If you’ve ever wondered whether growing a portfolio of properties makes marketing harder, Clare from Suffolk Coastal Escapes is about to give you a very reassuring answer. This week I’m chatting with Clare, a long-standing member of my membership, The FULLY BOOOKED BUSINESS CLUB, who manages 11 holiday cottages on the Suffolk coast – an area she describes as a hidden gem that most people have never even heard of.  She started with one apartment back in 2017, grew her own portfolio during Covid, and has only recently begun taking on other owners’ properties. And she’s done it properly… getting her own marketing house in order first before expanding. The results speak for themselves. When Clare first joined my membership, she was around 90% OTA dependent. She’s now at 75% direct bookings with a 40% repeat guest rate. Those are numbers worth paying attention to. We talk about what’s actually driven that shift, and it’s not one big thing; it’s a combination of really nailing her ideal guest (couples with dogs), obsessing over her website and SEO, and building a blog section she genuinely loves writing. She’s just tipped over 100 blog posts, and every single one feeds her social media content and monthly email campaigns too. There’s also a brilliant tip about how she uses a hyper-local guest guide to convert OTA bookers into lifelong direct guests, and how her blog, now called Explore the Suffolk Coast, does the same job before people have even booked. Clare also shares what it’s actually like managing other people’s properties alongside your own, the challenges she didn’t anticipate, and why being a fellow host and a true local expert is her biggest competitive advantage over ‘the big boy’ agencies. A brilliant episode to close out season five. See you in a few weeks for season six. — Key Takeaways: Growing your portfolio doesn’t have to mean more marketing work Getting clear on your ideal guest first is the foundation on which everything else is built on. A hyper-local guest guide is one of the most underrated marketing assets a host can have – Clare sees at least 75% of OTA bookers hand over their email address in exchange for hers. Blogging consistently – Clare has just passed 100 posts – pays dividends across multiple channels at once, fuelling social media content, monthly email campaigns and SEO results from a single piece of work. OTAs are a discovery tool, not a crutch – Clare uses them to get found, then works hard to capture guest details and convert one-time OTA bookers into returning direct guests. Going from 90% OTA reliant to 75% direct bookings doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen – consistent effort on your marketing and guest relationships is what moves the needle over time. — Find out more about Suffolk Coastal Escapes Visit the website Like them on Facebook Follow them on Instagram — *BOOTCAMP IS BACK!My Direct Bookings Bootcamp is now available ON DEMAND. Let’s make 2026 your best year yet for direct bookings!Find out more---What would you do with an extra £20k+ in your holiday […]

Here’s a question for you. When did you last actually stay in your own short-term rental? If the answer is “never” or it’s been a very long time, this episode is going to make you uncomfortable. In the best possible way. I’m talking today about why staying in your own property is one of the […]

I have to be honest, this episode genuinely made me smile from start to finish. This week I’m joined by Wendy from Acorn Glade Glamping, one of my longest-standing Fully Booked Business Club members and a fellow host who has quietly built something really rather special just outside York in the UK. And when I […]

I’ve seen it so many times, and it genuinely breaks my heart. Someone pours £80,000, £100,000, or even more into a beautiful cottage renovation, cabin, shepherd’s hut, or glamping site. Blood, sweat, tears—the lot. Then they open their doors to nothing. Tumbleweed. Silence. And that desperate, sinking feeling that something has gone very wrong. It’s […]

Five years. Can you believe it? Get Fully Booked is officially five years old, and I’m not letting this one slip by quietly. Because if I’ve learned anything from working with hundreds of hosts, it’s that we are absolutely terrible at celebrating our own wins. We hit a milestone, give ourselves a quick nod, and […]

This week, I’m chatting with Ben Makin, who runs a lighthouse keeper’s cottage near Wick in Scotland – possibly the most remote location of any of my marketing club members. Ben’s got a really interesting guest mix, with around 38% of her bookings coming from overseas visitors. She’s worked out exactly who her ideal guests […]

In this episode, I tackle something I hear constantly – “I don’t want to spam people.” I’m tackling this mindset head-on because it’s holding so many short-term rental and glamping site owners back from using one of the most powerful marketing tools available to them. Yes, even more powerful than social media! I’ll walk you […]

Let’s talk about something that trips up so many hosts – marketing promotions. You know the sort: giveaways, discounts, special offers. They can be brilliant for filling gaps and growing your audience, but get them wrong, and you’ll land yourself in what I call “marketing jail.” No, there won’t be sirens or handcuffs, but you […]

This week I’m chatting with Katie Colella, a meta ads specialist who knows her stuff when it comes to Facebook and Instagram ads. And yes, they can work for short-term rentals and glamping sites – when done properly! We’re cutting through the myths around paid ads. Katie explains why so many hosts think ads don’t […]

Welcome to Season 5 of the podcast. Today, I’m diving into why building your own website might be silently holding your business back! With over 30 years of marketing experience and 80+ website audits under my belt, I have seen three recurring pitfalls of DIY websites that can drain your time, energy and profits. The […]