Posts Tagged ‘book your vacation rental property’
First impressions matter, and for vacation rental owners, that means ensuring a welcoming atmosphere is essential when it comes to the guest experience. From the moment they park and get out of the car, the tone is being set for their stay in your vacation rental property. They’ve already spent hours, days, possibly weeks saving and comparing your rental with others and finally decided to book with you. Taking the time to ensure an inviting welcome can reap many benefits. Here are some ideas to support your process.
Check-In
Once you have a confirmed booking, be sure the guests have electronic access to basic information, such as:
- Directions to the property
- A clear address
- Contact information
- Parking instructions
- Explanation of how to access the property
After traveling and pulling up to the vacation rental home, guests are ready for a smooth transition. There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to get into your vacation rental easily. Difficult access is a guaranteed way to downgrade your customer service rating. The check-in process should be as easy as possible. Clear directions to access the home can keep this process simple and stress-free. If struggling to enter the home is the initial hiccup, it can easily go downhill from there.
Entering the Home
One of the first things your guest will notice is the temperature. If it’s a normal Arizona summer day, they will want to feel the welcoming breeze of the air conditioning. They should be indulging in the decor and set up of your vacation rental instead of the amazing race to the thermostat. It will never be “just right”, but the effort will be appreciated.
Ensuring a welcoming atmosphere also includes keeping your word. Does your vacation rental look anything like the pictures posted online? When the reality does not match the photos and/or description, there can be a disappointment. Anything shown in your listing, unless mentioned as unavailable for use, needs to be there.
Cleanliness
Whether you choose to clean your property yourself or partner with a professional vacation rental cleaning service, this investment is very important. Guest expectations are very high when it comes to the cleanliness of where they are staying. Checking the details and cleanliness of every room after the clean can prevent complaints and touch up visits. During the peak vacation season, guest turnover can be fast, resulting in same-day bookings and more efficient turns. Moxie Girl suggests deep cleaning your home during downtime to ensure attention to detail and thorough cleans.
You can also ensure that the guests feel well taken care of by having essential products stocked and ready for use.
Welcome Binder
Welcome Binders are an important amenity for your vacation rental property. This extra step shows your guests that you care about their comfort while staying in your home. All of the information needed for reference can be found in this binder.
- Pull together basic information like nearby grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies, and the post office.
- Highlight hidden gems in your city to help the guest experience them as well. This can include locally-owned restaurants, tours of areas unique to your location, and any nearby attractions.
- Frequently asked questions, including thermostat instructions, the wifi password, extra linens, and any quirks your home might have.
- Contact information so that guests know the fastest way to reach you if they have any questions, concerns, or problems during their stay.
- Check out instructions are helpful as well, especially a check out time-reminder and what to do with trash/recycle.
First impressions have lasting effects. Welcoming efforts made to support the initial impression will pay off in the return on investment through five-star reviews and increased bookings for your vacation rental home. Think of your own experiences. What do you appreciate? What level of service do you expect? Look at your reviews for feedback and make necessary adjustments when needed. The goal is to be as stress-free as possible for all parties involved. We can all appreciate that! Need some help making your vacation rental property guest-ready every time a new guest walks in? contact Moxie Girl today!
As the owner/operator of a successful vacation rental home, you try hard to provide an experience that will prompt your guests to leave glowing reviews – but even putting forth your best efforts doesn’t protect you against the ever-growing list of scams affecting AirBnB hosts.
A quick online search reveals numerous tales of woe from AirBnB hosts describing nefarious guests’ attempts to garner anywhere between 25% to 100% OFF their reservation total. Some hosts claim that due to AirBnB’s guest refund policies and procedures, guests are doing everything from turning wi-fi routers off and claiming the internet “isn’t working,” to staging and photographing undesirable cleaning “misses” in order to whittle down their lodging expenses.
One way vacation rental homeowners are protecting themselves against the “discount” scammers is to snap pics of all areas of the “guest-ready” rental before their guests arrive. Moxie Girl Vacation Rental Assistants have been providing this service to our clients for several months now – and as it turns out, that’s a really great idea!
Moxie Girl has always provided photo documentation to our clients of any theft or damage to their property should we find it. Timely evidence is crucial for vacation rental hosts hoping to charge a guest for misuse of their vacation rental home or items that have gone missing during a guest’s stay!
Providing photos of their guest-ready vacation rental gives our clients peace of mind, knowing their guests will arrive at a clean, inviting space – in addition to being pretty solid evidence against false claims by guests that the rental “wasn’t clean.” Even a screenshot of the wi-fi showing as “connected” on a smartphone proves it WAS working when we left the property.
Moxie Girl recently even used a guest-ready photo to prove that a guest (or rather the guest’s child) was responsible for breaking a large mirror in one of our clients’ vacation rentals. The guests had claimed they found mirror broken upon arrival, but our time-stamped photo of that room from earlier in the day showed an undamaged mirror! Long story, short, the kid fessed up and the guests took financial responsibility for the replacement cost.
