March 5, 2026
Building Bridges: Carlos Castillo's Vision for Direct Bookings in Travel
Send a text In this exciting episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we chat with Carlos Castillo, co-founder of Direct Book Me, a platform revolutionizing the short-term rental industry. With a wealth of travel experience spanning 40 countries and 30 U.S. states, Carlos shares his journey from healthcare to entrepreneurship and his vision for building authentic connections between hosts and guests. He discusses how Direct Book Me empowers property owners by allowing them to retain 100% o...
In this exciting episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we chat with Carlos Castillo, co-founder of Direct Book Me, a platform revolutionizing the short-term rental industry. With a wealth of travel experience spanning 40 countries and 30 U.S. states, Carlos shares his journey from healthcare to entrepreneurship and his vision for building authentic connections between hosts and guests. He discusses how Direct Book Me empowers property owners by allowing them to retain 100% of their profits while providing travelers with a fee-free booking experience. Carlos emphasizes the importance of trust in the short-term rental space and how his platform aims to foster a trusted community. Tune in as he reveals the unique benefits of direct bookings, the challenges faced with traditional online travel agencies, and the exciting future trends shaping the vacation rental market. Whether you’re a host or a traveler, this episode is packed with insights to help you navigate the evolving landscape of short-term rentals. Don’t miss out on the chance to learn how to get started with Direct Book Me!
Want to be a guest on Living the Dream with Curveball? Send Curtis Jackson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1628631536976x919760049303001600
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> Curtis Jackson>Welcome to the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball. if you believe you can achieve.
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> Curtis Jackson>Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire. Today I am joined by Carlos Castigio. Carlos is the co founder of Direct Book Me, which focuses on a trusted community of guests and hosts. Carlos has traveled to 40 countries and 30 US states and he is focused on building authentic connections and direct booking without fees. So we're going to be talking to him about the platform and how it helps people and everything that he's up to and going to be up to. So Carlos, thank you for joining me.
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> Carlos Castigio>I'm really excited to be on the show and get to share my, my story and our journey here on Direct Book Me and where we're at, you know, where we've been and where we're going.
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> Curtis Jackson>Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself.
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> Carlos Castigio>So like, like you mentioned, my name is Carlos. I just hit 40, last year, so I'm in the 40 club now finally. And then you know, originally I was in health, worked in healthcare, married, recently just moved out to Arizona from Florida. And then I decided to kind of dabble into the, the business side of things, by opening up our own marketplace for short term rentals. like Curtis mentioned, Direct Book Me, which entails no fees for for, for parties when they travel, their, their vacation, you know, their homes, for their beautiful vacations that they spend money on. so here just trying to navigate through that and through life and just making this platform work.
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> Curtis Jackson>So talk about what inspired you to co found Direct Book Me.
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> Carlos Castigio>So when you mentioned you you mentioned that I've traveled quite a bit and I have quite an extensive, I've been blessed to do so. And I've stayed in many accommodations, you name them, I've slept on couches, you know, hostels, hotels. But I love short term rentals. they bring unique experiences with families. You can all be in one place versus a hotel vibe. And then I started seeing a disconnect between the property owners who own these homes and the big platforms, like the Airbnb's of the world. essentially you work for Airbnb and I kind of see it a little differently where without your home, Airbnb wouldn't be nothing. So I want to make sure that these homeowners are able to see their Properties as their own business and work autonomously on their own and see their properties flourish.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, that was going to be my next question. how does, ah, direct book me differ from those platforms like Airbnb? And I think it's pronounced
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> Carlos Castigio>correct. Verbo. Yeah. Verbo is another big player.
