accommodation providers in Edinburgh are now submitting their first returns and making their first payments to the council.

In this episode:

- Where things stand: Edinburgh is fully live, Glasgow, Aberdeen and West Dunbartonshire have started, Stirling follows from January, and several more councils are consulting.

- Who is liable: guests usually see the levy in the price, but the legal liability sits with the accommodation provider.

- Why the percentage model is so hard: OTA discounts such as Genius rates, rent-to-rent arrangements and the "initial transaction" rule mean booking.com and Airbnb cannot work out the levy themselves.

- Errors in the guidance: the council's worked examples assume fixed OTA fees, when real commissions are percentages and the maths gets far harder.

- The submission spreadsheet: there is no API, only a spreadsheet uploaded to visitorlevy.scot, with columns built around Edinburgh's five-night cap.

- Is the levy a good thing? Extra council revenue against the wider cost to hospitality businesses and local spending.

- A simpler alternative: a flat per-night charge paid by the guest, or simply a rise in business rates. How Bookster helps

Bookster tracks the levy on every booking, shows clients how much to set aside each quarter, and helps them prepare their returns for submission to the council.

Questions about the visitor levy? Get in touch with the Bookster team.

• Visitor Levy Software for Scottish Self-Catering
• visitorlevy.scot

What it means when holiday rental clients start building their own tools on top of Bookster's API, and how that's quietly shifting the team's product priorities

Simon Beattie is joined by Robin Morris, co-founder of Bookster, and Adam Aaron, support lead, to talk about something that's started showing up in their client conversations: vibe coding. That's the practice of building software using AI tools — Gemini, Claude, and others — by typing instructions in plain English rather than writing code directly. No programming background required.

The three discuss how Bookster clients are already doing this in practice — most commonly to build their own custom dashboards using data pulled from Bookster's API. Where Bookster's built-in views present data in a fixed, opinionated way, some technically-minded clients are now querying the API directly and building exactly what they need: custom arrivals reports, bespoke owner summaries, automated messaging tools. Robin recalls one client who built a fully custom booking-triggered messaging system over a weekend. Adam explains the support quirks this creates — including the occasional script that hammers the API every 30 seconds when it only needed to run once a day.

Robin and Adam are clear that this doesn't worry them — clients are still using Bookster, just in a different way. But it is nudging product priorities. Improving the API is now higher up the list than it would have been a year ago, and what clients build independently is becoming a source of genuine product inspiration. Simon also notes this is likely just the beginning: as vibe coding tools improve, it won't just be the technically-minded reaching for the API.

If you run a holiday rental business and have ever wanted to see your Bookster data presented your way, or if you're curious how a small SaaS team is thinking about AI-driven client behaviour right now, this is a straightforward and honest conversation worth your time.

• Bookster API Access
• Bookster Features Overview

From missing photo descriptions to abandoning channels after one bad review, Robin and Adam reveal the habits that hold property managers back - and what to do instead.

In this episode, Bookster co-founder Robin Morris is joined by Adam Arran, Bookster's support lead, to discuss something a little different: the common mistakes they see holiday letting clients make - and why those mistakes tend to get in the way of more bookings.

From incomplete property listings and unlabelled photos to knee-jerk reactions after a bad guest review, Robin and Adam draw on their day-to-day experience of onboarding and supporting agencies to identify the patterns that come up again and again.

They cover:

* Why property content (descriptions, photo titles, alt text) matters more than most clients realise

* The importance of trusting the onboarding process before diving into the details

* How reacting too quickly to a bad review or a slow month can make things significantly worse

* The difference between Bookster as a software tool and a full-service agency

* Why "PMS hopping" between platforms rarely solves the underlying problem

* How to use AI and dynamic pricing tools as guides - not gospel

The episode ends with a look ahead at how AI might allow property managers to extend and customise their software stack in ways that weren't possible before.

A candid, practical conversation with plenty of takeaways for anyone running a holiday letting business.

Discover how probing questions transform a standard software walkthrough into a mission-critical solution for a holiday rental business.

In this episode of the Bookster podcast, hosts Simon and Robin are joined by Account Manager Jonny to pull back the curtain on the demo: a pivotal moment in the holiday rental software journey.

Moving beyond simple feature walkthroughs, the team discusses how demonstrations serve as a mission-critical bridge between a prospect’s problems and a software’s solutions.

