The big top dogs like Booking.com or Airbnb are undoubtedly important to get your first bookings. The price for these successes is high: commissions/service fees between 12 and 18% percent accrue, the prices per stay increase and your margin melts.
Your own website is the optimal way to counteract this trend and increase direct bookings. Customers can book directly with you and there are no fees. The advantage is also that your own web presence strengthens your brand and potential customers cannot get lost in the competition’s accommodation.
Platforms will continue to play a big role, but it is important to increase your independence with your own booking website: Post your accommodation on Instagram – but please post the link to your own booking website!

Instagram can be a real booking turbo for your holiday home – here’s what you should keep in mind: Take good photos of your accommodation as well as of yourself as the host. Preferably in daylight in a perfectly prepared accommodation.  
Add a tagline and filters to your photos before posting them on Instagram. Free software such as “Canvas” is suitable for this, for example. As soon as everything is ready for the first posting, “Gmblr” is well suited to carry out your first publications on Instagram.
All that’s left is to post the link to your own website to get direct bookings. You can also share your description from Airbnb or Booking, but keep in mind that there are commissions/service fees and a risk of customers discovering competitors’ accommodation.

Potential customers form their first impression from pictures: in seconds, the visitor to your profile knows whether he or she can imagine spending a holiday with you.
In addition to photos of a perfectly tidy accommodation, you should also take photos of yourself as the host. Especially in the case of a holiday flat, the guest wants to know who he is staying with. What makes a holiday with you so special? If you welcome your guests personally, you can tell them about friendships that have developed with regular customers. Guests deliberately rent a holiday flat to escape the sterile atmosphere of a hotel.
Do not hesitate to emphasise personal details: Do you have a piece of furniture with a special story? Photograph it and tell why it is not a standard piece of furniture.
Special features like a jacuzzi or or highlights in the vicinity like your favourite restaurant are also worth an Instagram story.
Because one thing is for sure: only those who are interested in your area will also stay with you.

Good photos, a precise listing of the facilities and a presentation about you as a host will undoubtedly impress your potential guests.
To gain even more credibility, it is a good idea to post stories from your satisfied customers. Get in touch with your regular customers and ask for the opportunity to post a photo including a testimonial on Instagram of their holiday experience with you. In return, you can offer a discount on the next holiday, for example, take and give is the principle here.
Doubly practical : you can also post success stories on your website, a third party impression is guaranteed to enhance them and perfectly complement your, sometimes perceived as subjective, description!