How to Make $61,673.79+ BEFORE Opening a New Airbnb or Hotel

If you're building a new Airbnb or hotel, this is for you.

Today, I'm going to show you how to get guests to pay for early access by selling pre-booking vouchers.

What in the world is a pre-booking voucher?

• Make a exclusive coupon code

• Sell it for $20-$40

• Run Meta Ads to get customers

Core idea: get paid to build a waitlist full of qualified guests.

Let's walk through this, step by step:

Get paid for building a waitlist

Most rental operators build awareness for a new property by doing one of two things:

• Invest in building an Instagram following or free email list

• Open for bookings with nothing but good ol' fashioned hope and grit

Both options are risky.

There's another way:

How to sell pre-booking vouchers and make $61,673.79 before opening

1) Give people a reason to spend $20-$40 now for a future reward

This is what they want:

• Early access

• Future savings

Here's what you could say for each benefit:

Early access:

• Be the first to know when we open

• Book two weeks before everyone else

• Get the dates you want

Save money:

• Spend $20 now, save $200 when you book

• Spend $20 now, save 20%

That's it!

Warning: This offer is simple. Simple offers cause disbelief. Disbelief = questions. Expect a lot of repetitive questions.

2) Sell a voucher for $20-$40

People will be making these purchases on a webpage. Make sure to mention:

• Who this stay is perfect for (couples)

• Where it's located

• What it's going to look like (use early photos or renderings)

• When it's going to open (spring 2026)

The transaction should take 5-10 seconds to complete.

• Click

• Enter information

• Buy

3) Run Meta Ads

Run Meta Ads at $600 per month to sell the $20-$40 offer. Use renderings or early videos as the ads.

In a perfect world, you want to break even.

Example: $600 / month in ad spend should get you $600 / month in pre-booking voucher sales.

Even better, you might become profitable.

If that's the case, open up the ads budget. Spend as much as you can while breaking even or better.

Follow these steps, make $61,673.79 before you even list on Airbnb

• Start this strategy 3-6 months from your opening date

• Launch Meta ads at $20 per day

• Try to break even in the first month

• Spend more every 7-14 days without losing money

This is a much better way to build a waitlist.

Today I come with receipts. $8,890 + $52,783.79 = $61,673.79

It works!

That's all for today. I'll see you in the next article.

P.S. One year ago today I was back in Minnesota skiing on a lake behind the truck in between sauna <> cold plunge sessions. Now I’m sitting in at my home office in Boston, MA. A lot can happen in a year. Anyway, random thought.

Before you go

I spend about 10 hours writing this newsletter each week. The rest of my time is spent running $100K Stay and Lodge Social.

1) $100K Stay — Learn how to make $100K for your Airbnb or hotel from social media in 90 days.

• This hybrid-live training program is everything you need to get your own guests from the internet. Even if you have zero audience, experience, or marketing skills.

• Enrollment is currently open. Book a call to join the next one →

2) Lodge Social — Our marketing team will help you get more guests to like, share and book. Work with me and my team here.

Links you might like:

1. 16 cheapest countries to travel to in 2026 (Conde Nast)

2. Make a 2026 marketing plan with ChatGPT (The Lodge Social)

3. Ben Wolff started a newsletter where he shares cool hotels. It’s pretty good! (The Modern Traveler)

4. I’m speaking inside the Experiential Hospitality group next week. If you’re a member, I’ll see you there! (Experiential Hospitality)