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05/09/2026

Think you have to be the cheapest to win direct bookings? You don’t.

On Build for Growth, Roger Gould of Hostfully breaks down how to price your direct booking site against the OTAs:

You have options – test different price points. But the discount is just one lever, and it’s often not the best one.

The real advantage is what you can offer direct that guests can’t get through an OTA: upsells like early check-in and late check-out, add-ons, experiences. Book through Airbnb? None of it’s available. Book direct? A whole menu of extras opens up – better for the guest, better for your margin.

Compete on value, not just price.

Full episode of Build for Growth (powered by Hostfully) – available now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

04/09/2026

“It’s not the theoretical – it’s what people can actually use and take away.”

Anne Gardener of the VRMA on what to expect from this year’s VRMA International in Nashville – and we’re proud to be a Media Partner at the event.

The focus this year is practical, take-home knowledge. Leave after three days with: → a business strategy → a plan → the concrete steps to get there

On the agenda: navigating consolidation and M&A, how companies are really scaling, and the practical applications of AI (not the hype). Plus a big expansion of peer-based learning and networking.

See you in Nashville.

03/09/2026

Managing 1,200 properties by checking all 1,200 by hand isn’t “being in control.” It’s just being busy.

On STR Pricing Pulse, Zak Ali of the ISTRM breaks down how to scale revenue management – by exception.

Let the system do the triage: → 1,054 operating within range → 146 need attention → 38 could materially affect revenue → 12 genuinely need human judgement

Now your team isn’t spending the morning hunting for problems. They’re spending it solving the ones that matter.

Full episode of STR Pricing Pulse (powered by ) – available now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

01/09/2026

Want a promo code for our next event? Keep reading. 👀

The Host Planet Roadshow is coming to Nottinghamshire on Monday 14 September – a full day built around the one thing growing your bottom line: direct bookings.

And the timing couldn’t be better. Airbnb has just started offering some hosts direct booking links at a 6% commission (down from 15.5%) – we’ll be digging into what it really means, and how to make direct work for you, on the day.

Roundtables. Expert panels. Regulation and tax updates. Dynamic pricing. Prizes. And a free lunch (thank you ).

Real conversations with people who actually run this industry. No fluff.

📍 One Call Stadium, Mansfield Town FC
🎟️ Tickets £40 – and we’re nearly full
💥 Use code PLANET50 for 50% off

Grab your spot – link in bio.

01/09/2026

Your guests shouldn’t be able to tell if it’s your first property or your tenth.

Same tone. Same speed. Same quality. Every time. That’s what professional looks like.

And it’s exactly where things break as you grow: different replies, missing info, inconsistent tone.

On Smarter Hosting, James Varley talks about standardising your communication. Do it not just for speed, but for control. When your templates live in one system, every message from you or your team follows the same standard.

Inside Guesty: store templates, automate timing, stay consistent across platforms.

Full episode of Smarter Hosting (powered by ) – available now on YouTube.

30/08/2026

“We handle it case by case.” Translation: we do it differently every time.

On Smarter Hosting, James Varley breaks down the difference between flexibility and chaos for short-term rental hosts:

Real flexibility = adapting to demand and personalising for guests. Strategy. Fake flexibility = undocumented, inconsistent, different every time. Chaos.

And chaos has a cost: lower reviews, team guesswork, an experience guests can’t count on.

Top hosts standardise everything so excellence is the default – and flexibility is the exception.

Full episode of Smarter Hosting (Host Planet x ) – available now on YouTube.

29/08/2026

🎟️ There’s only one way into the hottest room at VRMA this year… and money CAN’T buy it.

Introducing the Golden Ticket Dinner – Host Planet x yhangry.

✨ 120 of the best people in short-term rentals
✨ One unforgettable night in Nashville
✨ Tennessee cocktails + live music
✨ Incredible food from a yhangry chef
✨ The freedom to genuinely talk to everyone in the room

No keynote. No programme. Just the room to be in. 🤠

Massive thanks to , , , , and for supporting this! 🙌

You can’t buy a seat – you have to earn your golden ticket. First wave closes soon. Apply now (link in bio).

See you in Nashville (if you’re lucky!). 🎸

PropertyManagement STR GoldenTicket

27/08/2026

“10–15 minutes. No code. You’re live.” 🚀

Roger Gould dropped this on the latest episode of Build for Growth – and it kills the biggest excuse in short-term rentals.

You do NOT need to be technical to own your bookings.
You do NOT need to hire a developer to start.
You do NOT need a big budget to go direct.

With you can spin up a direct booking site today. Loads of operators stay on it for years. And when you’re ready for something fancier down the road? Then you build it. 👇

🎧 Full episode out now – catch it on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

Would you go direct if it only took 15 minutes? Drop a 🙋 below.

26/08/2026

Stop counting phantom losses. 📉

On this month’s STR Pricing Pulse, Zak Ali from the ISTRM calls out a mistake almost every host makes with “lost revenue.”

The wrong way 👉 count every unsold night, multiply by a rate, call it all lost. (It’s not.)

The right way 👉 Revenue at risk = what you reasonably expected to achieve − what you now realistically expect to achieve.

His example:

🎯 Agreed target: £1,000,000
📊 Realistic forecast today: £900,000
⚠️ Revenue at risk: £100,000

That’s it. Not the value of every empty night on your calendar.

Get this right and you manage the number that actually matters – instead of panicking over losses that were never really there.

Full episode available now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Series powered by .

25/08/2026

Just starting out in short-term rentals? Set it up right from day one. 🚀

gives you 👇

✅ Your own bookable website
✅ Calendars + rates synced across every channel
✅ One simple dashboard
✅ No tech skills – you can be up and running this afternoon

Right now, Lodgify – proud sponsor of the Host Planet Podcast – is giving you 60% OFF with code HOSTPLANET60.

⏰ Gone at midnight, August 31st. Link in bio 👉

Lodgify HostPlanet

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