Buying a property, throwing some furnishings in it, listing it on Airbnb, and letting the cash flow in sounds easy. However, if you want to truly provide a great guest experience that will keep the guests coming back and have them tell their friends, family, and colleagues about their experience, keep reading.

When “revenge travel” started up as COVID-19 restrictions loosened and people wanted to stay anywhere except the property they had been forced to stay in, it was much easier to get a 5-star review. Guests were just grateful to go somewhere and look at different walls than they’d been staring at for months. The wording you use, if you’re having email interactions, is a great place to start in making the guest feel welcome, such as “Thank you for choosing us,” something as simple as acknowledging this will go a long way. Using “My pleasure” as a host can convey sincerity and humbleness when used correctly. It’s a phrase my team used with our guests to show them we truly do want them to have a great experience in our properties. Once thought of as a stuffy phrase, if you are passionate about hosting, the guest picks up on that. When there is an issue, answering your phone, whether it be a text or call from the guest, is crucial to giving them confidence you will take care of them. If you don’t have a solution when you’re talking to them, provide them with a time frame when you’ll contact them with a solution. And then actually do it. I’ve found that sometimes having major mechanical issues at a home, thought to be disastrous at the time, has actually yielded some of our most prominent raving guests! The reason is that we always kept the guest in the loop when we were fixing an issue and we got it fixed or would find some solution. Sometimes, really amazing things happen from bad situations. Fix the issue and take care of your guest with a good attitude. After all, the more raving guests you have, the more you get to charge per night.

- Elizabeth Sickels

Elizabeth Maora, LLC