So, your holiday rental is booked up for the season. Give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done. Now, how do you encourage those guests to come back again and again?
Repeat bookings are an important source of guests for your holiday rental, as well as being a cost effective marketing tool in their own right – if they enjoyed your place enough to want to come back then the likelihood is that they will tell friends, family and anyone else who will listen about it too.
Encouraging repeat bookings is essentially about the extra touches that you use to create the sort of holiday experience that will leave guests longing for more of the same. With that in mind, here are some useful tips for getting that all important repeat business:-
Communication – It’s good to talk. Especially if you want to make a first impression that’s a lasting impression. Pick up the phone and call your guests in the week before they come. It gives them a chance to ask last minute questions and – especially if all contact up to that point has been in writing – creates a personalised feel to your booking process.
Information – Put together a welcome pack for your guests. Include local information, details about tourist attractions and useful telephone numbers. Consider providing basic supplies of tea, coffee, sugar etc and perhaps even an honesty bar with additional items (maybe a few bottles of wine?) for sale as well.
It’s me again – Just as communication before your guests arrive is important, so is keeping in touch after they’ve been and gone. This can be personal, such as a quick call to make sure they enjoyed themselves, or a questionnaire to fill out (which may give you some complimentary testimonials to put on your website!), or it might be broader in scope – consider setting up a newsletter or blog on your website, allowing you to keep past guests up to date with any changes/improvements to your holiday home and giving you a platform to promote your special offers.
BOGOF – that’s right, special offers are a great way of encouraging guests to come back again and ensure that you are at the forefront of their minds when they think about booking somewhere to stay. You could offer previous guests discounted rates, or the opportunity to take advantage of offers before anyone else.
So remember, if you want guests to come back then the first step is to make sure that they feel wanted. Follow the steps above, let your guests know how valued they are and all you’ll have to worry about is how to find enough weeks in the season to fit them all in!
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