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> Carlos Castigio>Yeah. So we're a marketing platform, and our platform is first. let me just kind of give you how Airbnb works. Right. Let me back up a little bit. And, Airbnb, charges the host and the guest, both for the stay. Right. but with Direct book me, we're that bridge that connects host who wants to book direct, and guess who wants to find a host that does direct booking. therefore, the host, is able to retain 100% of their profits and the guest is free for them to use our platform. The guest never pays. So we just want to be, like I said, that bridge that joins both of them together and they could be found kind of like, the Yellow Pages, I should say, for, those of us that remember what they are, where they can find each other and make the direct bookings happen.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, talk about why a trusted community. Building a trusted community is so important in the short term rental space.
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> Carlos Castigio>Because that's what it's about. I mean, especially where we're letting people into our homes, into our vacation homes and communities, building a community. And not just through this space, but just in general. It's where it's at. You know, just when you build something together, as a community, you build a stronger foundation and, you know, have something to stand on and you can flourish and work together, because we're all working towards that same goal.
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> Curtis Jackson>What. Can you explain the benefits of direct bookings for both hosts and travelers?
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> Carlos Castigio>Sure, sure. So for the host who owns a property home, and, you know, has it on these big platforms to rent out for vacations, the host is able to retain 100% of their profits versus giving out.
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> Carlos Castigio>You're losing about 15 to 20% on every booking.
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> Carlos Castigio>Every time you go through Airbnb as a host. So all this work that you're going, that you're, putting to in order to make your property, visible and be rented out and be available for vacation, you're losing out a pretty big chunk of money. and then you're also under the thumb of Airbnb. As great as they've done, you know, they own the market, but essentially you work for them. so at any given point in time, any little Change that they make you have to kind of abide by it. and then the guest, it's free for you to use. So you're coming onto our platform, you're not being charged.
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> Carlos Castigio>You're able to go on and create a profile and be able to browse homes just like you would on Airbnb and book a vacation and be able to go on this vacation without having to pay to use the platform. You're just paying the host to use their home. So I'm combining the two as well.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, let's talk about, you know, you have a, extensive experience in global traveling. So talk about how your experience in global traveling has, ah, influenced the vision behind Direct Book Me.
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> Carlos Castigio>So I have a couple favorite places that I like that I've always liked to visit. you know, and then I always went back to these places and just like people always take their families to Disney, right? Or they always go skiing in a specific region. I wanted to keep returning to these places, but I never. The host never owned the host guest relationship. Once I booked on Airbnb and I left their house, I can never find them again, directly, unless I went back onto that platform.
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> Carlos Castigio>Airbnb doesn't let you share those contact details unless you're in the platform. so that's kind of like what I kind of, I got from just revisiting these places. I wanted to stay with these hoes and I just wasn't able to get it, get that one on one feel that hospitality feel of coming back to that home. And the ones that I was able to find, it was even a closer connection because they understood my reasoning for travel and they just felt a little more hospitable, a little more accommodating once they knew that I was a repeat customer. Because, once I was able to book the wreck with them, once I was able to manage to do so, it just became a warmer, connection of a better hospitable experience that I wasn't getting on Airbnb.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, talk about, what are some common challenges that people, face with OTAs? And you might, find what that is, but what are the common challenges that people face that Direct Book Me is aiming to solve?
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> Carlos Castigio>So for those of you out there that, don't know, OTAS is online travel agency. So what were the challenges that were that we're, trying to solve?
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> Carlos Castigio>And we're not, we're not for everyone, right?
