5 More Tips for 5-Star Reviews
Impress Your Guests with These Vacation Rental Tips
When guests are searching for a vacation rental, the first thing they often check is the reviews. If a listing doesn’t have stellar feedback, they’re likely to move on to one they feel they can trust. This is understandable—guests are spending their hard-earned money and want a stay that meets their expectations. However, as a vacation rental owner, standing out to discerning guests can be challenging, especially since some are pickier than others.
We’ve already shared five tips for five-star reviews on this blog before, but today we’ll be diving in deep to uncover five more ways to get those five-star ratings that your rental needs to thrive.
#1: Leave Guest Reviews to Get the Attention of Previous Guests
If you aren’t leaving reviews for your guests, now is the time to start. We’ve explored some reasons why guest reviews can be helpful on this blog in the past, but when it comes to getting more reviews, they can be a game-changer for your short-term rental business. It might seem like a lot of work as a host to review every single guest that sets foot through your doors, but it pays off when it comes time for guests to review their stay.
Not only are guest reviews helpful for future vacation rental owners who might be unsure whether they can trust a guest in their rental, but they also are a helpful reminder for guests to leave their own reviews. Be sure to leave your guest reviews within a few days of their stay to remind guests to write a review of your short-term rental while everything is still fresh in their minds.
#2: Ensure You Leave a Response to All Reviews
In a similar vein to leaving guest reviews, it’s also equally important to respond to every single review that you receive. There are a few reasons that this can help you to get better reviews overall. First, prospective guests can see all of your review replies on sites like Airbnb, and this gives them insight into your personality as a short-term rental owner. If you’re responding to reviews in an unprofessional or overly-casual manner, these discerning guests will be able to see, so it’s vital to maintain your professionalism when replying to reviews.
Further, review responses give you power even in negative situations. Perhaps you had a nightmare guest or one with incredibly high expectations–you can explain your side of the story in your reply and turn the tide against those negative comments. Prospective guests will be able to see how well you handled a negative guest experience and will gain a better idea of whether they’d like to stay at your property.
#3: Make Reviewing an Easy Process for Guests
In today’s world, convenience matters. Because of this, it’s important to make the review process as easy for guests as humanly possible, such as by generating a QR code or sending guests the direct link to review your vacation rental. Typically, guests will only leave a review if they had an overwhelmingly positive or negative experience, but utilizing technology to enable guests to review your rental more easily could be the level up that your short-term rental needs.
The process for this is simple: after each guest check-out, send an automated text message or an email containing a QR code with a link to review your home. Guests will be reminded to leave you a review and you won’t have to lift a finger to ensure that your rental gets the five-star rating that it deserves.
#4: Make an Effort to Make a Connection with Guests and Personalize Their Stay
Before a guest ever sets foot in your rental, many of them might send you an inquiry to book or have questions about the home and its amenities, and this is your opportunity to begin forming a connection with them. For many guests, vacation is the time of their lives, and they want to make it special, so do some work for them.
Take the time to get to know what brings your guests to stay, and then make an effort to personalize their experience given the information you’ve learned. Whether that’s leaving a wine bottle for a couple on their honeymoon or sourcing some kid-friendly amenities for a family that’s coming to stay, there are plenty of ways to make a connection with your guests and impress them on the first meeting.
#5: Provide Stellar Service that Leaves an Impression (Even in the Face of Problems)
The simplest and yet most difficult way to get good reviews for any service is to provide a level of service that leaves an impression, and the same is true for a short-term rental business. For vacation rentals, excellent service is typically seen in being professional when it comes to solving problems or addressing any issues that arise during a guest’s stay. Problems are always going to happen, but the way that you address them and solve them for guests can make a huge difference when it comes time for them to review.
Like we mentioned before, because guests typically only leave reviews when they’ve had a very positive or negative experience, you can bring these types of guests back from the brink of leaving a bad review with a little bit of professionalism and short-term rental know-how.
Let LocalVR Take Care of Reviews For You
Reviews are the bread and butter of any vacation rental business, but sometimes it can seem that getting the good reviews that you deserve is an uphill battle. With these tips and the tips from our other blog, you can be a proactive host who gets the ratings that you are looking for.
Don’t want to have to handle every review yourself? You’ll fall in love with the communication experts at LocalVR, a full-service vacation rental property manager who can help you gain the reviews that you deserve. To learn more about LocalVR, visit our homepage.