J.S. Hubbs Direct-Booking Engine
Sole architect and builder
Stack
- Laravel
- Stripe
- Hostaway API
- Claude Code
Numbers
- Year-two channel mix flipped from 33% direct / 66% OTA to 66% direct / 33% OTA
- Year-two revenue on pace to double year one by end of April
- Gross revenue and net margin per booking up substantially
Problem
I operate a three-suite short-term rental property on the North Shore. Year one revenue was 33% direct bookings and 66% OTA — paying meaningful commissions to platforms that own the customer relationship.
Approach
Built jshubbs.com end-to-end including a custom booking engine: Hostaway channel-manager API integration for unified inventory and rate management, Stripe payments, and a direct-booking flow that bypasses third-party commissions entirely. The site competes on its own SEO and brand for direct traffic.
Outcome
Year-two channel mix flipped to 66% direct and 33% OTA. Year-two revenue is on pace to double year one by end of April. Both gross revenue and net margin per booking up substantially.