It’s fair to say that Captain Dustin Smith of NSB Shark Hunters does things a little differently. For one, he doesn’t take his customers out on a boat. Instead, they get to cast a line directly from the sandy shores of New Smyrna Beach. And their targets? As the charter name suggests, Capt. Dustin specializes in hunting Sharks. As well as getting customers through his FishingBooker listing, he also uses FishingBooker Direct so direct guests can book him through his website – commission-free. Here’s how it helps him manage bookings for his unique trips…
Capt. Dustin first heard about FishingBooker Direct in January 2023, when he was contacted by a FishingBooker representative. “I have such a high trust level for FishingBooker, I wasn’t worried about [trying] it at all,” he tells us. “I’ve actually been using FishingBooker as my only booking agent for the last 4 years.”
Along with his trust in FishingBooker, there was something else that drove him to try out Direct. “No commission was obviously a big selling point,” he says, “– and accountability. When we get phone calls, we always direct people to our website so they can book a trip. With Direct, I can go back into FishingBooker and export a whole month’s bookings and see how many I got and how much I earned. In May, 70% of my bookings came through Direct.”
As a business owner, being able to see exactly where his bookings are coming from is important for Capt. Dustin. “On my website, before Direct, I had all my locations listed with the link for the trips on FishingBooker,” he says. “So I didn’t know if people were booking from my website or booking from the [FishingBooker] platform directly. Now I can see how many actually came from FishingBooker and how many are direct customers from my website.”
While having access to all of his booking details is a big plus for Capt. Dustin, what he likes most about FishingBooker Direct is a simple winning combination: “No one at FishingBooker looks down on you for having it,” he says, “and you still get support. If I was taking bookings over the phone, the deposit would go through an external payment system.
“I’d pay them a percentage of the trip cost and, if I wanted to refund the deposit, some of the money would come back out of my pocket. With Direct, even if the refund is debated, you’ll always have a support team available who’s ready to look into it and help you through the journey.”
No matter what kind of business you run, FishingBooker Direct lets your own customers book a trip through your website, social media, or via invite – commission-free. Interested in trying it out? Get in touch!
