Imagine running your own vacation rental business and partnering with an advertising company that allows no tenant screening, takes a large portion of your business profit, and sometimes pays you incorrectly. How does that sound? Unfortunately, this is a reality in the short-term rental business, and it is happening to thousands of property owners on Airbnb and VRBO. We are thrilled to introduce you to ECBYO.com, also known as Emerald Coast By Owner. ECBYO is a major Gulf Coast player in the #BOOKDIRECT movement. To put it simply, ECBYO is a marketing website that saves property owners tons of money and gives control back to the property owner. ECBYO offers you the freedom to handle your business how you see fit. You do not pay a per-reservation commission—instead you pay a very reasonable annual listing fee. Compared to Airbnb/VRBO, which charges both the owner and the renter for each reservation, ECBYO can save you thousands of dollars annually. ECBYO cuts out the middleman so renters can book directly with you, the owner! As a business owner, you should be in charge of the booking! As part of the #BOOKDIRECT movement, we recently interviewed a former VRBO user that converted to ECBYO. Danica Connell left the corporate giants and was an early player in the #BOOKDIRECT movement, proving to other owners they can survive without the greedy websites. Danica is the owner of Waterscape Rentals by Owner, a condo rental company specializing in Waterscape Resort, located on Okaloosa Island near Destin, Florida. Danica has been quite the powerhouse in the rental business world. She purchased her first rental in 2012 and has been growing since. Danica continued to purchase condos in Waterscape for several years, and with the desire to continue her growth, she decided in 2020 to manage condos as well. Danica is now full-time with her Waterscape gig, and she truly pours her heart and soul into her business. It was very clear from our interview that this is her true passion, which is exactly why she had to get out of VRBO—they tied her down!