The Houfy Success Manifesto for hosts

Principle 1 - Start with DESIRE! a BURNING DESIRE to get bookings on Houfy!

You will need a true burning desire to get bookings on Houfy. What does this mean? You and only you need to truly want bookings. You need to focus and spend time on Houfy to get this done. (1 Hour listing set up, daily/weekly repetition of your action plan 30min+)

Houfy is designed for members to take back control of their most precious investments; book direct, connect direct (know your guest), your place, your rules, get paid when you require and create lasting relationships with your guests.

If you do not desire to receive bookings on Houfy, you can skip the rest of this article. (You might have excuses, other more important desires)

Excuses are can't, no's, not's, don'ts and feed on themselves.

• You might be content/happy with what you have and receive.
• You are perfectly fine/comfortable with Airbnb/Homeaway others
• You do not care your guests pay 10-15%+ for "service fees"
• Houfy doesn't offer insurance
• Houfy doesn't have .. / .. / ..
• You might not have time (Keep in mind a week has 168 Hours, you sleep 8 hrs = 56 Hrs, you work = 40 Hrs, You eat 2 hrs a day = 14, Sports/other = 10 Hrs.) You have about 50 hours left each week! TV/Internet/News. Do you spend time on your "burning" desires?
• You believe your own website is user friendly and perfectly designed, online bookable with great loading speed and mobile friendly. (Costs per month?)
• You do not know how to report taxes
• You do not believe Houfy works, You do not believe you can get paid directly, you do not believe guests will book your property on Houfy, you do not believe....

A burning desire starts with believing. Do you believe you can do it? What makes some members so successful and others not? It starts with desiring and believing! Everything you believe is based on confirming your thoughts with repetitive stimulus. Just like NOT believing: if you believe in NO and NOT, you can skip this article and hope or wish.

“There is a difference between WISHING for a thing and being READY to receive it. No one is ready for a thing, until he believes he can acquire it. The state of mind must be BELIEF, not mere hope or wish. Open-mindedness is essential for belief. Closed minds do not inspire faith, courage, and belief.” - Napoleon Hill.

Do you truly have this desire? Do you really, really want to make it work?? Then read on and take action:

Principle 2: Prepare & make an Action-PLAN!

Let's prepare and make an action plan, with goals and dates, visualize and feel the goals & targets.

• How many bookings do you want, of how much value? Do you know how it feels to get a Houfy booking? or 2, 3, 5, 10? - Fix in your mind to the exact number of bookings you desire. It is not sufficient to say “I want plenty of bookings".
• Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the bookings you desire. There is no such reality as 'something for nothing'. How can you make this work? How much time will you need to give in return?
• Establish a definite date when you intend to acquire the bookings you desire.
• Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.

Let's get prepared first: Do you know your product? Do you know how Houfy works and what you can do with it? Really?

A) Start with reviewing your listing on Houfy. (We have made it extremely easy for many members to add their listings with our import tool) Make sure your listing is completed/verified and published.

Let's have a closer look: (Approx. time to edit: 30min - 1 Hr)

Overview: Please add/edit/review all the data requested:

• Property Details (Make sure all the information is completed, correct and attractive to guests - Tips for a great description) IMPORTANT!!
• Room Details (Make sure you add all the information necessary)
• Location (Make sure your location is correct - you can move the marker right on top of your place and you have a choice to show or hide the exact location)
• Views (What views does your property have/where is it located)
• Amenities (Add all the amenities you offer)
• Suitability (Add info to filter out guests with special needs)

Pictures: Are your pictures bright and clear? Do you show your best picture first? Houfy requires at least 5 pictures. A picture is worth a 1000 words. (Make sure the pictures sell!!) Look at properties around you and research your competition! IMPORTANT!!

Pricing: Set your pricing right! Study this in depth! How do similar properties price near you? (Airbnb/Homeaway/Booking/Tripadvisor) (20-40 minutes) IMPORTANT!!

Calendar: Make sure your calendar is updated - With ICS (Ical) you can make sure you do not receive double bookings. (Connect to other sites - import and export to sync properly!) You will only need to do this once! (10 minutes) IMPORTANT!!

Now what? Is your listing perfect for you or for your guests? Think, Test and Review again. Does everything work perfectly? Search Houfy as a guest, location, nr of guests, dates? Does your listing show up on Houfy? Would you as a guest book it? Or will the guest chose another listing close by? Is the price right for you or your guest? Did you forget something? Are your reviews updated?

B) Payment: Connect Stripe/Square (10-30 minutes)

We are making a platform where guests can search/browse and book directly on Houfy. More and more guests are using mobile devices and wish to book immediately once they found a great place to stay for a great price. On most other larger OTA's (Online travel Agencies) you will be required to add banking information to send you guests funds - less fees. Houfy doesn't require banking information as Houfy doesn't collect and distribute funds. Please consider creating an account with Stripe/Square to accept online payments easily.

C) Who are you? Profile Pic/ Host info - Hosts are micro-entrepreneurs sharing knowledge, passions, and communities with guests. How can you best offer services to your guests? AAA service or B service? Give your guests the best experience they have ever had! On Houfy you can create stories/articles/blogs about nearby places/activities/restaurants and collect these stories in guidebooks. The guidebooks you can show one your listing(s). Study Houfy to learn more.

D) Prepare/link to other sites:

• Create a custom link
• Use the custom link on your Facebook property page / Other social sites
• Link it on Google maps
• Link on your homepage
• Use embed/Houfy widgets for your own website

E) Collect data (e-mails) from your previous guests/family/friends/others - create a mailing list.

F) Join social groups/clubs/local groups/rental groups/for sale groups - Tips

G) Decide how much time will you spend marketing/showcasing your listing per day/week/month? Be as clear as possible and honest to yourself with your action plan.

Principle 3) Execute, take action, start doing (follow your plan) - Persist

You have now decided to believe, you desire to receive bookings and you prepared yourself to take action! (Listing OK, Profile OK, Custom Link done, added to Facebook/google maps, added embed to your site, joined groups)

Now you need to step out of your comfort zone. Start posting! and view the results. (You can view the number of views on your listing by scrolling all the way down) - Tips for posting in Yard Sale/Book Direct Groups

You might have chosen to post on Tuesday and Thursday evenings around 7.30 PM - 15 minutes per day (=30 minutes spent on Houfy per week)

Be patient, consistent, persistent and try finding out what is working and what is not. (Edit your plan/change posting dates/change first picture/some text on description/price) Try again. and again. and again. Do NOT stop until you get that 1st inquiry/booking.

Study what other successful members are doing. Ask questions. How do they get bookings, why? when?

Houfy is a numbers game, the higher the numbers (views) the higher the chances to get inquiries/bookings.

Believe it or not:

• Action = Reaction
• Input = Output
• Giving = Receiving

Members with a true burning desire and love for inquiries and bookings will receive them. The Houfy platform is ready, are you?

(By the way: very often on Airbnb/Homeaway - the moment you change something at your listing - you get inquiries.. coincidence? or is it because you spent time on it.. )

Thanks Houfy Team.