Booked Solid Show - Short Term Rental Podcast

Gil Chan
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Join host Gil Chan on 'Booked Solid,' the podcast dedicated to helping short-term rental operators and property managers maximize bookings and scale their businesses. Each week, gain actionable insights from industry experts, uncover proven strategies, and learn the secrets to achieving more nights booked. Elevate your rental business and stay ahead in the competitive market with 'Booked Solid.'

  1. 3 DAYS AGO

    Direct Bookings in Short-Term Rentals: From 10% to 80% with Suzy Turnbull

    "You have to really get under the cover of knowing who it is you're trying to attract. If you don't know that, you are not going to succeed." — Suzy Turnbull How does a single-property host in Panama grow from 10% to 80% direct bookings in just over two years? In this episode of Booked Solid, Gil sits down with Suzy Turnbull, author of 5-Star Hosting Made Simple and a former marketing executive who turned her Buenaventura villa into a thriving direct booking business. Suzy shares the exact year-by-year progression of her direct-booking growth, the infrastructure she wishes she'd built sooner, how a single conversation with Canadian birdwatchers reshaped her entire guest experience, and why hospitality — not just tactics — is the real engine behind repeat bookings. If you're a host or property manager who wants to move beyond OTA dependency but doesn't know where to start, this one's for you. 🎁 Free Gift from Suzy: Get exclusive access to her HostGenius™ Guest Review Analyzer — a custom AI tool to help you decode what guests are really saying about your property. → https://5starhostingmadesimple.com/guest-review-analyzer-crafted-stays-podcast/ 🔗 Connect With Suzy Website: ⁠5starhostingmadesimple.com⁠Email: ⁠suzy@5starhostingmadesimple.com⁠LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/suzyturnbull⁠Instagram: ⁠@5starhostingmadesimple⁠Facebook: ⁠Suzy Turnbull on Facebook⁠Catch Suzy in London at the Short Stay Summit and Host Planet Roadshow, where she'll be signing copies of 5-Star Hosting Made Simple.

    1hr 4min

  2. 10 APR

    Social Media Marketing for Short-Term Rentals: Building a Brand That Books Directly with Emily Lethgo

    Most hosts launch a direct booking site and then wait. They post occasionally. They hope something goes viral. And when bookings don't come, they quietly go back to Airbnb. Emily Lethgo built something different — and she did it in the Smoky Mountains, one of the most competitive short-term rental markets in the country. Starting with a single cabin and a marketing background, she spotted a gap that most operators still haven't filled: the space between having a great property and actually getting people to discover it. In this episode of the Booked Solid Show, Emily shares how she went from a Facebook post offering to photograph 10 cabins for free, to building Matchpoint Socials — a boutique, full-service marketing agency working exclusively with short-term rental brands. She opens up about what consistency really looks like in practice, why a viral post is actually the worst thing to chase, how she structures her team so every client gets five specialists instead of one overloaded generalist, and what she tells hosts who are wondering whether social media is actually worth the effort. If you've ever felt like you're doing all the right things but not seeing traction — this one's for you. 🤝 Connect With Emily Emily and the Matchpoint Socials team work with short-term rental operators who are ready to stop doing marketing alone. If you're investing in a direct booking setup and want a team that handles the visibility side for you — from organic content to ads to influencer partnerships — they offer a 30-Day Agency Pilot so you can experience it before committing long-term. 🔗 Instagram: @emilylethgo | @matchpointsocials🌐 Website: www.matchpointsocials.com

    55 min

  3. 25 MAR

    Guest Favorite Over Superhost: What's Actually Moving the Airbnb Algorithm with Dan Rivers

    "Take the cheat code — go find someone who's done it, who's done it well, and learn from them." — Dan Rivers If you've been thinking about revenue management as a single lever you pull once in a while, this episode is going to shift your perspective. Dan Rivers has been in real estate since 2005, navigating everything from high-rise condo management on the beach to flipping homes to building a thriving short-term rental portfolio — and he's learned most of it the hard way. Today, as co-founder of SynergyStays, a revenue management company serving STR operators in the U.S. and Mexico, Dan brings a no-fluff, results-first approach to how operators think about revenue, occupancy, and direct bookings.In this episode of Booked Solid, Dan and Gil go deep on what it actually takes to stop being just "good" and start being great at running a short-term rental business. You'll hear how Dan transitioned from acquiring more and more doors to building a scalable business designed around his lifestyle, why revenue management is far more than nightly pricing, and how pushing your clients toward direct bookings is becoming a non-negotiable part of any solid revenue strategy.

    52 min

  4. 19 MAR

    AI Guest Communication in Short-Term Rentals: Building a Human Brand at Scale with Sabrina Mulligan

    "Guests want and deserve answers instantly — and when you learn the art of great communication, they'll keep talking to Zoe even after they find out she's AI." What happens when a guest asks mid-conversation, "Are you AI or human?" — and then just keeps chatting anyway? That's not a glitch. That's the goal. In this episode of the Booked Solid Show, Gil sits down with Sabrina Mulligan, AI-First Hospitality Brand Strategist at Zzzing — a tech-driven hospitality brand managing over 550 keys across hotels, vacation rentals, and boutique guesthouses in Malta. Sabrina has spent the last three years at the intersection of brand, guest experience, and AI, building systems that let a growing portfolio still feel personal, local, and boutique. What unfolds in this conversation is genuinely rare. This isn't a surface-level talk about chatbots saving time. Sabrina walks through exactly how she built an AI character named Zoe, how she earned her team's trust, and how that trust translated into 80–85% of all guest and owner communication being handled by AI — without losing the soul of the brand. Whether you're just starting to explore AI for guest communication in short-term rentals or you're already using automation and want to level up the experience, this episode will shift how you think about hospitality in the age of AI. 🔗 Connect with Sabrina Mulligan 🔹 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sabrinamulligan 🔺 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sab_mulligan/ Sabrina is also getting ready to launch a series of private mastermind sessions for STR professionals who want to go deeper on AI and guest experience — focused on where AI truly fits in the high-touch space, and how to monetize the guest experience without losing the human element. Keep an eye on her LinkedIn for details.