Key Insights from the Episode:

- The Evolution of the Demo: Jonny shares his transition from "feature-focused" presentations to a process centred on "ethical sales" and solving specific pain points.

- Probing for Solutions: Learn why asking "What’s made you book a demo now?" is more effective than standard questioning for uncovering hidden business challenges.

- Mission-Critical Trust: Robin explains why demos are essential for software that handles the day-to-day running of a business, as they build the rapport and confidence that a pre-recorded video simply cannot.

- Qualifying for Success: The team discusses why they occasionally turn clients away or refer them to agencies if the software isn't a perfect fit, ensuring long-term satisfaction over short-term gains.

- Handling the "No-Show": A candid look at the "bane" of the sales job (the 20-30% of prospects who go radio silent) and why the team prioritises low barriers to entry.

Whether you are a property owner looking to fill your calendar for the 2026 season or a SaaS professional looking to refine your sales funnel, this conversation offers practical advice on using demos to drive genuine business growth.

• www.booksterhq.com/request-demo

The visitor levy is a Scotland-wide tourist tax implemented first in Edinburgh, charged as a percentage-based fee on short-term rentals for visitors, including tourists and temporary workers.

How does the visitor levy work?

The Scottish Government created a flexible framework allowing councils to charge the levy in different ways, including a percentage-based model limited to the first five nights of a stay.

Challenges Bookster faces with the visitor levy implementation

Calculating the levy accurately due to complex pricing structures, handling bookings with multiple guests over different periods, lack of clear guidance on remittance, and the administrative burden pushed onto the industry.

The % based model of the visitor levy is problematic

It requires integrating the levy calculation with booking prices, including channel markups and extras, and complicates price transparency and payment processes, unlike simpler fixed per-night fees collected at check-in.

Issues from the levy applying only to the first five nights

Complexity in calculating the levy for longer stays, especially when guests change during the booking, requiring splitting bookings and pro-rata calculations that are difficult to implement.

Visitor levy affect the pricing and tax thresholds for hosts?

The levy increases turnover, potentially pushing hosts over VAT thresholds, increasing their tax operational complexity, and adding to the cost of services for guests.

Hope regarding the future of the visitor levy

Hope is that the levy will be delayed or simplified after industry feedback, but preparations must continue due to the imminent start date.

How does Bookster plan to handle the technical challenges?

Bookster plans to modify its architecture to accommodate levy calculations - this requires significant development and may affect system efficiency.

Impact of the visitor levy on Bookster's clients so far

Clients are confused and stressed, with some incorrectly charging the levy early, leading to errors and the need for clear guidance and support from Bookster.

A Simple Alternative

Guests pay the levy directly to a council via a simple payment link / QR code, reducing administrative burden generally.

The team explains the difference between customer success (proactive support) and traditional support (reactive help), highlighting their efforts to engage clients regularly to ensure they utilize all features effectively.

We discuss the challenges of reaching clients, especially those who prefer minimal contact, and the significance of maintaining relationships to enhance client satisfaction and retention.

We also touch on the onboarding process, the importance of understanding client needs, and the value of referrals. Overall, the conversation underscores Bookster's commitment to customer success as a key driver for both client satisfaction and business growth.

What is Customer Success?

Ensuring that our clients, who are holiday rental agencies and property managers, get the most out of our software.

How does customer success differ from support?

Customer Success is proactive, focusing on helping clients maximise their use of the product, while support is reactive, responding to client inquiries and issues as they arise.

Do clients like being contacted?

It's about 50-50; some clients appreciate proactive contact and look forward to it, while others may prefer to be left alone and don't respond.

Methods to keep in touch with clients

Bookster uses phone calls, emails, video calls for account reviews, and even has a weekly drop-in call for clients to join and discuss any issues.

Time Zones

Bookster accommodates clients in different time zones by offering flexible scheduling for calls, often arranging meetings at times that suit the clients.

Business Model Importance

Customer Success is crucial because retaining clients is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones, and happy clients are more likely to recommend Bookster.

What is one unique approach Bookster takes?

We emphasise knowing clients personally, which helps in providing tailored support and maintaining strong relationships.

Working with third party service providers as a SaaS product.

The Bookster podcast, hosted by Simon and featuring CEO Robin Morris and guest Adam Aaron, discusses the importance and challenges of third-party integrations in their holiday rental software.

They explore the benefits of using trusted third-party services like Booking.com and Stripe for payment processing, emphasising the need for strong relationships with these providers to ensure reliability and support. The conversation highlights both positive experiences and challenges faced with various third-party providers, including issues with support and communication that can impact their clients.

