.png)
Satisfying guests is crucial to the success of your short-term rental property. According to statistics, short-term rentals gained a 112% revenue gain from January 2021 to January 2024. This lucrative market has attracted various property owners to compete for the guests’ favour. Whoever can attract the most guests can enjoy higher rental income and investment returns.
The best way to attract guests is by keeping a record of high guest satisfaction levels. This means setting up your short-term rental property to elevate the guest experience so you can enjoy a positive reputation and more bookings.
The question is, how can you elevate guest satisfaction in your vacation rental? This goes beyond making a property visually appealing. It’s about making them feel the utmost satisfaction at every step of their booking with you.
In this article, you’ll discover what it means to truly satisfy guests. You’ll also get tips to improve your Airbnb hosting strategies to help guests have a memorable and satisfying stay in your rental property.
What Does Guest Satisfaction Mean?
Guest satisfaction is closely tied to guest expectations. The more you meet or exceed the expectations of your guests, the higher the satisfaction level will go.
It’s important to realise that guest expectations vary depending on where they are in their booking journey. Their expectations while browsing your property profile will be different from when they are paying or checking in.
To ensure that guests will be completely satisfied with their experience, consider the different phases in the booking process so you can set it up to meet their expectations.
Marketing
This is the beginning of your interaction with potential guests. As they browse through property listings and explore various profiles, they expect to get complete information.
Providing clear descriptions, attractive property visuals through high-quality photos, a video walk-through and a list of features and amenities would boost the satisfaction levels of your guests.
Try to foresee what guests will ask from you. Provide the information on the profile to minimise guest inquiries. Choose a communication channel you can monitor - or partner with a property management company like Opago to help with guest inquiries.
Having prompt and friendly responses to inquiries leads to positive first impressions and guest satisfaction.
Booking
Don’t make the booking process complicated. Make it straightforward and secure because if you make it complicated, the guest might just change their mind and book somewhere else.
Provide clear instructions and be transparent with the pricing strategy by providing a payment breakdown. Give them payment options so they can choose the most secure way to send funds.
If you use letting platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com, this shouldn’t be a huge problem. Airbnb, for instance, has straightforward booking processes to make your Airbnb hosting experience easier. They also have partnered with secure payment merchants to process payments for you.
Check-in and Check-out
Imagine travelling long hours only to be kept waiting just to check in. Or rushing to get to your flight only to be asked to wait during the checkout process. Time is of the essence when guests are checking in or out so make sure you have a seamless process for this.
Installs keyless locks or a lock box so guests can use a code instead of waiting for keys. You can also send detailed instructions before the guest’s arrival to ensure they know what to do or expect.
Offer flexible check-in times if the previous booking schedules allow it. If you can make the start of their stay pleasant, it’ll set the tone for the rest of their stay.
Actual Stay
It’s not unlikely that guests will have requests during their stay. Their expectations include a comfortable, clean and functional place. Make sure this is arranged before they arrive by having the unit cleaned and stocked with kitchen essentials and other amenities.
You can also provide guests with a guidebook so they know how to navigate your property and what to expect in the community (e.g. nearby restaurants, convenience stores, etc).
Emergencies and Special Requests
In case the guest has requests, be ready to deal with them. Emergencies can happen so it’s best to be prepared for these instances. The way you respond to it makes the difference between a disappointing review and a positive one.
Partnering with a cleaning service would allow you to meet cleaning and maintenance requests during the actual stay. Or you can partner with a property management company like Opago that offers in-house cleaning and maintenance services. Opago can deal with guest requests 24/7 and can send the right professionals to deal with any issues.
6 Tips to Elevate Guest Satisfaction
Elevating guest satisfaction is a continuous process. From the moment they search for your property until they check out, you have to keep meeting their expectations to fully satisfy them.
This takes a lot of thought, planning and effort. With the right guide, you can achieve complete guest satisfaction from start to finish. Here are 6 practical tips to help you accomplish this.
Know the guest
Understanding the preferences of your guests is a great way to start meeting their expectations. Collect information about them through the letting platforms that you use. For instance, Expedia Group (of Vrbo and Expedia) analysed the booking behaviour of guests. Their study revealed that 3 out of 10 guests choose properties with outdoor amenities. If you have an outdoor space like a pocket garden or a balcony looking out to a great view, highlight these features. Put furniture in these areas so your guests can enjoy the outdoor experience.
Expedia also revealed that guests are looking for a specific vibe when they choose places to book. Among the words include “historic”, “chill”, “peaceful”, “vintage” and many more.
Do your research to set up your rental property to meet these needs.
Market to the right people
With what you know about guest preferences, you can choose the right people to market to. For instance, you have a studio-type unit with a gorgeous view of London. You can focus on couples or business travellers. Or you have a 2-bedroom unit that’s perfect for a family of 4 or 5 people. Put the right features and amenities in the property to make it appealing to your target market.
Business travellers would want to have a workspace within the unit. Families would love having a functional kitchen. Having a fireplace can transform your unit into a romantic spot for couples.
Highlight these features so your target market will know what you offer and they’ll know the value of the property. By attracting the right people who can naturally appreciate the unit, you’re setting up to get a high satisfaction rate from guests.
Be transparent
Set the right expectations to have a higher chance of satisfying your guests. Property listings usually post the best photos to attract guests to book a stay. But if you don’t upgrade or renovate the place and the guest arrives at a worn down place - they’ll feel disappointed and maybe even scammed.
You can avoid this by simply being transparent with the condition of your property.
Sometimes, it might be better to downplay your description a bit so guests will be pleasantly surprised once they check in.
Exceed expectations
This is related to the previous tip. Consider the description you provided for the property as your basis to exceed the guest’s expectations of your property. Going above and beyond is a sure way to satisfy your guests.
It could be as simple as giving guests a welcome basket or a discount voucher for a local business you partnered with. You can also share a guidebook to help them explore the city. Or you can leave free snacks and drinks they can consume. Even a personalised note would leave a positive impression on guests.
Consider the personality and preferences of your guests. Try to give them something they will surely appreciate.
Set standards for the property management team
Working with a property management team is ideal for short-term letting because they can make it a hassle-free experience for you. To ensure that you have the same standards, provide guidelines so they can elevate the guest experience. Consistency in service is important so document how you want guests to be serviced.
If you’re working with an experienced company like Opago, this won’t be an issue. Opago has a reputation for service excellence and we will ensure that it’ll reflect on your guest’s satisfaction levels.
Evaluate competitors
Keep an eye on your competitors - especially those getting consistent 5-star reviews. Look at how they present their properties and the details provided in their property profiles. Take note of the highlighted features and the amenities offered.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on local trends in general. You can use these as inspiration to improve your property and the services offered based on what guests prefer.
Work with Efficient Property Management Operations Experts
Elevating guest satisfaction goes beyond a visually appealing property. The key is to meet the expectations of your guests. It’s important to realise that every stage of their journey with you brings a different level of expectation. You have to give them value for money, efficient booking and payment processes, informative property listings and exceptional service.
All these will help you improve guest satisfaction. This will lead to more 5-star reviews and higher occupancy rates.
Partnering with a property management company is one way to ensure guests will have a satisfactory stay on your property. At Opago, we have a dedicated team for guest inquiries, check-in/check-out processes and housekeeping services. By working with us, you’ll have peace of mind because we’ll take care of every detail. We’ll give guests top-notch service so your property can enjoy raving reviews and maximum rental returns.
Let’s talk about how we can elevate the guest experience and satisfaction levels for your multiple rental properties. Contact us for more details.
.png)
