2x property count and 3x direct bookings in 1 year
Growing a 30 year-old business with Hostfully’s automations and integrations
Chelsea and Tony Toupin are the property managers of Red Lodge Reservations in Red Lodge, Montana
How a Montana-based vacation management couple turned to Hostfully to handle operations so they could focus on customer service and a new horizon of business growth.
Overview
Before
- Managed 14 properties 24/7
- Spent countless hours manually composing arrival messages and making trips to the laundromat
- 3% of bookings were direct
After
- Grew their business to 30 properties in the span of one year
- Added Breezeway and other integrations to automate messages, schedule cleaners, and follow up with customers
- Direct bookings rose to 14%
Impact
- Less turnover and more profit
- More than doubled the number of houses they managed
- Repeat guests and direct booking opportunities benefit hosts, owners and guests
“Now we can provide better standards of clean. We’re not relying on anybody else. It just put us one more step above which allowed us to scale. Every service we’ve been able to add because of Hostfully and all these different integrations have allowed for us to continue to build our business.”
Chelsea Toupin, Co-Owner, Red Lodge Reservations
Before
Manual labor led to manager burnout and an unsustainable business model
Chelsea and Tony had both built careers in the service and hospitality industry, eventually settling into the greater Yellowstone area. They had grown weary of the 4a.m. wakeup regimen that working in food service (Tony) and events and catering (Chelsea) were accustomed to so when the chance to pivot to rental management arose, they figured it would be a welcome break from the grind.
The reality was a little surprising. Within weeks of managing Red Lodge’s 14 properties, Chelsea was up to her neck in manual tasks, working around the clock to customize each arrival email, make endless lists to stay on top of operations, and make midnight runs to the local laundromat to switch over loads for next day arrivals. At Red Lodge, automation was a foreign concept. As the long days began getting longer, Chelsea decided to research software options to better manage her newfound business. Enter Hostfully.
After
User-friendly integrations and automations create new opportunities for growth
Not only did Hostfully offer plans that could grow with Chelsea’s and Tony’s business, but they found Hostfully to be intuitive with a user-friendly dashboard and a customer support team that’s second to none.
“One thing about Montana: we’re about 10 years behind everybody here. It took awhile for everybody to get on board with dynamic pricing but once we got Wheelhouse in, we had our best year period. Hands down our best financial year,“ Chelsea says. Soon after signing up with Hostfully, Chelsea began to build out her tech-stack, starting with Wheelhouse.
Then, after receiving an abrupt call from their house cleaning service alerting them of imminent downsizing which would soon leave the managers without cleaning services, Chelsea and Tony added on Breezeway. The result? Housekeeping moved in house, ultimately empowering the managers to deliver more reliable, affordable, and quality controlled service. Chelsea reflects, “We actually had fewer bookings but we made more money. Hostfully just opened up our options for what we wanted to use.”
In 2023, Chelsea and Tony had fewer overall bookings yet made more profit. But how? Before turning to Hostfully, all but 3% of Red Lodge’s reservations came through OTAs (mostly Airbnb). Over the year the number of direct bookings has more than quadrupled, jumping from 3% to 14% of total YTD bookings. It’s a win-win: fewer OTA fees is understandably appealing to guests, while Red Lodge’s profitability has peaked.
But how did Chelsea and Tony bring awareness to their guests and drive those direct bookings? Guest prompts. When guests check out, they instantly receive an automated email, thanking them for their stay, kindly requesting a review , and offering Red Lodge’s direct booking link along with a promotional code for future bookings. Not only does this tactic demonstrate reliable customer service and reputational savvy, but it also incentivizes easy, direct bookings with an added cost savings, thus serving the guests and managers.
Since incorporating a direct booking link and discount code, Chelsea and Tony have seen a switch in bookings. As Chelsea recalls, one guest who would always go through Airbnb, “booked three times this year—all direct!” Chelsea exclaims. The triggered automated email not only saves the managers time and headspace but it also generates repeat bookings that benefits all parties.
Bonus
A better business model
As Red Lodge Reservations continues to flourish and grow, Chelsea and Tony are excited to realize the additional integrations and tools Hostfully will help them unlock. “[Hostfully’s] tools allow us to automate 99% of those things so we can connect to guests. And those discount codes are just so stinking easy!” Chelsea beams. As it stands, they believe that, “If you’re using Hostfully, it gives you more time to go out and do better.”
Chelsea and Tony are reaping the rewards of an incredible feat in just a short time: doubling their property count, growing their revenue with dynamic pricing tools, decreasing their turnovers (and the associated labor and resources), and relying on automations to handle day-to-day tasks. The late night laundromat run is a thing of the past—and indicative of a larger achievement. “We can be our own bosses,” Chelsea reflects. “We got into the industry for that freedom, and now we’re so fully committed because we see opportunity, and we love what we’re doing.”
