After years of owning and operating a bed and breakfast, six cabins, and event-focused lodging in the North Georgia mountains, we learned how hard it can be for small hospitality businesses to depend on large booking platforms.
Those platforms can bring guests — but they can also take a large portion of the value. One year, after an algorithm change on a major OTA, our business lost roughly $30,000 in revenue. That experience changed everything.
We had to learn how to build direct visibility: SEO, local search, content marketing, AI tools, experience-based travel pages, and direct-booking strategy. Over time, our direct-booking income grew and our dependence on OTAs went down.
But it was not easy. Most independent owners do not have time to become marketers, SEO specialists, content creators, and tech builders while also running their properties.
StayNear was created to help solve that problem.
Instead of charging commissions or taking a percentage of bookings, StayNear helps travelers discover stays near the experiences they're already planning — waterfalls, trails, lakes, festivals, scenic drives, mountain towns, and regional attractions — then sends them directly to the owner's booking site.
Our goal is simple
- · Help guests plan better trips.
- · Help owners keep more of what they earn.
- · Help small lodging businesses become easier to find without giving up control.
The founders
Bill & Sarah Walsh previously operated Misty Mountain Inn & Cottages in Blairsville, Georgia, offering pet-friendly cabins and bed-and-breakfast lodging near hiking trails, wineries, waterfalls, scenic drives, festivals, and Blue Ridge Mountain attractions. Bill retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2020 after nearly 30 years of service.