Staying in a hotel can be one of the most exciting parts of a vacation. The feeling of staying in new accommodation, change of scenery, comfortable bed, are all part of that going away experience.
Guests aren’t made to feel like rock stars by accident! Their excellent experiences comes from hotels who really know what they’re doing, by consistently offering great customer service.
As vacation rental owners, there’s a lot to take from top hotels! By implementing some of their techniques, you too can offer a five-star experience to the vacation rental experience. Here are 10 ways to make your guests feel like they’re in a hotel.
1. It All Starts with a Hello
Some of the best hotels in the world get their great reputation simply because they make guests feel important. From the moment a guest checks in, or even when they are making their reservation, one key personalization technique that luxury hotels use is addressing the guest by their name.
Addressing someone’s name is the easiest way to make them feel special, showing them that they are more than just a room number. In the vacation rental industry, interacting with guests can be much more intimate and personal than at a large-scale hotel.
Ending or beginning conversations with the guests’ names (“Hey Mike, thanks for calling!” or “Good question Judy, let me clarify”) can make guests feel like they are talking to a friend rather than a stranger. All in all, it makes it more personal and friendly.
2. Enable a Quick and Easy Check-in
Another way hotels offer five-star service is by striving for fast, friendly and stress-free check-in and check-out processes. They know guests may have been driving all day with cranky kids or dealing with delayed flights and long queues, and all they want to do is arrive safely.
If meeting the guest upon check-in is part of your check-in process, you’ll have even more opportunities to provide excellent service before they step in the door. Greeting them with a smile, answering their questions, making eye contact, and giving them a tour of the home makes them feel like you want them there and that they are welcome. After a long day of travel, a genuine and friendly face is always appreciated.
If they have to drive to a totally separate place to pick up their keys or have to wait ages for their keys, chances are they won’t be happy. Making the check-in process quick and easy is a great way to start a vacation, and will show guests that you value their time.
3. Listen and Follow-Through
During the reservation process, engaging the guest in conversation and getting some personal information can also help you provide a five-star service. Asking about why they are coming, who they are coming with, and if they are celebrating anything special gives you an opportunity to personalize their vacation before they even arrive.
Hotels often put strawberries, champagne, and roses in the Honeymoon Suite, or balloons and a small gift for a child who is celebrating their birthday. It’s not difficult for vacation rental owners to do the same. A small gesture goes a long way, and guests will always appreciate a thoughtful host – it’ll certainly be reflected in their review!
Whenever a guest has a question or inquiry, respond quickly or as soon as possible. If hotels respond straight away, why can’t you? Luckily, Lodgify provide automated responses with the vacation rental software. Think of it like offering customer service. Your guests will feel at ease and write you a positive review in exchange.
4. Provide a Welcome Gift
What do most people (especially guests) love? Free stuff! It’s customary for hotels to stock their bathrooms with toiletries for their guests to use, but many go above and beyond any guest expectation.
Some hotels offer free travel-size bottles of sunscreen or bug spray, while others leave complimentary bottles of water, coffee or even wine in the room for guests. Certain hotels go as far as to offer shaving kits, books, headphones, toothbrushes or other luxuries that guests may have forgotten to pack.
Supply your guests with a welcome pack at your vacation home with the following, for example, travel-sized toiletries, tea, coupons for pizza delivery, or pool toys (for homes with swimming pools.) For extra brownie points include some really thoughtful items such as cell phone chargers and eye masks. In turn, these can make the guest feel like they’ve really hit the jackpot by renting your home.
5. Give Options for Eating
While on vacation, guests will often take pleasure in eating as many delicious meals as possible. Since calories don’t count away from home, many guests visit the on-site and local restaurants regularly during their stay.
Hotels have the time, money and resources to whip up five-star meals to impress their guests, but unfortunately, vacation rental owners may not. However, a simple gesture such as offering guests suggestions for local restaurants, giving them directions to the closest grocery store, or even stocking the home with a few cupboard essentials can leave a lasting impression.
As breakfast is the most important meal of the day, many travelers pick their accommodation based on whether or not they can get a free breakfast. It may not be realistic for you to offer a three-course meal for every guest in the morning, but having bagels, cereal, and toast on hand is a thoughtful gesture, much-appreciated by a tired traveler.
