Whether you’ve got a stylish flat in Paris or a cozy beach bungalow, the amount of bookings your Airbnb or short-term rental will get is heavily dependent on one crucial factor - guest reviews. Anything short of a 5-star rating has the potential to negatively impact your bookings, so ensuring your guests have a perfect stay is critical.
Thankfully, getting those stellar reviews isn't as hard as it sounds. Keep reading to learn how to create a memorable experience for your Airbnb guests and get those 5-star reviews.
Here are 6 Ways to Create a Memorable Experience for your Airbnb guests:
Give them a Warm Welcome
Traveling can be both exhausting and stressful, and being away from home in an unfamiliar place can sometimes make guests feel disoriented. To help them feel more relaxed, put together a little welcome basket for them to receive upon arrival. This doesn't have to be anything fancy or over-the-top. Just fill it with anything that evokes a sense of comfort, such as cozy blankets, tea bags, or even a small piece of chocolate.
We also recommend that you include a local highlight feature that showcases your favorite places to visit. This could include a printed map or list of your favorite local restaurants, coffee houses, and things to do.
Choose Decor With Character
One of the reasons travelers choose to stay in vacation rentals over hotel rooms is that they are looking for a more unique experience. Hotel rooms are very standardized, oftentimes lack personality, and do not have the sense of "home" that some people like to have when traveling. Therefore, you can use this opportunity to decorate your rental in a way that mimics the local environment and culture. For example, it is not uncommon for most vacation rentals in Florida to be decorated with a beach theme, and if you're visiting Central Florida then you can expect to see some pictures of Mickey Mouse hanging somewhere as well.
Invest in pieces that will give your property some personality and flair, as well as keeping the sense of “being somewhere new” alive for your guests.
Be accessible
As a host, you’ve got to be available for your guests to reach out to with any questions or concerns. Don't just tell them to refer to previous emails or the original booking channel to find the answers to their questions. Instead, give them a sense of comfort in knowing they can reach you if they need to. Leave a note with your personal phone number or direct contact to the property manager, and tell your guests that they shouldn’t hesitate to call if they have any questions or need help. It’s just another thing to add to your welcome basket.
The bare necessities
Although you are not expected to have a fully stocked fridge for your guests to indulge in, having a few basics such as bananas or cereal could be a nice touch - that way your guests have something to hold them over until they go to the grocery store. Offering travel-sized toiletries and a few rolls of toilet paper is also appreciated, but is by no means required.
Having these basics available is just one little less thing for your guests to worry about, and can go a long way in helping them feel at home.
Make It Easy
When people are traveling, they want as little hassle as possible, but what we often run into is that what should be the easiest thing, exchanging the keys, can be a fairly inconvenient affair for everyone.
As a property owner, it may be worth your while to incorporate a keyless entry system into your rentals, making the check-in and check-out processes efficient and stress-free. Having an entry code or scannable card for guests to use is a great alternative to keys. That way your guests don't have the added stress of having to meet up with you at a certain time to get the keys. Plus, the keyless entry makes the dreaded “lost key” a thing of the past, giving everyone a little more peace of mind.
Add Some Final Touches
Before you mark a rental ready for use, step into your guests’ shoes and take a look around your property. See if anything stands out to you that could be fixed or updated, then, ask yourself what little conveniences and amenities you’d want to have when you travel that your rental does not currently offer.
Implementing these ideas will not only provide your guests with a stay worthy of five stars, but could potentially have them coming back on their next visit in addition to referring your properties to fellow travelers. Just think of how you like to be treated when you travel, and re-create that experience for your own special guests.