# Kewl Method: full briefing

> Kewl Method is a two-person brand, website and SEO studio for places people travel to. We build the identity, the website and the search presence as one system for independent hotels, inns and B&Bs, luxury vacation rentals, retreats and restaurants.

Facts last reviewed 2026-11-07. Prices in USD. Canonical page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/studio-facts

## Studio
- Legal name: Kewl Method, LLC
- Based in: Highland Beach, Florida
- Service areas: United States (remote, with on-site visits when we can); South Florida coast; Asheville and the Blue Ridge, North Carolina
- Works with: Luxury vacation rental hosts and small portfolios; Bed and breakfasts and independent inns; Boutique hotels and retreats; Restaurants and cafes; Shops and product brands
- Team: Kevin Canty, Founder, brand and web designer
- Booking software we build around: Hostaway, OwnerRez, Guesty, Lodgify, Hospitable, ThinkReservations, ResNexus, Cloudbeds, Little Hotelier
- Email: hello@kewlmethod.com

## How to book
- Free 20-minute intro call: https://cal.com/kevin-canty-jkpd8p/intro-call
- Host Direct intro call: https://cal.com/kevin-canty-jkpd8p/host-direct-intro-call
- Strategy session (The Walk-In, $450): https://cal.com/kevin-canty-jkpd8p/strategy-session
- Design psychology audit: https://cal.com/kevin-canty-jkpd8p/design-psychology-audit

## Services and pricing
### Host Direct: $4,500 one-time
- For: Vacation rental hosts with 1 or 2 homes, usually at $300 or more a night
- Timeline: Live in about 4 to 6 weeks
- Includes: A custom direct-booking site designed around the property, brand direction, copy written for how guests search, booking software connected (Hostaway, OwnerRez, Guesty, Lodgify or Hospitable), SEO setup, local guide pages, Google booking links. No monthly platform fee, and the client owns the site.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/airbnb-hosts

### Portfolio: $7,500 to $18,000 one-time
- For: Three to about 40 rental properties under one name
- Timeline: Fixed in writing after a call
- Includes: One identity, one site, and a page for each property with its own photos, local guide and booking link. Three homes on an existing name start at $7,500. More homes, a new name or a full brand system move it toward $18,000.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/retainers

### The Walk-In: $450
- For: Hosts not ready to build yet
- Timeline: One 60-minute call after the review
- Includes: We search for the place the way guests do, walk through it in person or on a guided video call, review the brand and listing, run the real fee numbers, and hand over a one-page plan. Credited in full if Host Direct is booked within 30 days.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/airbnb-hosts

### Search Care: $500 a month
- For: Host Direct clients after launch
- Timeline: Month to month
- Includes: New guide pages, listing upkeep and a plain-English monthly report.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/retainers

### Bed and breakfast websites: From $4,500 one-time
- For: B&Bs and independent inns
- Timeline: Usually 4 to 6 weeks
- Includes: A custom site built around the reservation system (ThinkReservations, ResNexus, Cloudbeds, Little Hotelier and others). Hosting, reservation system, domain and card processing are paid separately.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/bed-and-breakfast-website-design

### Search Foundation: $2,900 one-time
- For: Hotels and retreats with a site they like that guests can't find
- Timeline: scoped on a call
- Includes: SEO audit, keyword and competitor research, Google Business Profile and local listings, key pages optimized on the current site, schema and review requests set up.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/retainers

### Direct Booking Build: $8,500 to $20,000 one-time
- For: Hotels, inns and retreats
- Timeline: Longer than Host Direct, depending on scope. A date is set before work starts.
- Includes: A new site built around the booking engine with a reason to book direct (best-rate promise, direct-only perks), local SEO and free Google hotel booking links. The upper range adds a brand refresh, location pages and guest email flows.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/retainers

### Book Direct Growth: $2,500 a month
- For: Hotels and retreats growing their direct share
- Timeline: Month to month
- Includes: Local content, Google listing upkeep, return-guest email campaigns, and a monthly direct vs OTA report.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/retainers

### Brand and Website: From $8,500
- For: Owner-run hospitality and place-based businesses
- Timeline: Fixed after a 20-minute call
- Includes: A site visit (in person or a guided video walk), strategy and positioning, identity system and guidelines, website design and build, launch support. No templates.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/brand-and-website

### Design Support: $3,500 a month
- For: Brands that need ongoing creative
- Timeline: Month to month
- Includes: Up to 8 social posts and 1 to 3 emails a month, art directed, with reusable templates for seasons, offers and events.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/retainers

### SEO Local Starter: $950 a month
- For: Local businesses starting on search
- Timeline: Month to month
- Includes: One page optimized a month for nearby searches, Google listing care, technical monitoring, monthly report.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/retainers

### SEO Growth: $2,400 a month
- For: Local businesses ready to grow search traffic
- Timeline: Month to month
- Includes: One local article and two pages a month, full Google listing care, local link building, live dashboard.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/retainers

### Studio Partner: $4,500 a month
- For: Businesses that want one team for design and search
- Timeline: Month to month
- Includes: Design Support and SEO Local Starter together, plus website upkeep and a monthly strategy session.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/retainers

### Free search check: Free
- For: Anyone not ready to talk
- Timeline: Within two business days
- Includes: Send a listing or website link and get a short video of what a guest sees when they search for you, plus the one fix worth making first. No call, no pitch.
- Page: https://www.kewlmethod.com/retainers

## How a project runs
1. Talk: A free 20-minute call about how you make money, who you're for and what's in the way.
2. Scope: A written scope and a fixed price before any work starts.
3. Build: We work in the open. You see it take shape and talk to the people doing the work.
4. Launch and get found: We connect Search Console and analytics, switch on Google booking links, and track your direct share month by month.
5. Stay close: Training, fixes and, if you want it, monthly care.

