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How to Encourage Repeat Guests in Your Vacation Rental

Like any business, getting repeat customers or guests is great for your brand image and wallet. After all, if you have repeat renters, you don’t have to spend the time and effort to find new renters. However, you do have to impress them during their initial stay at your vacation rental. If you want to encourage repeat guests in your vacation rentals, just keep reading. We’ll review the importance of guest experience and tips to encourage repeat guests. 

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Contents of This Article:

Why Is Guest Experience So Important?

Guest experience in a vacation rental is crucial because a good experience can have guests coming back and recommending your rental to family and friends. However, a bad experience may cause guests to leave you a bad review, deterring new customers from staying there. 

Loyal, satisfied customers are the best advocates and can encourage new guests to stay in your rentals. After all, having consistent 5-star reviews from your past renters shows that your rental is worth visiting. 

Luckily, there are several things you can do as a vacation rental owner to keep guests coming back. Here are some tips for providing a great guest experience in your vacation rentals. 

Tips to Encourage Repeat Guests at Your Vacation Rentals

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To help boost your vacation rental occupancy rate and revenue, hosting repeat guests is a must. First, however, you’ll have to ensure a top-notch experience each time. Here are six tips to encourage repeat guests at your vacation rentals. 

  1. Know What Your Renters Need
  2. Welcome Them Generously
  3. Focus on Cleanliness
  4. Provide Guests With Local Resources
  5. Offer Incentives for Repeat Guests
  6. Follow Up with Guests After They Leave

Know What Your Renters Need

Knowing what they need is one of the essential steps in creating an excellent guest experience. For instance, what amenities do you offer? Do you have a washer and dryer available? What kitchen appliances do you plan on providing? 

It’s important to consider your renter’s needs while hosting a vacation rental. For example, many hosts offer kitchen supplies, including pots and pans, cutlery, bowls, plates, and cooking utensils. Additionally, you may want to provide linens for the beds, toiletries and bathroom supplies, and cleaning supplies for your guests. 

Welcome Them Generously

You’ll want to go above and beyond and provide basic necessities to encourage repeat guests. For instance, you can make them feel special by giving them a welcome basket filled with small gifts they can use during their stay. Some small gifts may include a bottle of wine, homemade treats, flowers, etc. 

It’s also nice to include a welcome note, wishing them a nice stay and giving them information about the rental home. For instance, you can give them house rules, maintenance procedures, and contact information. 

Focus on Cleanliness

One of the most important aspects of owning a vacation rental is cleanliness. Usually, during the peak summer season, there are occupants in and out of vacation homes without much time in between. Nevertheless, hiring a cleaning team or person to deep-clean before and after every occupant that stays at your rental is crucial. 

For instance, you’ll want to clean all the bedding, make sure all the dishes are clean, ensure the fridge is empty, the floors are clean, and the bathrooms are re-stocked. If you need help maintaining your unit, contact your local Philadelphia property managers

Provide Guests With Local Resources

Along with a welcome note and a list of essential details, it’s nice to give guests a list of local resources. If they’re new to the area, they may need guidance on who to contact for emergencies and where the nearest attractions are. 

For instance, you can give your renters a list of emergency contacts, like medical services, fire stations, national disaster assistance, and more. You can also inform them of any local events or activities happening during their stay at your rental. Getting personal with your renters and giving them good resources can make them come back again. 

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Offer Incentives for Repeat Guests

Who doesn’t love incentives? So why not offer your vacation rental guests incentives or discounts for returning? For instance, you can offer them a free night, discounted rates, or pay for their activities the next time they return to your rental. Any of these incentives can help increase your business efficacy. 

Another great option to keep guests coming back is a referral program. Having your guests talk to their friends and encourage them to stay at your rental can be great for you and them! For instance, you can offer discounts or a free night to the referee and whoever they refer if they choose to stay at your vacation rental. 

Follow Up with Guests After They Leave

Ensuring your guests enjoy their stay after checking out is just as important as providing a great check-in experience. So you’ll want to follow up with renters or even meet them at their check-out to ask them about their stay. 

During your follow-up, you can also ask guests to provide you with a review on your website to let you know how you can improve the customer experience. If they leave a review, make sure you reply to it to show prospective customers that you communicate well. Additionally, you can make sure your guests leave happy by giving them a little souvenir to take with them.

Marketing Tips to Set Your Vacation Rental Apart

To get repeat customers in the first place, you’ll need to attract first-time customers. To do this, it’s crucial to have excellent marketing skills. However, marketing a vacation rental is a little different than marketing a long-term property. 

For instance, it takes consistent marketing effort to appeal to new customers and keep them coming back. Here are a few tips for setting your vacation rental apart and encouraging repeat guests. 

  • Use High-Quality Photos
  • Write an Eye-Catching Description
  • List Your Rental on Multiple Sites
  • Focus on Good Communication
  • Price Your Rental Competitively

Use High-Quality Photos

The photos you use for your vacation rental listing are more important than you think. You’ll want to use high-quality, professional images to show renters exactly what they get when they book with you. 

If you use poor-quality images that don’t show the entire property, your potential customers may choose a different rental. With that in mind, ensure to include professional photos showing all the amenities. Don’t forget the bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, and exterior to give guests a realistic idea of where they’re staying. 

Write an Eye-Catching Description

The description of your property should be accurate and inviting. For instance, list the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and how many occupants your property can host. You may also want to highlight any local attractions or special amenities your property offers. 

Your property description can make or break whether renters book your property for their next vacation. So, ensure you come up with an eye-catching description that’s accurate to what you offer. 

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List Your Rental on Multiple Sites

List your property on multiple websites to increase engagement and get more eyes on your vacation rental. For instance, some of the most popular vacation rental sites include Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, and more. 

If you’re stuck with high vacancy rates and can’t seem to keep renters coming back, consider listing on several sites to make it easier for prospective renters to find your property. 

Focus on Good Communication

Communicating with your renters is crucial when you have a vacation rental. So, when someone’s interested in renting your property, make sure you respond to them quickly and effectively. Typically, you’ll want to respond to inquiries within 30 minutes or less to keep them interested. 

If you own several vacation rentals, keeping up with communication for each renter can be challenging. So, if you don’t have the time to answer several questions a day, create an FAQ section under your listing so renters may have fewer questions for you. 

Price Your Rental Competitively

Competitive rates matter a lot with vacation rentals. Before anyone books a vacation rental home, they will compare rates and find the best property for the best price. Unfortunately, prospective occupants may look elsewhere for lodging if your prices are too high. 

Conversely, you don’t want to lose out on profits that other comparable properties are earning. That said, it’s crucial to continuously monitor the vacation rental market and ensure you’re not overcharging or undercharging your tenants. 

Professional Management Can Keep Your Guests Coming Back

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One of the best ways to encourage repeat guests is by hiring professional management for your vacation rental. With a team of trusted professionals on your side, you can ensure the best guest experience for all of your renters. 

Bay Property Management Group offers comprehensive rental management services for any of your rental properties. We can help attract potential tenants, communicate with renters, collect payments, perform maintenance, and more. 

If you need rental management services in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Northern Virginia, or Washington, DC, contact BMG today.

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