The True Value of Guest Feedback

How do you gather feedback from your holiday rental guests? In this article Welcome In explores the value of guest feedback and how you can go about receiving it.Guest Book (hard copy)You can purchase a hard copy guest book for your holiday rental. These are relatively inexpensive and can be found in newsagency’s or online. We recommend you think about the quality of the book and how it reflects on your properties personality. Don't just have it available in your property. Choose a location that is seen immediately by guests, place a vase with flowers and a nice pen next to it. Encourage them to provide the feedback when you speak to them or in your booking confirmation.Guest Book (digital)You could either build this into your own website (if you have one), use your Facebook page and/or make use of the booking portal guest feedback platforms. Again allude your holiday rental guests to this opportunity to provide feedback on their stay.DirectIf you're really focused on providing a quality service you may consider visiting the guests as they check out. Be careful though as many guests appreciate privacy and will prefer to be contacted in advance if this is what you plan to do. There is a fine line between great customer service and overkill. Other ways to gather guest feedback include a quick telephone conversation, written letter with short evaluation check list or an email post stay. Within this communication you could also direct them to a digital opportunity to provide feedback.Remember if you are surveying your guests for feedback make sure the questionnaire is short with tick boxes. Remember some guests will have language limitations so you may have to think about the best way to seek feedback from them.Why not attach an incentive to providing feedback? A complimentary something or discount off their next stay.So we've gathered guest feedback. Here's some tips on how to use this most valuable information.To Shape Your BusinessFeedback, positive or negative, is gold in terms of managing a holiday rental. It allows you to ask your guests what they thought about their experience. It allows you to shape the service that you offer from the paintings on the wall, to the type of toilet paper you choose and the way in which you interact with you guests to enhance their experience. One guest of ours told us that the palm tree frond was scratching on the tin roof in the main room. This is a small problem that can easily be fixed and that would've driven me crazy so we were so glad the guest brought it to our attention. Interrupted sleep can make or break a holiday. Another example was that our bins were overflowing. We tried to manage it by emptying them more regularly however it become too time intensive so we bought another bin off the local government. Problem solved. Guest and caretaker frustration resolved.To Promote Your PropertyPositive guest feedback is priceless. As soon as you receive it, copy it over to a feedback document. You do not have to quote the guest names but it's a good idea to date it as it demonstrates how often you receive feedback and how popular your property is. Copy these quotes to your website, Facebook page and within any online profiles on booking portals. As mentioned above many booking portals allow for digital guest comments so be sure to encourage your guests to use this technology. Provide these quotes within your promotional material. Within your promotional flyer, on the back of your business card, in the footer of all your communications. Show these guest comments off with pride.Consider providing a hard copy guest book in your property. Guests are very receptive and instinctively enjoy sharing positive experiences. I always take the time to provide feedback when I stay in holiday homes. If you do provide a hard copy guest book why not provide a history about the property and a little story about the owners on the inside cover and leave a few business cards or some other merchandise gift for them to take away. It's a subtle way to demonstrate that personal touch and your way of thanking them for taking the time to provide this feedback.Lastly if you have Facebook, Google +, TripAdvisor or other review pages set up consider asking your holiday rental guests post stay if they would kindly take a few moments to provide a review or testimonial.If you have enjoyed this article maybe you'd like to subscribe (free) to the Welcome In e-news. I try to publish these every few months to a community of holiday rental managers in Australia. I encourage you to make contact with me if you have any queries about any aspect of your holiday rental management journey. If I cannot assist you I can certainly point you in the right direction. I am well connected with niche industry holiday rental stakeholders in Australia.