They conclude by stressing the importance of modular software design to facilitate easier changes in providers and maintaining a focus on delivering a seamless user experience for their clients

Positive Experiences

Essential services like Booking.com and Stripe, which are crucial for clients' operations and provide peace of mind to end users. 

Red Flags

Red flags include poorly documented APIs, lack of responsive support, and time zone issues that can delay communication. 

Customers Perspective

Generally, customers do not care about the third-party providers as long as the product works effectively for their needs.

What is an API?

An API, or Application Programming Interface, is a set of protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other.

Poor Experiences

Bookster had a negative experience with a provider that promised high service levels but failed to deliver, leading to poor support and client loss.

Relationships

A good relationship is crucial for ensuring timely support and maintaining the functionality of mission-critical services.

What does Robin mean by 'Vertical Integration'?

Host Simon Beattie chats with CEO and Co-founder Robin Morris and Jonny Brannen from our sales team about finding the right customer for Bookster, and Bookster's experience with ensuring the right customers join Bookster.

How has Bookster structured its client support and adapted practices over time? What methods and strategies have they implemented to handle customer inquiries effectively?

Welcome to the Bookster Podcast, hosted by Simon, offering a deep dive into the operations of Bookster, the SaaS holiday rental software company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland.

In this episode, Simon speaks with Robin Morris, CEO, and Adam Aaron, the head of client support, to explore Bookster's approach to customer service and support, discussing the systems, practices, and philosophies that ensure clients have a seamless experience with Bookster’s software.

The important bits

[00:00] - Introduction to today’s episode and the guests

[01:10] - Background on the importance of customer support in SaaS

[02:25] - Early days: How customer support was managed initially

[04:30] - The evolution of support practices post-growth

[06:45] - Tools and technology supporting client communication

[10:15] - Balancing automation with personal support

[13:05] - Insights on managing feedback loops from clients

[15:30] - Final thoughts: The future of customer support at Bookster

Key takeaways

Evolution of support: Robin and Adam explain how Bookster’s client support strategies grew from a basic setup to a more structured system as their customer base expanded.

Using technology for efficiency: The Bookster team discusses their integration of CRM and helpdesk tools to streamline communication and ensure prompt responses. 

Feedback loops and continuous improvement: Client feedback has been instrumental in shaping Bookster’s offerings. Robin and Adam talk about their method of capturing feedback and applying it to improve the software, creating a feedback loop that actively informs their product development.

Conclusion: In an ever-growing digital landscape, Bookster aims to keep client support at the heart of its operations, ensuring that their clients’ needs shape the future of the company.

• Smashing your goals with holiday rental software

How does Bookster organise its working practices? Has Bookster always offered flexible working and remote working, and how does it work in practice?

Welcome to the Bookster Podcast hosted by Simon, discussing the behind-the-scenes operations of the SaaS holiday rental software company Bookster, based in Edinburgh.

In this episode, Simon is joined by Robin Morris, CEO, and Adam Aaron, support lead. Together, they explore the topic of remote working at Bookster, how it has evolved over the years, and the shift caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The important bits

[00:00] - Introduction to the episode and guests

[01:00] - Overview of today's topic: Remote Working

[02:05] - How remote working was done before COVID-19

[03:00] - How COVID-19 changed everything

[04:55] - What is the current remote working routine?

Key takeaways 

Pre-COVID vs Post-COVID remote working: Robin explains that while Bookster had the infrastructure to work remotely even before the pandemic, it was mainly office-based. The COVID-19 crisis led to a near-complete shift to remote working, with team members now primarily working from home.

Technological infrastructure: The team used tools like IRC for communication even before more modern solutions became mainstream.

Current practices: While some employees still come into the office occasionally, most of the team operates remotely on a daily basis. This has allowed flexibility but also raised questions about productivity and collaboration.

Balance and adaptation: The discussion also touches on the challenges of balancing remote work with maintaining team cohesion and ensuring that everyone stays aligned with company goals.

Questions answered in this episode

● How has remote working changed at Bookster since COVID-19?

● What tools and systems does Bookster use for remote work?

● How does the company ensure communication and productivity while working remotely?

● What are the pros and cons of remote working for a SaaS company like Bookster?

● How does the team balance in-office and remote work days?

• Smashing your goals with holiday rental software