177. Small Changes That Have BIG Impact for Your Guest

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

Resources:

• The Guest Inn-Spector 
• The Techsplained Podcast 
• The Book Direct Show 
• Drift Live Chat
• #STRShareSunday: @guesthouse71

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.