There’s been a lot of discussion centred on the “guest experience” recently. It was a major theme at last year’s ASSC Conference and Booking Staff’s Niki Nutsch talked in depth about it at this year’s VRMA European seminar. But, what does it really mean?
Well, as a self-catering business owner or manager, you are in the business of selling experiences. The experiences your guests have on their holiday and the memories they make and share afterwards are your job to help shape. So, how exactly do you do that?
Who?
Well, first of all, you need to work out who your guests are. For SuperControl PLUS and AGENCY users, this is easy. Just log in to your account and go to Statistics to find out exactly who has booked your property, where they come from and who they holidayed with etc.
What?
Next, find out exactly what your guests are looking for when they’re staying with you. This is pretty obvious but it really does pay to do your research. Ask questions. Why do they book with you? What do they expect you to provide for them while they stay with you? And, what do they like to do while they’re on holiday? Once you know which groups you’re targeting and what they like to do on holiday, you can work out how to help them have a holiday to remember.
How?
Finally – and this is the important bit – you need to figure out all the steps guests take towards achieving their dream holiday, and how they interact with you and your property along the way. You want to make these interactions as uncomplicated and enjoyable as possible in order to feed into their overall positive experience.
If you have a great website, you’re half-way there. But, there are a few useful tips you should employ to tempt guests further:
- Make sure your content is rich, engaging, accurate and informative. Include information on your property, the local area, what’s on nearby and what makes your property stand out from its competitors to help your guests feel they’re making an informed decision.
- Ensure your rates and availability are up-to-date and easy to find.
- Offering online booking is essential to make it easy, transparent and secure for guests to book with you.
- The same goes for payments. The vast majority of guests want to pay online at a time that suits them so you should ensure you’re up to speed with the main online payment processors and what they offer.
- If you use external listing sites, this blog has some great tips for ensuring your listing tops the rankings and generates maximum bookings.
Basically, do everything you can to make sure their experience of you and your property is as pleasurable as possible:
On booking, it always pays to have a phone call with your guests to build rapport and find out what their interests are, in order to help them have an authentic, enjoyable holiday.- In the run-up to their stay, contact them prior to arrival to ask if there’s anything else the need and to provide an opportunity for them to book food hampers or other extras. Help them feel well prepared for their holiday.
- On arrival, share your local know-how and make sure you ask how their stay is going. Asking for feedback is crucial in order to iron out any potential issues early on, so don’t wait until their stay is over. Help them feel like a local and a friend.
- On departure, follow up with another request for feedback. Our automated reviews service can do this for you. Reviews are a great way to reinforce your property’s credibility and help generate more enquiries and bookings. Also, don’t forget about your guests after they’ve departed. Stay in touch with newsletters and special offers etc.
If you do all the above, you’ll make it as easy possible for your guests to have the holiday they’ve been dreaming of. Then, simply repeat the cycle and reap the benefits.