    43 min

  5. 12 MAR

    Direct Booking Business Principles That Took One B&B from €10K to €100K with Yvonne Halling 🏡

    What if the key to more direct bookings had nothing to do with algorithms, dynamic pricing, or paid ads — and everything to do with who you are and who you want to serve? That's exactly what Yvonne Halling discovered when she transformed her four-room bed and breakfast in the Champagne region of France from a €10,000-a-year hobby into a €100,000-a-year business — without a single listing on Booking.com or Airbnb. On this episode of Booked Solid, Yvonne breaks down the direct booking business principles she developed over years of trial, error, and award-winning results — and why they're just as relevant today as they were when she first built the system. Whether you're just getting your first property off the ground or you've been in the game for years and feel stuck, this conversation will challenge how you think about hospitality, pricing, and your relationship with your guests. 🔗 Connect with Yvonne Halling 🌐 Website: bedandbreakfastcoach.com📧 Email: yvonne@bedandbreakfastcoach.com👥 Facebook: Coaching for Bed and Breakfast Owners🎙️ Facebook Community (Free Trainings): Dynamic Bed and Breakfast Owners Group💼 LinkedIn: Yvonne Halling📺 YouTube: Yvonne Halling – Transformational Business Coach🐦 Twitter/X: @yvonne3030📸 Instagram: @bedandbreakfastcoach🎧 Podcast: Listen on Spotify

    1hr 3min

  6. 5 MAR

    The Direct Booking Machine Behind Joshua Tree's Most Recognized STR Brand with Patryk Swietek

    "If you can two x your conversions and you're already making $50,000 on direct — you could be making $100,000." — Patryk Swietek There's a version of building a short-term rental business where you grind market by market, property by property, hoping something sticks. And then there's the version Patryk Swietek built — one that compounds. Patryk is the co-owner of The Cohost Company, one of the most recognized short-term rental brands in Joshua Tree, California. With 130 doors under management, a social following that doubled in six months, and a direct booking funnel generating over 720,000 monthly views on Instagram, Patryk has turned market focus into an unfair advantage. On this episode of Booked Solid, Patryk joins Gil to unpack how he scaled from a single Smoky Mountains property to acquiring entire property management companies, why niching down in one market is the single greatest lever most operators overlook, and the exact Instagram-to-email-to-booking funnel his team is running right now. Whether you're just getting started with direct booking strategies or managing a growing portfolio, this conversation will change how you think about growth. 🔗 Connect with Patryk Swietek Instagram (Personal): @patryk_swietekInstagram (The Cohost Company): @thecohostcompanyPodcast: Patryk Real Estate ShowWebsite: thecohostcompany.com

    1hr 20min

  7. 23 FEB

    🌍 Culture-Inspired Vacation Rentals: My 10-Step Unique Stays Framework with Anastasia Tara

    "A tree without roots is a dead tree." Your branding looks polished. The colors match. The logo is on point. But does any of it connect to who you actually are as a host? In this episode of Booked Solid, Anastasia Tara — founder of The Unique Stay community — shares how she and her husband transformed ordinary residential homes into culture-inspired vacation rentals themed around Japan, Bali, Italy, Greece, the Maldives, and France. She walks through her full 10-step Craft Build Scale framework, explains why your personal "why" is the most underused marketing tool you already own, and reveals how themed properties generate repeat guests who book your next unit before they even check out of the first. Whether you're planning your first property or rethinking an existing one, this conversation will challenge you to look inward before you look outward. 📲 Connect with Anastasia Tara 🌐 Personal Website: AnastasiaTara.com🏡 Community: UniqueStays.co💼 LinkedIn: Anastasia Tara📸 Instagram: @AnastasiaTarai🐦 X/Twitter: @AnastasiaTarai

    48 min

  8. 19 FEB

    Scaling an STR Portfolio With Intention Across 6 Markets with Fouad Bazzi & Jacinda Neustel

    "You gotta make it or make it. These are your two options." What happens when a 20-year corporate banker with a vision meets a solo operator managing 30 properties by herself — cleaning, messaging guests, and fixing maintenance issues with no team? In this episode of Booked Solid, Fouad Bazzi and Jacinda Neustel share how they combined their very different strengths to build a property management company spanning 82 properties across six markets. They talk about why saying yes to everything nearly broke them, how hiring for core values changed their team, and why the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) became the backbone of their operations. Whether you're managing two doors or two hundred, this conversation is packed with perspective on growing with intention — not just growing for the sake of it. 🔗 Connect With Fouad & Jacinda Fouad Bazzi: Instagram: @fouad_airbnbLinkedIn: Fouad BazziWebsite: fouadbazzi.com Jacinda Neustel: Instagram: @the.airbnb.queenFacebook: Jacinda NeustelWebsite: thequeensbnbs.comBook: The Airbnb Queen on Amazon 🎧 Fouad is currently looking to help 10 operators set their goals and objectives for 2026. Reach out to him on Instagram if you're ready to scale with intention.

    1 hr
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About

Join host Gil Chan on 'Booked Solid,' the podcast dedicated to helping short-term rental operators and property managers maximize bookings and scale their businesses. Each week, gain actionable insights from industry experts, uncover proven strategies, and learn the secrets to achieving more nights booked. Elevate your rental business and stay ahead in the competitive market with 'Booked Solid.'

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