
Booked Solid Show - Short Term Rental Podcast Destination Marketing Direct Bookings STR: Tapping Into Tourism Data with Jennifer Barbee
"Be so good they can't ignore you. That's where you are."
What if there was an entire organization in your county — funded partly by your own lodging taxes — dedicated to driving visitors to your destination, and you've never once reached out to them? In this episode of the Booked Solid Show, Gil sits down with Jennifer Barbee, tourism strategist and creator of the Host Gap™, to uncover a massive blind spot for short-term rental operators. Jennifer has worked with over 400 destinations across the U.S. and reveals how DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations) hold a goldmine of traveler research, event calendars, and visitor data that most hosts have never tapped into. You'll learn how independent lodging went from 4% of the market to nearly 30%, why that shift is changing everything, and how building a relationship with your local tourism office could reshape your direct booking strategy from the ground up.
🔗 Connect with Jennifer Barbee
- LinkedIn (Personal): linkedin.com/in/jenniferbarbeeinc
- LinkedIn (Destination Innovate): linkedin.com/company/destinationinnovate
- Instagram: @alittlejennspiration
- X (Twitter): @jenniferbarbee
- Newsletter: The Daily Destruptor on LinkedIn
