When you make a room, floor level, or entire property, available as a vacation rental, you’re diving headfirst into the wild world of hospitality. There’s no getting around it: with vacation rentals, great reviews (or lack thereof) are often the difference between keeping your space booked year-round and watching it (and your wallet) collect dust.
Keeping the great reviews rolling in isn’t necessarily easy, but it certainly doesn’t have to be overly difficult, either. Attention to detail and awareness of your guest’s needs are at the most basic level of building a profitable vacation rental business. To keep your space occupied consistently, go a step (or a few) further to provide an experience worth raving about online.
1. Upgraded Amenities
Let’s face it: vacations rarely go as planned. No matter how perfect the weather looks when the itinerary is finalized, there’s almost always an unexpected rainy day or canceled tour. Sometimes it’s a case of jet lag that lingers a little longer than expected. When a day gets knocked off the agenda, it’s important that your rental space is there to save the day for your guests. Whether it’s an included Netflix subscription, video gaming systems and wide-range game assortment, a well-stocked bookshelf, board games, or a Keurig with a variety of beverage choices, these upgraded amenities are a big deal to your guests.
It’s a huge load off to know they won’t have to go out of their way to entertain themselves, should a part of their plans fall through. They’ll be extremely grateful to you for making their entire vacation experience – even the unexpected parts – pleasurable and easy.
2. Stellar Guest Service
Whether you’re present at the time of rental or not, you should be prepared to provide excellent guest service throughout any length of stay. If you’re renting out a room in your own home, make sure you’re friendly, helpful, and informative. Your guests are getting away to relax and enjoy some time apart from their daily lives. Ensuring you’re pleasant company without being constantly “in their business” makes a difference. If you’re renting an entire property and won’t be there for your guests’ stay, make sure you have systems in place to let them know you care about their level of comfort.
This may include having services hired out to guarantee things are never out of stock, like toilet paper or basic pantry items. It could also be as simple as leaving a personalized letter explaining where your guests can find anything they may be looking for and wishing them a great stay. (Be sure to place it somewhere you know they will find it!) Consider including contact information for them if anything goes awry on the property during their vacation.
The experience doesn’t have to end once your guests head home. After they check out, send them a friendly email thanking them again for their stay and ask if there was anything you could have done to make it better so you can improve for the next visitor. Invite them to leave a review for you via their chosen booking agency. It’s imperative to do this before they leave a review so the guest can air any concerns they had. This gives you an awesome opportunity to prevent bad reviews.
Being absolutely certain that you’ve done everything in your power to exceed each guest’s expectations is one of the best ways to improve your vacation rental reviews. There’s no substitute for great customer service, so make sure this is top-of-mind when it comes to your rental.
Source: VRMA Blog
Author: MaidThis Cleaning Service