Keep Guests Coming Back with Exceptional Customer Service
Have you ever encountered a guest who was upset and furious because their vacation didn’t quite pan out the way they had hoped? They waited all year for their getaway-of-a-lifetime, but perhaps their expectations weren’t met. Guests should leave with a happy experience, but some leave furious because of sub-par customer service or unexpected surprises.
When communicating with an unhappy guest, be aware that in some situations it may feel like an attack, but do not let your emotions get the best of you. It’s important to take a step back, stay calm, and empathize with the guest to the best of your ability and get down to the root of the problem.
Don’t let what feels like an attack cloud your judgment to resolving the problem. Sometimes the guest can feel under pressure or stress from outside of this situation and it’s not personal towards your team or the management company. Reassure the guest you are there for them and willing to resolve the problem as quick and efficient as you possibly can. What you don’t want to do is give off the impression that the guest is the problem and brush their critique aside. This ultimately is not helpful to you, and certainly not the guest, who may now have a poor impression of your operation. Not to mention, it can also affect your company’s standing in customer reviews if the issue is not solved to the guest’s satisfaction. Overall, poor customer service will not keep your guests coming back year after year.
A great tip to keep in mind, after your guests have checked-out of the vacation rental, follow up with them to make sure their trip was every bit of a great experience. By receiving the guest’s feedback, you’ll have a good idea of what your weak and strong points are and how to improve on them for the future. You can then capitalize on the good feedback by requesting a positive review. We needn’t remind you of the importance of positive reviews online!
Remember, every team member is a big part of maintaining an exceptional guest experience. From the cleaning and maintenance team to your booking and reservations team, they must all collaborate as a unit to continue bringing that exceptional customer service day by day. In the case that you cannot correct a problem with an immediate solution, quick thinking, strong interpersonal skills, and keen problem-solving are key.
Let’s say one of your tour operators or OTAs places a double booking and doesn’t send an update to your system. Unaware of the issue, one of the two parties arrives, and the property is already occupied. What do you do? Well, you can always offer them a property of equal or better quality and quantity for the same price or less. So, if they booked a 6-bedroom home with a pool and a view of the beach, you’ll look at your inventory and provide them with the options available that meet at minimum equal to or greater to the specifications of the initially booked home. You don’t want to give them options below the quality of what they paid for and are expecting. Not only are you meeting their expectations to solve the problem at hand, but you’re providing an additional added value to the say as a courteous gesture of goodwill to correct the concern and inconvenience they had to experience.
How to Enhance the Guest’s Experience with Exceptional Service:
Respond to Guests in a Timely Manner
Many times, property managers get caught up in daily tasks, and it can be a challenge to respond to the guests in a timely manner. It’s essential you respond promptly, so the guest has all the information they need before their arrival and throughout their stay. The last thing you want is for the guest to feel they have been forgotten about, and we don’t want them to feel unprepared when they arrive. As a CiiRUS user, our CRM and GuestPass tools allow you to keep in constant contact with your guests.
Provide Recommendations
So that your guest enjoys their stay and can experience all the local area has to offer, provide them with personalized recommendations. For example, recommend local restaurants, excursions, activities, shopping centers, or perhaps a nearby beach to enhance their overall experience. It will make it easier for them, so they don’t have to do all the work. Remember it is a vacation for a reason. The Location Blog in your GuestPass system makes this easy.
Provide a Welcome Kit
A welcome kit will make the guests feel welcomed and at home. If the local area is known for having theme parks then add sunscreen, sunglasses, and a water bottle to the welcome kit for those hot days at the park. A little goes a long way.
Make the Check-in Process Easy
Although you may have sent the check-in information via CiiRUS, it’s important to note there’s a possibility the guest may have not read the text or email. And many times, the guests end up asking questions that could have been answered with the information provided. As a suggestion, give them a call to verify they have received the check-in details and answer any questions they have during the call. This will help to alleviate the check-in process for both the guests and your management team. CiiRUS provides reports to help you keep on top of incoming guests, and make sure the day’s arrivals are all accounted for.