There are plenty of other (and far more costly!) scams being perpetrated against vacation rental homeowners as well. Many of those may be avoided by knowing what to watch out for. Most rental listing platforms such as AirBnB and VRBO offer secure payment processing and warm that guests requesting to pay by any type of check or wire transfer should be a red flag.
Vacation rental homeowners are also urged to never accept more than is due for any booking, putting them in the position of being persuaded to issue a refund outside the rental platform’s refund policy and structure – and ultimately lead to identity theft as well as financial loss.
Clearly you’ve got enough to worry about as a vacation rental homeowner – why not let Moxie Girl take away the stress of between-guest cleanings? Moxie Girl is a leader in the care of vacation rental homes throughout the Phoenix area – and we are just as interested in helping your property get great reviews as you are. CLICK HERE for a FREE consultation!
Interested in being a Moxie Girl? We are always on the lookout for motivated individuals to join our growing team of Vacation Rental Assistants! CLICK HERE to introduce yourself – an HR representative will reach out to you shortly!
A (Very) Brief History of Labor Day
Many of us are conditioned to know we get the day off, but what IS Labor Day, anyway? According to the official U.S. Department of Labor website, Labor Day has been celebrated as a National holiday each first Monday in September, since 1894! Labor Day is the creation of the labor movement and is intended to be an annual tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Labor unions, which first appeared in the late 18th century, grew prominent and vocal, organizing strikes and rallies to protest the horrific working conditions which existed for both adults and children at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Unfortunately, many of these events turned violent, but the protests DID lead to change and for that, we can all be thankful to those who fought.
Labor Day, aka The End of Summer
Living in Phoenix the thermometer clearly tells us that summer’s end is NOT Labor Day, but we’ll still celebrate of course! Labor Day has become synonymous with swim parties and barbeques with family and friends – even long-weekend road-trips!
And those road-trippers will need places to stay…we’re looking at you, vacation rental homeowners! Increase your chances of picking up those end-of-summer bookings – check out our Moxie blog, “Road Trips and Your Vacation Rental Home”!
If you happen to be on the planning end of a Labor Day party, Moxie Girl is here to help with our “Fun and Functional Summer Party Tips” blog, too!
Join Our “Labor Party”
Life as a Vacation Rental Assistant with Moxie Girl offers flexible hours, a supportive team environment and plenty of opportunity for growth, both as a Moxie AND as a person! Interested in joining us? Click here to tell us a bit about yourself and we’ll be in touch very soon!
Need a Moxie?
Moxie Girl has become a leader in the vacation rental home care industry in Phoenix, servicing well over 100 vacation rental properties of all sizes, Valley-wide. With our vast experience, Moxie Girl knows what it takes to make your vacation rental home the very best it can be and we are just as interested in the success of your property as you are! Click here for a FREE CONSULTATION!
As we’ve noted in previous blogs, most recently “Vacation Rental Homes Only!” vacation rental home guests tend to get super-comfy after about day 3 of their stay – and this usually results in the need for a much deeper between-guest cleaning than a 2-3 day booking would require.
What We Know
With our vast experience caring for vacation rental homes throughout the Phoenix area, Moxie Girl also sees more damage done to rental properties by longer-term guests than shorter-term vacation rental guests.
These are two of the big reasons many vacation rental homeowners are reluctant to allow long-term stays on their properties. However, summer does tend to be the season where guests are seeking more lengthy stays. Especially here in Phoenix, a multi-week or even longer occupancy is tempting to the vacation rental owner, since summer tends to be brutal and rental activity takes a hit.
The Benefits of Mid-Stay Vacation Rental Cleaning
One thing vacation rental homeowners allowing longer-term bookings this summer are doing to alleviate their concerns is scheduling “mid-stay” cleanings. Long-term guests really settle in and begin treating the vacation rental home as they would their own home…and since you probably don’t know what THEIR home looks like, it’s best just to expect that they may not clean the vacation rental at all during their stay.
A mid-stay cleaning will not only make the cleaning after the guests departure (hopefully) much easier and quicker, but it also allows the vacation rental homeowner to become aware of any suspicious activity, theft of or damage to the vacation rental or its contents while the guests are still there.
Many long-term vacation rental guests see mid-stay cleanings as a perk! Just because a guest is messy doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate a clean space. Also knowing that professional cleaning is scheduled during their stay may prompt guests to live a little neater than they normally might.
Need a Moxie (or Want to BE One)?
If you’re a vacation rental homeowner in the Phoenix area CLICK HERE to find out how Moxie Girl’s team of vacation rental specialists can make your life easier. Moxie Girl currently cares for over 100 vacation rental homes throughout the Valley and we pride ourselves on our reputation for client satisfaction!
Moxie Girl’s vacation rental assistants enjoy flexible schedules, a supportive team environment and plenty of opportunities to grow! Interested in becoming a Moxie? CLICK HERE to tell us about yourself – we’ll be in touch soon!
