Expect digital fireworks over the coming weeks in the STR landscape. Award-winning website agency, Boostly joins forces with the industry’s leading trust marketing consultant and verification platform, I-PRAC – in an exclusive partnership.
Founded by Mark Simpson, Boostly has generated over £50 million in direct bookings in 2023 alone for hosts with their marketing and web design solutions. The company’s long-standing mission is to unshackle STR operators from commission-hungry OTAs (online travel agents); and consequently, help them regain control of their bookings and their business.
What started out as a two-person operation between Simpson and a good friend in Bali, has now expanded into a thriving website agency – employing 50 dedicated team members, who work across four different time zones. The company was recently recognised as the best website agency in the industry (at The Shortyz); and has continued to develop its tech offerings to stay ahead of the competition – with Boostly’s 2.0 Website Solution being the latest talk-of-the-town.
Boostly’s clients see impressive results with their custom-designed WordPress websites (built in with their brand colours, own website copy, and choice of photography). The team also makes it easy for hosts to add new pages onto the website, so that their digital presence grows alongside the business.
Now, as recognised leaders in the industry, Boostly has teamed-up with I-PRAC to give their website and marketing solutions an unmatchable edge.
The partnership will invite all of Boostly’s website clients to become I-PRAC accredited members for two years (for just the price of one). Clients will also ongoing support from I-PRAC’s content team to help them generate the maximum number of direct bookings from their website, and also have a high-converting ‘Trust Page’ built into their Boostly website. This additional website page, according to I-PRAC’s in-house research, will boost conversion rates by at least 30% and will be ready for hosts to plug into their website – and give them the opportunity to make small copy and design modifications.
In addition to all the above, Boostly’s website clients will also be gifted an exclusive copy of the ‘Trustology’, by I-PRAC. This will be the industry’s only and most comprehensive guide about trust marketing and is worth thousands – Boostly’s clients will be of the few select communities who will have access to it for free.
These partnership benefits are undoubtedly of immense value, as I-PRAC has become iconic in the short-term rental industry for educating hosts about the importance of trust psychology and trust marketing. With nearly 15000 members across 28 countries, I-PRAC is in fact, the only STR accreditation platform as well as a proven direct bookings’ tool (because guests feel confident with booking with a host who is 100% legitimate and verified).
I-PRAC was founded by serial STR entrepreneur, Chris Maughan – after a family of five arrived at his doorstep in the South of France, having been conned out of thousands of pounds by a fraudulent operator. Maughan set-up the company with his own money to rid the industry of rental fraud, and give guests the confidence to book directly with legitimate hosts.
Essentially, when a host or agency becomes I-PRAC Approved, following the team’s meticulous verification process, they can give guests the guarantee that they are 100% protected against holiday rental fraud and below-par standards of hospitality (and that they will be fully compensated, should any problems arise with an I-PRAC verified property). There is currently, no such guarantee being offered by OTAs – including Airbnb’s AirCover – nor are any of the largest hotel chains able to provide guests with the same reassurance.
As the owner of the most reputable corporate STR agency in Cannes (AES Events) – which accommodates the likes of Disney, Paramount, Spotify, MTV, X, and more – Maughan believes that the biggest reason guests fail to book directly with STR hosts, is because they don’t trust them.
The data supports this. As a recent study from Edelman found that 67% of consumers must trust a brand before they’ll continue to make a purchase with them. With this and numerous other studies (by renowned experts) in mind, I-PRAC heavily leans into the education of trust marketing for STR operators. The company doesn’t just verify legitimate hosts; but teaches them how to leverage their accreditation by deploying strategic ‘trust signals’ across their direct bookings’ website, and throughout their marketing.
This exciting partnership between Boostly and I-PRAC is being headed-up by the companies’ Managing Directors.
Laura Powner (of Boostly) and Neely Khan (of I-PRAC) have designed an offer that plays to the strengths of both these brands and will absolutely become the only website solution that STR operators will need.
“It is one of the most exciting partnerships that the STR industry will see”, comments Khan. “I recently stepped into the role of MD at I-PRAC and partnering with Boostly has always been at the top of my agenda – as I’ve worked with Mark Simpson extensively in the past, and know the value this partnership will bring to the thousands of hosts both Boostly and I-PRAC work with. Essentially, you have the industry leaders of trust marketing and verification joining forces with an award-winning website agency that our global landscape has grown to know and love – it’s a recipe for direct bookings’ magic. I truly believe this is the only website solution that STR hosts will now need. We have all the prime components – including trust psychology, trust marketing, trust copywriting, website design and development – and will be first and only brands to bring them under one roof’.
Also keen to launch this partnership, Powner says “Trust is a hugely important part of all our lives and it is just as important in business. Our clients trust us to co-create the best direct booking websites possible with them. Here at Boostly we do that really well and we are ready to take this to the next level, showing our clients how to build trust with future guests through our websites. Our partnership with I-PRAC will allow us to educate our clients around trust signals; psychology, marketing and copywriting which will boost their direct bookings like never before. I recently stepped into the role of MD at Boostly and the significant changes that we are making behind the scenes are going to create huge ripples in the STR market – what better way to start this change than with an incredible partnership with the leaders of trust marketing and verification”.
The industry-changing partnership is due to launch in the Spring of 2024, in tandem with the launch of the Trustology.- which will only be free for Boostly’s website clients and other exclusive partners.
Maughan says, “After decades of phenomenal success in the STR industry, I know that the biggest thing missing from the majority of direct bookings’ websites is trust signals. Having an attractive looking website isn’t enough to distract guests from well-known OTAs. As I’ve been educating others about for years, a high-converting direct bookings’ website is built off the back of a solid understanding of trust marketing – naturally, I-PRAC verification is a core part of this. The results speak for themselves – and I cannot wait to see how Boostly’s clients will benefit from this new partnership offer. We have been wanting to partner with Boostly for a long while; and this is the perfect way to do it. Mark and his team have built a brilliant community of STR hosts, and I greatly admire what they’ve achieved – it’s now time to take things up a notch in the mission to increase trust and direct bookings. We don’t take partnerships lightly at I-PRAC and I look forward to a long-term and mutually valuable working relationship with Boostly’”.
Simpson, who is equally excited about this new partnership, adds “The uptake on Boostly’s websites has been mind-blowing over the last two years. We’re delivering more high-converting websites than any other website agency in the landscape and are helping hosts generate millions in direct bookings in the process. Since the successful launch of Boostly’s 2.0 Website, I’ve wanted to give our clients even more of a competitive edge, that’ll help them cut the cord from OTAs. This partnership with I-PRAC really is a powerful way to do this – the best part is, it’s exclusive to Boostly’s website clients (no other website agency in the STR industry will offer this), so our growing community is going to benefit a great deal. To know that now all of Boostly’s websites will come with the option of 2 years’ I-PRAC Approval for the price of one, a brand new, high-converting Trust Page and content marketing support from the best writers and marketers in the industry gets me really excited for our roster of clients. Big things are about to happen!’
Short-term rental operators who are keen to build a direct bookings’ business are strongly advised to put their names down on Boostly’s waiting list for a website, and look into I-PRAC’s application process – as I-PRAC approval is only granted upon completion of this.
Both companies will be sharing updates in the lead-up to the official partnership launch and look forward to transforming the trajectory of the entire STR landscape.
