UK: The inaugural More Bookings Direct conference in London is set to be the only event in the short-term rental calendar dedicated to property managers seeking alternative sources of revenue and direct bookings.
The one-day conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza Battersea London on Tuesday 25 February 2020.
100 property managers will hear presentations and panel groups from some of the leading names in the holiday rental industry with essential actionable tips to achieve more direct bookings.
Talks will cover SEO, Google, branding, repeat business, social media engagement, local collaborations, new travel partners, pricing strategies, guest experience and more.
Director of NeedMoreRentals.com & MoreBookingsDirect.com, Damian Sheridan, said: “Having worked on search engine optimisation for numerous short-term rental property owners, managers and companies over the last five years it has become worryingly evident to me that there is a significant over-reliance on the giant online travel agents (OTAs).
“Whilst we have always fully supported the incredible exposure that OTAs provide for most property managers, we were typically seeing clients receiving over 80 per cent of all bookings being generated from just two or three global booking platforms.
“The frustrations we’ve seen companies endure were not just limited to booking commissions but also restricted guest communication, algorithms, listing quality scores, review processes, guest fees, set cancellation policies, inflexible payment terms, one-sided damage arbitration, listing removal and an overall sense of reduced business control.
“Aside from an excellent annual #bookdirect campaign, we felt that there needed to be more education to help property managers explore ways to diversify their business. Whilst we have always understood the power of SEO, we knew there were dozens of other under-utilised routes to direct bookings – but we weren’t experts in those fields.
“So, the idea for the More Bookings Direct conference was born in the spring 2019.
“I’m very excited to have many of the leading international #BookDirect advocates come to London to speak to delegates about the many achievable ways of attaining more direct bookings. These include Alan Egan, Mark Simpson, Moriya Rockman, Louise Brace, Deborah Labi, Yvonne Halling, Chris Maughan and many more.
“It must be stressed that this is most definitely not an anti-OTA event. We love the big players for what they offer.
“This event is for any professional property manager or company seeking alternative sources of revenue and subsequent business independence,” he added.
The official hashtags for the event are #morebookingsdirect and #bookdirect.
Short Term Rentalz readers can also access a special promotional deal to get 15 per cent off conference tickets by using the promotional code, RENTALZ15, at the More Bookings Direct conference event website here.
Damian Sheridan’s LinkedIn page can be found at the link here.
