Smart Vacation Rental Owner Tips for a Higher Retention Rate

Repeat customers pay a vacation rental business its greatest compliment. By choosing to return to your property, a guest has forsaken all other lodging options because their last experience was a memory they wish to re-live again. Smart vacation rental owners use several tools for running their business and gaining feedback which – when used correctly – could mean the difference between a one-time guest and a lifetime guest.

Make it easy to find you

• What are your property’s top five strengths? Is it the view? The proximity to the beach? The décor? Use a keyword trend analyzer to find the keywords most prevalent of those five strengths. Incorporate the keywords into your headline and at the top of every listing page. Some analyzers allow filters by region and season. Take advantage of these free and invaluable tools.

Make it easy to do business with you

• Create business systems so you can focus on customer service rather than paperwork. Have a shared calendar online or use a vacation rental website’s calendar feature to show the property’s availability. Set up procedures online that allow for customers to download Rental Agreements and checklists, make payments and leave feedback. Then have a procedure for sending that same information with payment forwarding details, forms, and checklists, etc. by mail. Ask in the Rental Agreement if contact is preferred by mail or email, then only use that method specified by the renter.

• Once you receive a final payment, send another thank you letter, check-in and check-out instructions, and a checklist of items they should bring with them.

• Have a “Welcome Package” waiting for your guest upon arrival. Your package might include a small gift of local teas, syrups, or cheeses, wine or sparkling cider, a list of “Rules & Regulations”, a checklist of items which should be available and in good repair for use in and around the property, and a feedback form or questionnaire.

• Some vacation rental owners call to check in with the guest a couple of days into their stay. This provides the renter with an opportunity to broach any issues right away.

• And after the guest has returned to their own home, send another thank you note, with a reminder about your feedback form or questionnaire if they didn’t leave one at check-out.

Make it easy to contact you

• Be accessible and open to being contacted anytime and have someone available to attend to maintenance issues at a moment’s notice.

Make it easy to praise you

• A guestbook gives each guest the opportunity to leave their name and place of origin with their thoughts on the property. Just make sure each page has a disclaimer that allows you to use any and all feedback left in your testimonials in print and online.

• Phone and email conversations can be less forced than a guestbook or form. Just make sure to ask for the guest’s permission to use their quote in your testimonials before using it.

• Feedback forms and questionnaires allow a vacation rental owner to gain targeted feedback from specific questions about a property but should also include general questions and a section for comments. Again, include a disclaimer.