Small Changes That Have BIG Impact for Your Guests

Deborah Labi is a retired property manager with her fingers in many pies, sharing her experience via her consultancy, a podcast, a soon-to-launch second podcast, and co-director of The Book Direct Show. She likes to keep as busy as her brain; an OCC – or obsessive compulsive creative – she’s an ideas fountain. 

Through The Guest Inn-Spector, Deborah has keyed in on the small details that have a large impact on your guests. She believes property owners should stay in their own rentals in order to experience them as a guest would, and envision the guest’s journey from check-in to check-out. But at the very least, have a friend or family member stay and offer their feedback (or, hire Deborah!).

Essential things to audit and optimize in your rental, courtesy of The Guest Inn-Spector:

• Live chat availability while guests are browsing your booking site
• Ease of booking – how many steps does it take a guest to pay and confirm the booking?
• Check-in email sequence – don’t spam, but also don’t ghost
• If your listing incorporates third parties (e.g. smart lock notifications), ensure these are branded through your listing to avoid guest confusion
• Arrival instructions – this may be your guest’s first time in a city (or country!) so avoid giving them too much work in order to get their key and check in
• First impressions after entering your space (think: WiFi access, coat hangers, etc.)
• General property design – simple, functional things that make guests feel like they’re in a home, not a hotel – for example, where do guests hang their towels after a shower?
• Check-out instructions – guests are now focusing on their travel plans and flight confirmations, so consider not adding too much extra work for them
• Send a review request to your guest on their last day of the stay, while they’re still in your space – don’t wait until after they check out

Download a transcript of this episode.

Resources:

• PDF: Top 5 Amenities You Should Provide at Your Short Term Rental
• The Guest Inn-Spector 
• The Techsplained Podcast 
• The Book Direct Show 
• Drift Live Chat

#STRShareSunday

@guesthouse71

It’s time for #strsharesunday! Today we are sharing Guest House 71!

This beautiful Alberta, Canada rental has something we’ve never seen before… hosts Darrell and Dawna bought a 600 sq. foot guest house on a piece of property and moved it do a different place that they thought would be a better spot! They have pictures of it on their feed on a truck being moved.

It might only be 600 sq. feet, but every inch of this space has been designed with the guest in mind. It’s beautiful! If you have a dream, if you have a vision, you can make it come true! (That includes seeing a house somewhere, wanting to buy it, and moving it to an entirely different property)

Thank you Guest House 71 for showing us that!

• Guest House 71 on Instagram
• Book Guest House 71

We would love to feature YOU, so don’t forget to use #STRShareSunday to get your chance!