Why Pinabo
Three reasons owners choose Pinabo.
The first one is about money, and it's the one that matters most. The other two are why it works, and why it lasts.
Pillar one · the main one
Keep more of what you earn.
This isn't about cutting costs. It's about each booking earning you more, and more of your guests coming back.
Booking-site commission typically runs at around 15% of each booking, and sometimes more once fees and VAT are added. On a £35,000 letting year that's around £5,250, every year, before you've paid for cleaning, laundry, repairs or the mortgage.
A direct booking through your own website costs you a card payment fee, typically around 1.5%. Every booking you move from commission to direct is money that stays with you. And a guest who booked with you directly is a guest you can welcome back next year.
It also spreads your risk. No other business would sell through a single shop it doesn't own. With your own website and your own guest list alongside the booking sites, a change of rules or fees elsewhere matters a lot less.
What taking control looks like
| Area | What Pinabo does | What you gain |
|---|---|---|
| Direct bookings | Your own website with live availability, secure payments and good search visibility | Less commission, more margin on every booking |
| Your own following | A guest list built with consent, a newsletter, return-guest offers and reviews | Guests who come back to you |
| Marketing | Photography advice, listing copy and seasonal campaigns, plus club-wide promotion | A recognisable brand of your own |
| Channel mix | The booking sites used as a shop window, managed alongside direct bookings from one calendar | Less dependence on any one site |
| Compliance | A calendar and reminders for safety checks, insurance, registration and record-keeping | Fewer nasty surprises |
| Reporting | Clear figures on bookings, direct share, income and costs | The numbers to make good decisions |
| Business value | Clean records, a growing direct-booking history and a loyal guest base | A business worth more if you ever sell |
Commission calculator
What is commission costing you?
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Pillar two
Join the Pinabo club.
Independent, never alone.
On your own, a single owner has little say and pays full price for everything. Together, owners can do what the big operators do. That's why Pinabo is a club, not just a service.
Every member has a Pinabo website and booking system, and signs up to the same standards of guest care and doing things properly. That's what makes the club worth belonging to. As it grows, membership brings:
- Shared know-how. Playbooks and member calls on pricing, direct bookings, compliance and reviews, from owners who've solved the same problems.
- A shared pool of returning guests. Guests who opt in hear about other Pinabo homes, with a returning-guest welcome at each one.
- Club-rate suppliers. Better rates on things like insurance, linen, photography and booking software as the club grows.
- A collective voice for independent owners on the rules, taxes and terms that affect your business.
Become a founding member. We're opening the club to our first owners now. Founding members help decide which benefits we build first, and shape how the club works.
Pillar three
Support your local community.
Good for business, good for the town.
In many places holiday lets face pushback from residents and councils. We think the answer is to be a good neighbour, and to be able to show it. Guests bring money into a town. A Pinabo home makes sure plenty of it is spent there.
- Local trades first. Cleaners, housekeepers, gardeners, plumbers and electricians from the area.
- Guests who spend locally. Every stay points guests to local pubs, cafés, shops and walks.
- Free local listings. Every member's website carries Local Life pages that list local trades and businesses at no cost to them.
- Considerate guests. Clear house rules that respect residents and neighbours.
It also helps your reviews. Guests who feel part of a place tend to say so, and come back.
Around Sun Beach House
The places we send our own guests, all within half an hour of the house.
- The butcher on Middleton Road, trading since 1926, and the chip shop next door
- The Lobster Pot at Felpham, a forty-minute walk along the shore for lunch
- Three village pubs, all within a mile
- Arundel for the castle, the antique shops and dinner
- Goodwood for the Festival of Speed and the Revival