Partnering with Agents

In recent years, numerous booking agents have emerged online and have built solid reputations for delivering guests.If you're looking to promote your guest house, it is an excellent idea to sign up to some of them. The good is that business model that has proved to be the most successful for them has been charging commission on bookings made via their website. This means until you get a booking, you don't have to pay anything.

The commission for an agent is usually 10-15% of the total booking. If you are aiming to attract overseas visitors, the advantages of being able to use the power of the agent's brand to attract international customers and have them directed to your business greatly outweigh a 15% commission.

Guest House Guru's suggested starting agents are:

Hostelbookers 
Fastbooking
Booking
Hostelworld

Bookings from these agents account for a large part of many guest house's business, particularly those whose location means walk-in guests are unlikely. In addition, Fastbooking and Hostelbookers offer a booking engine for your website, which makes bookings more secure and easier for you to handle.

Detailed reviews of numerous agents will be included in the Guest House Guru E-book, so register your interest in the comments section below.