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> Carlos Castigio>Airbnb. I'm not here to knock airbnb. They've done a good job. But what has happened is that they have taken full ownership of your listing. They tell you who, what, where, when, and why. And at a price that they set. You know, and this price could be one day tomorrow and the next day could be another. Here you're able to own your business because that's essentially what it is. You're able to dictate your prices, you're able to move at your pace when you want to, versus working for the platform. You're basically, you're renting land is what you're doing from Airbnb. So I feel like this is a different way. So that you can keep more money in your pocket, save on fees, keep those repeat customers, m. And just continue to flourish. your properties, your home, by running your business the way that you see fit versus how they tell you to do it. Because even with, like, reviews, reviews is a big thing. Airbnb. Hosting on Airbnb is like walking on. Has become like walking on eggshells because the rating, the rate, the reviews have gotten so a little bit, out of hand, in my opinion. a 4.8 or higher is considered a five star host. I mean, since when Doof has five stars? I'm sorry, four stars become bad. And, and, and because I went and booked that vacation home on the beach and it rained, I decided to give you, the host, a four star because it's totally out of your control, the rain, you know, and I can't go onto the beach, but I give you a four stars. So now you're ranking because of the algorithm automatically drops and now you're at the bottom, and then the next person that's going to come and try to find you. You know how people are when they scroll and they're gonna stick to the best reviews, as possible. They might not even read them. So that's what I want to solve. I want to be able to give people a chance to dictate their listings on their terms.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, let's talk about how your platform ensures security and privacy for hosts on your platform.
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> Carlos Castigio>So right now we are a startup company. one of the view. One of the things that we have implemented, is that you do have to, put up a video of your property so that we see that you are a trusted host, so that we know that it's your property, who it is. You know, you go on there and you create a profile, but there's other things in the works, that we want to do. You know, as far as Host and guest verification where you have to upload your IDs and things like that. We're not quite there yet but we are working towards it. it's definitely on the radar because we are slowly growing small team, like I mentioned, small, small company here it's just me and my wife, and then a few other members of the team. But we have different things in mind that are coming in the works for that reason.
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> Curtis Jackson>Talk about the role that trust plays in short term rental bookings.
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> Carlos Castigio>So this trust is the biggest this business is besides hospital being hospital and hospitality.
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> Carlos Castigio>Trust is I think they go hand in hand. you want to be able to trust on the host side that your home is going to be taken care of, that someone is not going to come in and just do whatever damage or just something out of the norm in your place. And then as a guest you pay your hard earned money and you want to make sure that you come in and it's going to be what the host said it was. So trust is definitely the foundation that we at directbook me are, are, are trying to build upon and kind of just let, let, let everyone out there know that trust is, is definitely utmost important to us. I mean we don't share, we don't share your personal information with anybody. when you create a profile on our, on our platform is just a matter of putting in your email and your general data. We don't even there's no contract. You know, you can come in and come in at any time as you please. But definitely trust is a major, major pillar for us.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well talk about what trends do you see shaping the future of short term rental bookings?
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> Carlos Castigio>well I think people now know this, is this, that this is a big, big player out there. I mean the vacation industry, vacation rental industry, it's humongous. And AI like a lot everywhere, seems to be playing a big role. AI is coming into play as far as those automated messages. You know when you go stay somewhere, the guest wants to know where the wi fi is, how to get to your home. You know, something as simple as how to handle the air condition, local restaurants, all those little messages that people tend to know are becoming more automated just so that it's a seamless, seamless seamless experience. So AI is definitely coming into the play of vacation rental homes. and then direct bookings is becoming a thing out there. I think it's just more of educating the public, there are the masses, the groups. I see them on social media. I talk to a lot of hosts that are wanting to implement direct bookings. And I just want to let it be known that you have to be intentional, create, a system, and be there. You know, just like anything else. You know, put your, your feet on the ground and be present, and get the kinks going. But once you create a system for yourself, you can get there. And that's why DirectBook Me is here to do.
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> Curtis Jackson>Well, let's talk about you now. For hosts and travelers looking to get started with your platform, directbook Me, what do they need to do to get started today?
