Direct Bookings in the Age of AI — with Mark Simpson, Boostly

Anyone can spin up a vacation rental website in under an hour with AI tools. But does it actually work? Mark Simpson, founder of Boostly, joins The Check-In to break down the difference between a site that looks good and one that actually gets bookings — and why most AI-built sites are missing the engine entirely. In this episode: Why vibe-coded websites are like Lamborghinis with no engine What a direct booking site actually needs under the hood (PMS integration, booking engines, real conversion) How AI is killing certain STR tools — and which ones are first on the chopping block AEO: how to get your property found by ChatGPT, not just Google Whether a post-OTA world is actually possible Mark has helped over 2,000 hosts generate more than $1 billion in direct bookings. He knows what separates a website that converts from one that just sits there.