## Policies
### How does payment work?
Projects are split into a deposit to start and a final payment at launch. Monthly plans are month to month.

### Who owns the website?
You do. It lives in your own account, with no platform fee for the site itself. Your agreement spells out domain ownership, hosting access and what you receive at handover.

### What is not included in a build price?
Hosting, your booking or reservation software, your domain and card processing are paid separately.

### Do you guarantee bookings or rankings?
No. A website gives guests a way to book direct and search work improves your chances, but nobody can honestly guarantee traffic, rankings or reservations.

## Questions people ask
### How much does a direct booking website for a vacation rental cost?
Host Direct is $4,500 one-time for one or two homes. Three or more homes under one brand run $7,500 to $18,000. Optional Search Care is $500 a month.

### How long does it take to build?
Host Direct sites usually go live in 4 to 6 weeks. Brand and hotel projects run longer depending on scope. You get a date before we start.

### Do I have to leave Airbnb or Vrbo?
No. Your site works alongside your listings. The platforms bring new guests; your own site is for returning guests, referrals and anyone who searches your name.

### Will it work with my booking software?
Most likely. We build around Hostaway, OwnerRez, Guesty, Lodgify, Hospitable and common hotel booking engines such as ThinkReservations, ResNexus, Cloudbeds and Little Hotelier.

### How much does Airbnb take from a booking?
Most hosts now pay Airbnb's host-only fee of about 15.5%, about $465 on a five-night, $3,000 stay. The same stay booked direct costs about $90 in card processing.

### Do you work outside Florida?
Yes. We work with clients across the United States, remotely and with on-site visits when we can.

## Recognition
- Addy Award, Gold, logo and brand identity
- Addy Award, Silver, logo and brand identity

## What clients say
- "They understood our website needs better than we did, and delivered above and beyond expectations." (Jerol Jackson, Entrepreneur and property owner)
- "Kewl Method is the creative force behind every venture I launch." (Dan Hodgeman, Entrepreneur and property owner)
- "We now have a digital presence that truly reflects our company's mission and vision." (Shailo Rao, Product design lead)

## Case studies
- Slate Hollow (Wellness · Concept): A thirty-key wellness retreat on sixty acres outside Brevard: wood-fired sauna, creek-fed cold plunge, and a calendar of visiting-teacher retreats. A self-initiated concept, built to show how a retreat sells its program, not just its rooms. This case study is still being updated. https://www.kewlmethod.com/case-studies/slate-hollow
- The Ranch at Huffles (Restaurant): A farm-to-table restaurant that began in Saint Vincent and is now opening a new home in the Appalachian mountains. We designed the visual identity and logo to carry it across. This project is a work in progress. https://www.kewlmethod.com/case-studies/the-ranch-at-huffles
- Aurora Lights (Retail · Product Line): Aurora is a high-end creamery making organic, vegan-friendly sweets with almond, oat and coconut milk. Known for the sweet aroma of its shop, it asked us to bottle that scent as a new product line: Aurora Lights, a candle given free to customers for the holiday season. https://www.kewlmethod.com/case-studies/aurora-lights

## Articles
- Platform rules change. Your website doesn't.: Airbnb's new rules on contracts, fines and guest information start November 20. They're a reminder that on any platform, the platform sets the terms. Here's what you keep when guests book on your own site. https://www.kewlmethod.com/post/platform-rules-change-your-website-doesnt
- Vrbo Host Fees in 2026: The 12% Commission Explained: Vrbo host fees moved to a flat 12% on October 29, 2026, charged on cleaning fees too. What owners pay per night and per year, and what to check now. https://www.kewlmethod.com/post/vrbo-host-fees
- 7 pages every vacation rental website needs (most hosts miss #4): Guests leave direct booking sites when they can't find what they need. Here are the seven pages that do Airbnb's job for you, and the one most hosts skip. https://www.kewlmethod.com/post/7-pages-every-vacation-rental-website-needs
- How guests search for a luxury rental (and why they land on Airbnb): Guests planning a special stay search the town, the view and the occasion. Here's where those searches end up, and how your own site gets a seat at the table. https://www.kewlmethod.com/post/how-guests-search-for-a-luxury-rental
- Airbnb's 15.5% host fee: what it costs a $600-a-night home: At $600 a night, Airbnb keeps about $93. Here's what the 15.5% host fee costs two homes a year, and how a custom site built for search wins some of it back. https://www.kewlmethod.com/post/airbnb-host-fee-15-5
- Image as strategy, 2,000 years early: Cleopatra managed her image like a brand two thousand years before anyone called it that. What her story teaches about reputation, and how hard it is to repaint one. https://www.kewlmethod.com/post/cleopatra
- Fear was the brand strategy: Blackbeard won most fights without firing a shot. The name, the look and the flag did the work. A branding lesson from the most feared pirate in the Caribbean. https://www.kewlmethod.com/post/blackbeard-brand-strategy
- Why your customers hate you: Most businesses work hard to get people in the door, then forget to give them a reason to like it there. Empathy is the cheapest loyalty program there is. https://www.kewlmethod.com/post/why-do-people-hate-their-favorite-businesses