Answers · Direct bookings
How do I get repeat Airbnb guests to book direct?
Short answer
You cannot ask them to through Airbnb: its rules forbid using the platform's messages or the guest's contact details to move a booking elsewhere. What you can do is be easy to find when a returning guest looks for you. Use the same property name everywhere, have a page of your own where they can check dates and pay, and show your reviews on it. Airflow gives every listing that booking page, and once a guest has booked direct it keeps their details so you can stay in touch with their consent.
Paying commission on loyalty you earned
A guest who loved the place and comes back next year goes back to where they booked last time. The platform charges its fee again, on a guest it did nothing to win the second time.
The obvious fix, a note in the welcome book or a message offering a discount for booking direct, is the one the platforms prohibit, and hosts lose listings over it. The route that works is slower and safe.
How to do it with Airflow
- 1
Use one name everywhere
Call the property the same thing on Airbnb, on your own site and on your map profile. A guest who searches for the name they remember should find your page.
- 2
Publish a page they can book on
Your Airflow booking page shows live availability and takes payment. Embed it on your website, or add Website + Hosting for a full site on your own domain.
- 3
Put your reviews on it
A returning guest needs little persuading, and their friends need more. The Reviews Management add-on shows the reviews your channels send you beside your booking widget.
- 4
Keep the guests who book direct
A direct guest's details are yours. Ask for consent to contact them, and send a short note once or twice a year with your booking link.
What is allowed, and what is not
A summary of the usual platform rules. Check your own platform's current terms.
| Asking an Airbnb guest to book or pay outside Airbnb for that stay | Not allowed |
|---|---|
| Links or contact details in Airbnb messages, meant to move the guest | Not allowed |
| Emailing offers to guests using details the platform gave you | Usually not allowed |
| Having your own website under the same property name | Allowed |
| A guest searching for you and booking on your site | Their choice |
| Marketing to guests who booked direct and gave consent | Allowed |
Airflow does not send promotional messages to channel guests for you, and its automated guest emails should stay free of offers.
Why the guest portal matters here
Every booking in Airflow has a guest portal with the dates, documents and arrival details, and it carries your name, not a platform's. A guest who spent their stay using it has seen who runs the place. That is recognition, not solicitation, and it is what makes them search for you by name next year.
What to expect
This builds slowly. In the first year a few returning guests book direct. The share grows as your own guest list grows, because each direct guest is one you may contact. Most hosts keep Airbnb for new guests and move repeat business over time.
Other ways to do this
Airflow is one option. These are the others, and when each is the better choice.
- Accept the fee on repeat guests
- If repeats are a small part of your bookings, the effort may not be worth it.
- A newsletter tool on its own
- Mailchimp or similar, with a list of guests who booked direct and agreed to hear from you. Airflow keeps the guest records; it has no one-click Mailchimp sync, so you export and import.
- Social media
- Guests who follow the property see your dates and your link without you contacting them.
What Airflow does not do
- Airflow does not help you contact Airbnb guests outside Airbnb, and will not get round a platform's rules.
- It has no built-in newsletter tool and no one-click sync to Mailchimp.
- Direct bookings through Airflow carry a booking page commission and the card provider's fee.
Common questions
Can I tell Airbnb guests about my website?
Not through Airbnb's messaging, and not as a way to move their booking. Having a website under the same name, which a guest finds for themselves, is allowed.
Can I email past Airbnb guests?
Using contact details Airbnb gave you for anything but that stay usually breaks its terms. Guests who later book direct and consent can be contacted.
Can I offer a discount for booking direct?
On your own site, yes: your prices there are yours to set. Do not advertise it to guests through the platform.
What do I need for a returning guest to book direct?
A page with live availability and payment. Every Airflow listing has one, on every plan.
How does Airflow help me keep direct guests?
It keeps a record of each guest and their stays, gives them a guest portal, and can send pre-arrival and post-stay emails automatically.
What does a direct booking cost me?
A booking page commission that depends on your plan, plus the card provider's fee. The rates are on the pricing page.
Try it on your own bookings
Forward a few booking emails and look at what Airflow builds from them. A card is needed at sign-up.
Start with Airflow See plans and pricing