351. What a Direct-Booking Website Builder Wishes Every Host Knew

We sit down with Gil Chan, founder of CraftedStays, about what it takes to build a direct booking website for a STR.

We cover the gap between a generic template and an expensive agency build, the new AI tool Aria, and why owning a few direct bookings changes a host's leverage across platforms:

• What a direct booking site actually replaces for an Airbnb-only host?
• The 2 options hosts face for a website, and why neither worked?
• How Aria reads a portfolio and reviews before writing a single word?
• What OTA fees really add up to over a year of bookings?
• Why this isn't about leaving Airbnb, and what it's really about?

Gil's story is a good reminder that owning your guest relationship matters as much as owning your listing.

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