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> Carlos Castigio>Well, you can go and find us on www.directbook, directbookme coco. Com. just go in there and you can create your profile. it takes a matter of minutes. Just put on your, put in your information. once you go in there, you create an account. you verify your account. It'll send you a message to verify that via email and you can go on and create your listing from there. You can, you have a homepage for yourself and it'll show you, each step of the way you would, it will take you to each process. And once you complete that process, the Direct Book Me team will get a notification and then we'll, we'll see if we have to verify and if you meet our criteria for your property on, on our, on our platform when. And basically the criteria is just that it has to be an individual home. We don't do bedrooms. we don't, you know, do a side room. We want to make sure that the guest has its own private u. area kitchen, bathroom entrance, no shared spaces. So we want it to be the complete, the complete, home or space. And then we have. Once that's done, it gets verified and then you get a notification and you'll be live in minutes. I, think I had one host tell me in about 15 minutes they were, they were on and ready to go. so, yeah, DirectBookMe co. All right,
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> Curtis Jackson>well, tell us about any upcoming projects that you and your company are working on that listeners need to be aware of.
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> Carlos Castigio>Well, so the few things that are on the radar right now, one of them is, so this is pms, which is property management systems. So these are things, that the host uses in order to help them manage their properties. And what they do is they help set prices, depending on the time of year.
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> Carlos Castigio>They help generate information for your listing.
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> Carlos Castigio>to make it functional. we're looking to integrate with these property management systems and some of them out there. I'm just gonna throw a few names, excuse me, guesty, owner res, to name a few. they are some of these companies that allow you to integrate that information onto our platform. So there's an easy transition because right now the host puts in the information into our platform and for the single host it might not take time. You know you may have one or two properties but for the, there's people out there I've met that have 300 properties, you know, like the property managers, which we do have the capability of syncing with, have an option for property managers as well who want to input those properties in there. It's a little tedious. So with, with the integration with those property management systems where a lot we're going to be able to integrate a big amount and you'll be able to keep track more of your property and then kind of automate some things to make it easier. So that's kind of like one of the things we're working on. Another thing that's in the works, we're looking to implement something along the lines where you pay now a specific amount and then you have a membership, free for life. Pretty much in order just to kind of help onboard those early on hosts who want to be part of us early on, kind of give them like a nice welcoming free membership for life after they pay that amount. So that, and then just continue to show up. We have these conferences. We have a conference in Miami, next week short term rental conference where we're going to be attending.
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> Carlos Castigio>We're going to be there in our second booth, that we're going to be finally having at these events just to kind of help spread the word. So that's where we're at right now.
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> Curtis Jackson>Close us out with some final thoughts. Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to touch on any final thoughts you have for the listener. Looks like he cut out. Hello.
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> Carlos Castigio>for anyone, start over.
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> Curtis Jackson>You cut out.
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> Carlos Castigio>Oh, I'm sorry. So just, just just to close out.
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> Carlos Castigio>thank you again Curtis, for having me on, on your show. but I just want to, you know I like to educate and kind of give people the know how and the why. I want to just educate people on what direct bookings are and what a direct Booking is a direct booking is just when the host and the guests are able to meet and, and, and book that vacation, book that property without the middleman, without someone else taking a percentage. it's just a direct booking. Just exactly the what the wording says. we want to be able to have the host earn more money, keep more money in their pocket and have the guests just stay, use our platform and stay in that place without paying extra fees. We want to allow everybody to that hard earned money to just go on vacation without having to pay extra. And with that money you can do other activities or for the host, you know, fix up that property a little better, you know, add a hot tub, add another amenity for that property so that, you know, more hosts, more guests. I'm sorry, can come. so just I want to educate everybody on what a direct booking is. that concept, it seems to be a little new to everyone, but, but it's definitely happening. So thanks again.
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> Curtis Jackson>Yeah, ladies and gentlemen. So you know, as the weather starts to warm up, you know, people going to be wanting to take vacations. So give Carlos and his company a try at directbookmeet Co and follow rate, review, share this episode to as many people as possible. And also, you know, go to www.craveball337.com Sign up for the Living the Dream newsletter and be sure to follow rate review share the web site and the show to as many people as possible. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Carlos, thank you for all that you're doing in the short term rental space and thank you for joining me.
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> Carlos Castigio>Thank you, Curtis.
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> Curtis Jackson>For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, visit www.craveball337. Until next time, keep Living the dream.
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