How can you help ensure guests enjoy their stay at your home and have a memorable experience visiting the Whitsundays?
Remember, you are selling the personality and location of your home so, keep it as clean and inviting as a hotel. At the end of the day it’s hospitality and guests expect hotel service. So, put yourself in the shoes of a General Hotel Manager and go all out to ensure your guests leave raving reviews from the incredible time they have spent here. But if you have limited or absolutely zero hospitality experience where do you start?
When welcoming your guests, going above and beyond will ensure their stay with you is the best it can be, so not only do they leave great reviews but also recommend their stay to friends and family. As you know, referral is the best and cheapest form of marketing.
Your attention to detail is of utmost importance, it’s the smallest of details that make the biggest impact. Every guest is different, but your consistency and service levels need to remain the same. Having guests choose your home to stay in is the first hurdle but great reviews and word of mouth is the best way to see repeat business and earn a great reputation as one of the best in the area. There is a lot of competition out there, and by constantly reviewing your own home as if you were a paying guest is a vital exercise in ensuring guest comfort.
How do I look?
Imagine walking into your Airbnb for the first time, what do you hear? What can you smell? What is the first thing you see? With these questions in mind make note of the first impressions of your home. Stay overnight as if you were a guest and write everything down that you think could be improved. Invite some friends to stay over with you too and get their honest feedback.
This is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to discovering areas of the home that may need improving before your guests and your review page do. Are there enough glasses for every guest staying, does the crockery have any chips or damage, how comfy is the bed, can you make yourself a nice coffee in the morning? Armed with your findings, act now and start to put together an action plan with timelines to keep you on track and make change happen no matter how small it may be.
It’s in the detail
Comfort is of utmost importance for your guests and goes a lot further than just a comfy bed. What is the temperature of the home, can it be cooled easily, or heated in the cooler evenings? Underfoot is your flooring clean and free of stains? How can you make your guests feel welcome as they enter your home? Think outside the square and offer up a service and amenities that will set you apart from your neighbours and will bring great reviews flooding in.
Begin to think about what a guest may or may not bring with them, or could have forgotten to bring with them, some ideas to get you started could be:
USB chargers or charging station. There are several ways that these can be put together, have a look at technologies that are available, a lamps base that has USB and wireless charging for example. A set up like this is also less likely to go missing.
A makeup mirror with remover wipes (single use) and a hairdryer with a number of different attachments.
Single use razors, toothbrush and toothpaste.
Locally sourced toiletries. Be sure to tell the story on where these are sourced from and offer a discount to purchase. That way your guests can take some of the Whitsundays home with them.
Single brew coffee maker with nice-looking mugs adding a touch of luxury.
Bed linen that is the best quality you can afford, pillows and mattress that are comfortable and towels that have a sumptuous feel.
Stationery pack, notebooks, pens, and colouring pencils.
Rather than bottled water, and to be more eco friendly, make use of a water filter jug. Be sure to inform guests of your eco choice and the date and time it was filled up. That way they know it’s fresh.
If it’s time to invest in a new TV, make sure it is a Smart TV so guests can log in or stream from their phones. Leave clear instructions on how to use it, and if you have an account for a media service provider such as Netflix or Stan, then keep the TV logged in and ditch the DVD player. You could even provide a games console!
Are there any baby items that you provide for your guests? A cot, highchair, bottle warmers, baby monitor or baby bouncer. These are all items that parents are unlikely to be able to bring with them, so have these there for them.
Be unique
You don’t know who you’re going to have step into your life for a week, so add a few unique amenities that different people will love, this could be a guitar, piano, library of kids books and craft that can be made and taken home as a keepsake to their holiday. Your main objective is to make your listing memorable after your guest has left your home and to refer you to their friends and family.
So, why not take the first step to ensure your guests enjoy their stay at your home, have a memorable experience visiting the Whitsundays and leave a raving review. Start by putting a date in the calendar to stay at your property, invite some friends and family over, grab your action plan and make change happen.
Styling the Whitsundays 