Building STR Sites That Convert: The Direct Booking Formula

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What does a high-performing direct-booking setup look like when you’re tired of relying on OTAs and a weak booking engine?

In this episode of Get Paid For Your Pad, Kaye Putnam (Head of Marketing at Freewyld) interviews Eli Pritykin, founder of Hudson Creative Studio and creator of HomeRunner, to dive into why most short-term rental operators are stuck building on “rented land” and how to reclaim control with a website that converts.

They discuss the shift from listing-manager mindset to e-commerce mindset, reveal the three key elements of a website that drives direct bookings, and explore how structured data and AI search are changing discovery for properties.

You’ll discover:

• Why many booking engines fall short and trap you on someone else’s platform

• How trust and user experience matter in the first 2–4 seconds of your site visit

• What it means to build your brand as a “curated box of chocolates” so guests choose you instinctively

• How friction in your booking flow silently destroys revenue

• Why WordPress and HomeRunner offer real ownership, flexibility and scalability for direct bookings

• How schema, structured data and emerging AI engines (AEO/GEO) will impact hosting in the near future

💡 Topics Covered:

• Direct booking strategy for short-term rentals

• Trust psychology in user experience and conversion

• Brand building vs commodity operations in STR

• Booking flow optimization and UX design

• Data strategy, schema markup and AI search in hospitality

• WordPress websites vs PMS-built solutions

🔗 Relevant Links:

Learn more about Hudson Creative Studio → https://www.hudsoncreativestudio.com

Explore HomeRunner → https://www.homerunner.io

Follow Kaye Putnam → https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayeputnam/

Keywords:

direct bookings, short-term rentals, STR website, branding, user experience, trust signals, conversion optimization, booking engine, WordPress, HomeRunner, structured data, schema, AI search, AEO, GEO

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