How a Suffolk Holiday Let Stopped Losing £8,000/Year to OTAs — and Started Building a Guest List That Books Direct
Skimming Stones captured 90% of their guests through their WiFi, increased direct rebookings by 50%, and took back control of their own business. Here's exactly how.
Meet Skimming Stones
Skimming Stones is a beautifully converted holiday cottage nestled on the Suffolk coast — the kind of place that sells itself. Stunning views, thoughtful interiors, five-star reviews across the board.
And yet, like most short-term rental operators, the owners were handing over a significant cut of every single booking to Airbnb and the OTAs — with nothing to show for it except a transaction confirmation.
No guest names. No email addresses. No way to reach the people who'd already loved their property and would happily come back.
That's the part that stings most.
80% of Bookings.
0% of the Guest Data.
Before Guestifi, Skimming Stones ran like most independent holiday lets in the UK:
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🏷️Around 80% of bookings came through Airbnb, Booking.com, and other OTAs — with no direct relationship to the guests
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💸Commission averaged 15–18% per booking — adding up to over £8,000 a year flowing straight out the door
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👤Every guest who stayed was, effectively, Airbnb's customer — not theirs
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📭When a guest checked out, they vanished. No data. No contact. No way to offer a return discount, a last-minute deal, or a loyalty perk.
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🔄Repeat guests would rebook — but they'd rebook through Airbnb again, triggering another commission, another lost opportunity
We'd had guests stay four or five times and we still didn't have their email address. That felt wrong.
— Owner, Skimming StonesOne WiFi Login Changed Everything
Skimming Stones installed Guestifi — a smart WiFi guest data platform built specifically for short-term rental operators.
From that point on, every guest who connected to the WiFi — not just the person who made the booking, but every adult in the group — was prompted to log in with their name and email address.
No friction. No awkwardness. Just a clean, branded login page that felt like part of the property experience.
Guest arrives and connects to WiFi
A branded splash page greets them — warm, on-brand, welcoming. Feels like part of the property, not a router login.
They log in with their email
Name, email, done. Takes 10 seconds. GDPR-compliant consent is captured automatically at the point of login.
You own that relationship — forever
Every guest who ever stays is added to your list. Remarket, rebook, reward — entirely outside of Airbnb.
It's Not Just WiFi. It's a Guest Database That Builds Itself.
Every property owner who installs Guestifi gets the same thing Skimming Stones got: a system that quietly works in the background, capturing every guest who walks through the door.
No manual effort. No asking guests awkwardly for their details at check-in. Just a growing list of real people who've stayed at your property — ready to be contacted, nurtured, and converted into direct bookings whenever you choose.
- Branded WiFi splash page — looks like part of your property, not a router login
- Automatic guest data capture — name, email, date of stay
- GDPR-compliant consent built in — you're covered from day one
- Direct integration with your email marketing tools
- Dashboard showing your full guest list and stay history
Still sending guests home without capturing their details?
Skimming Stones isn't a special case. They're a well-run holiday let in a competitive market — exactly like yours. The difference is they now know exactly who has stayed with them, can contact those guests directly, and no longer have to rely entirely on Airbnb to refill their calendar.
You could be doing the same thing.
Find out how much direct booking revenue you could be leaving on the table.