6. Add the Key Amenities
If your guests opt to stay in a vacation rental over a hotel, it doesn’t mean they aren’t expecting a great service. In fact, they need an equally, if not better, service in return. In terms of amenities, you should offer the same that a hotel does, if not more!
Let’s start with the bedroom. To ensure your guests sleep well and have a relaxing night’s sleep, provide soft cotton bed sheets, a comfortable duvet, and pillows. Add a cover and some cushions on top for that extra look. Add chocolates on the pillows too! Don’t forget to include an alarm clock on the bedside table.
In the bathroom, include towels (the more the better), a bathroom mat, slippers, bathrobe. Include the basics such as shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste, etc.
In the living or dining area, consider providing a coffee machine, some newspapers, and magazines. You can even make your own mini-bar! Leave soft drinks, juices, and chocolates for guests to enjoy. Plus side, they won’t have to worry about the expensive cheque at the end.
If you want to really win your guests over, check out the list of 45 must-have amenities for every vacation rental home.
7. Check up on Your Guests
Some families may want to arrive at their vacation home, check-in, and then keep to themselves. Whereas others want to sit down with you and rack your brains about all your insider knowledge of the area, your favorite dinner spots and the rest.
Interaction with guests depends on the comfort level of both parties. It is important, however, to touch base with your guests at least once or twice while they are there. Guests at a hotel will run into hotel employees multiple times during their stay, meaning another opportunity to “wow” the guest. But how can you give yourself the same chance?
Checking in with your guests, even via a note in the mailbox or a casual text or phone call will ensure they know you care about their stay. If they do have a question or concern, they’ll feel able to drop you a line and for you, that’s another chance to show off your exceptional service. Guests will confide in you as a host and will feel at ease, knowing they can contact you if they have any problems or if anything occurs.
8. Take cleanliness seriously
Nothing spoils a vacation like dirty floors or dusty surfaces. Luxury hotels and established B&Bs take cleanliness very seriously and have extremely high standards when it comes to housekeeping.
Whether you clean your vacation rental yourself or have someone else do it, attention to detail and cleanliness of your home shows guests that you care and that you love your home. Keeping your vacation rental clean to the highest standards goes hand in hand with pleasing your guests and ensuring a great all-round experience.
There are some spots around the home that owners can easily miss and forget to clean. Household items such as doorknobs, light switches, and cupboard handles can get grubby quickly, so double-check these every time guests check out. Make sure to never overlook or miss a thing by downloading the vacation rental cleaning checklist.
9. Create Your Own Loyalty Program
Luxury hotels work hard to make sure their guests want to return. When guests have had a fabulous stay at your rental, your customer service will be one of the key features attracting them back to your property.
Create your own loyalty program by rewarding people who choose your home over and over again by providing discounted rates, free night stays, special freebies, or any other incentive purely available for return guests.
Loyalty and rewards programs encourage guests to pick your place out of the millions of other options they have. You don’t need a rewards card or points system to provide five-star service, but showing guests that you value loyalty will always encourage a repeated stay.
10. Until We Meet Again
The end of a guest’s vacation does not mean the end of opportunities to provide amazing service. Hotels often leave guest satisfaction surveys in the room on the day of departure or send an electronic version out via email shortly after the guests leave.
This feedback is vital to the growth and continued success of the hotel and allows management to see what they’re doing right, and what they could work on. Why not do the same for your vacation rental? Unlike hotels who receive hundreds of these a day, you have the benefit of being able to personally respond to all of the feedback you receive.
Don’t send out a generic, pre-typed message. Instead, get personal, use details you learned about the guest in your correspondence, address any issues they may have had, and don’t forget to invite them back. Luxury hotels are masters of email marketing, so you should learn to be, too! By sending special deals and information to previous guests via email, you’ll stay relevant in your guests’ minds, and hopefully, inspire them to book another trip.
What to Takeaway
The vacation industry is the relationship industry – people go on vacation to feel pampered, relaxed and comfortable. Making guests feel heard, valued and important is one of the most crucial things you can do as a vacation rental owner. What we can learn from those hotels who are doing it right is this: figuring out ways to make those connections, to listen and to interact with guests to make them feel like they are more than just a reservation is the key to five-star service.
Luxury hotels, B&Bs, and vacation rentals that stay busy all year and have excellent online reviews don’t happen by chance. There is a lot of thought put into the things they do and the way they do them that sets them apart from the competition. With these 10 things, you’ll be able to offer the same 5-star experience that hotels do.
