EP 251: From 3 Million Views to 80% Direct Bookings with Debra Getts

What actually happens when you stop treating your short-term rental like a property and start building it like a hospitality brand? In this episode of Branded & Booked, I'm sitting down with Debra Getts, owner of Shiny Apple Cabins in Blue Ridge, Georgia, to talk about exactly that. Debra and her husband have built an incredibly clear brand around being some of the most dog-friendly stays in their market. And when I say dog-friendly, I don't just mean they allow dogs. They've thought through the entire experience, from fenced yards and crates to dog blankets, treats, cleaning supplies and the little details that make traveling with your dog significantly easier. But what I really wanted to dig into with Debra is what happened once she took that strong brand and started intentionally marketing it. After going through my STR Marketing Bootcamp and continuing to build out her marketing strategy, Debra put the foundational pieces in place first: a clear brand, a direct booking website, email funnels and systems designed to turn attention into actual guests. Then she started working with influencers. It wasn't an overnight success story. Her first few collaborations came with plenty of learning curves, contract changes and lessons about choosing the right creators. But she kept refining the process until she found the alignment that mattered. One of those collaborations eventually resulted in a reel that reached nearly 3 million views. Since then, Shiny Apple Cabins has grown its Instagram audience from a few hundred followers to more than 6,000, built a waitlist of creators wanting to work with the brand and, most importantly, grown to roughly 80% direct bookings this year. And that's the part I want you to pay attention to. The viral reel wasn't the strategy. The brand and marketing ecosystem behind it were. We're talking about why your brand needs to be established before you bring influencers into the equation, how Debra vets and builds relationships with creators, why email marketing matters when your social reach takes off, and what it actually takes behind the scenes to turn visibility into bookings. We also get into how Debra has built Shiny Apple Cabins around a very specific guest, why being radically dog-friendly has actually helped the business rather than hurt it, and how knowing exactly who you serve influences everything from your amenities to your pricing. If you own a short-term rental or boutique hospitality brand and you're trying to figure out how branding, influencer marketing, social media, email and direct bookings actually work together, this episode is going to give you a very real look at what that can look like in practice. And if you're ready to build the brand and marketing foundation that makes this kind of growth possible, apply to work with us at The Weber Co. We help short-term rentals, boutique hotels and hospitality brands build the strategy, branding and marketing systems designed to turn more of the right people into direct-booking guests.