Chartered Accountant and Fractional Chief Financial Officer Laura Powner to lead company’s expansion
LONDON – Boostly has announced the appointment of Laura Powner as its new Managing Director. The appointment comes as Boostly gears up to double its revenue over the next twelve months. Powner, a Chartered Accountant and Fractional CFO with 23 years of experience offering CFO services to startup and fast growth companies in the software, web development and e-commerce industries, will lead the company’s next phase of growth.
Powner joined Boostly last year as Finance Director and, since then, the company has seen revenues increase five-fold. She is now tasked with doubling this figure as Managing Director – a challenge that will require re-organising the Boostly team, and the companies’ operations and marketing efforts. Powner will also be focusing on improving customer service, communications and the range of solutions Boostly offers to improve the autonomy, rate of adoption and profitability of short-term rental property managers and hospitality businesses.
This has been a monumental year for Boostly – the company became the first website design agency to embed ChatGPT into its direct booking websites, empowering property managers to effortlessly create listings and website copy using AI. The company has also grown its team to over 50 members, hit a significant milestone of 20 integrations, and is on track to hit £50 million in tracked direct bookings for clients before the end of the year.
Launched in 2016, Boostly is the only company globally that offers direct booking website design and online training for property owners and managers. The direct booking powerhouse provides online training, content creation, WordPress website design and CPD-accredited marketing services to thousands of businesses worldwide. Boostly has built over 1,500 WordPress websites and helped over 2,500 operators scale their businesses.
Laura Powner, Managing Director of Boostly, said: “It’s an incredibly exciting time for Boostly and I’m thrilled to step into the role of Managing Director to supercharge our next growth phase. Our mission has always been to help property managers and hosts reduce their over-reliance on the OTAs, and we hope to make that as easy as possible over the next 12 months by continuing to deliver the best training, tactics and tools in the industry.
“It’s been amazing to see Boostly grow so quickly over the past year. We’ve expanded our team, launched new products and services, and helped our clients achieve record-breaking results. I’m confident that we can continue to accelerate this growth in the year ahead and help even more property managers and hosts succeed.”
Mark Simpson, Founder of Boostly, said: “Hiring Laura as Managing Director was a no-brainer. She’s already been a driving force in Boostly’s growth, increasing revenues by five times in just one year. With her proven track record of success and impressive understanding of the industry, we’re more than confident that Laura is the right person to lead Boostly into its next phase of expansion.
“As the book direct movement continues to take off, Boostly is proud to play a pivotal role in helping hosts and managers take control of their businesses and stop diverting their profits to third-party OTAs. With Laura at the helm, we’re perfectly positioned to accelerate this growth and drive the book direct movement forward.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
