As an owner of a vacation rental property, your goal is to get the maximum return on your investment, because at the end of the day, for your purposes, it is a business that will hopefully take you easily through your retirement years. There are a variety of ways to do this, including marketing your home on all sites and choosing the best vacation destination spots, (Welcome to Sun Valley, by the way!) but we at Abode Sun Valley think that one of the easiest ways of amping up that ROI is with repeat customers. Make your customers fall in love with your property and you can count on guests coming back every year. The following five Sun Valley travel tips will help you do just that!
The Small Details Matter
Guests want to feel welcomed and appreciated and sometimes it is the simpler ways that will give them that feeling. A Welcome Basket is our favorite way of showing our guests that they matter, offering starter selections of dishwasher necessities, laundry soap, and paper towels, but if you really want to go the extra mile, add in snacks, a vacation guide, and even a bottle of wine or craft beer. Your vacation guide can include restaurant selections, coupons, and road trip ideas, reminding your guests that you really do want to show them the best of times. People remember these small luxuries, and not only will your vacation property be the one they gravitate to for their next Sun Valley getaway, but they may also spread the word to their friends and family, perhaps encouraging more repeat guests in the future.
What You See Should Be What You Get
If yours an older, more established vacation rental, it is important to keep your listing pictures updated on a regular basis. Maybe the five-person hot tub in your original pictures finally met its demise and you switched to a four-person hot tub, one that offers more amenities but features less space for soakers. If you don’t change the listing picture, a traveling group of five may be very upset that one of their group will not be able to join in the fun times. Did you change the décor from cabin chic to modern simplicity? Believe it or not, style matters, and while many travelers enjoy a sleek and modern décor, many mountain visitors prefer the rustic beauty of cabin chic, and if they walk into a space that is not what they saw on the listing, reviews will probably be less than favorable, even if everything else went smoothly. The small changes may not seem important enough to invest in updated pictures, but travelers today are a discerning bunch, and when they are researching which vacation property will make them happiest, they will insist on a rental that matches the pictures they fell in love with.
A Clean Property Is a Desired One for Sun Valley Travel
It doesn’t seem as if we should have to mention this next tip, but a surprising number of vacation rental homeowners do not seem to understand that cleanliness really is key to a stellar vacation experience. Sticky floors, questionably stained linens, even dirty walls can turn off guests, and trust us, turned off guests are not going to be return guests, and the reviews can damage your reputation. It’s important to set up housekeeping services before and after each guest, while also setting up routine audits just to see if anything was missed, and if linens become stained or tattered, replace them immediately. Local animal shelters can always use donations of old linens, so you will be doing a good deed while ensuring that your guests feel comfortable about their toddlers being tucked into beds. And remember, you also need to keep an eye on the area rugs and carpets in your largest investment, especially as babies may be crawling and teens and tweens seem to feel most comfortable lying on the floor as they play video games, watch television, or simply scroll through their phones.
Start a Referral Program
We mentioned referrals briefly in our first tip, but what if you implemented a referral program that enticed your guests to spread the word to their friends and family? We all love a good deal, and vacations are expensive, so consider offering a 20% discount on their next stay if their referral books, and of course, offer a similar discount to those who are being referred. If your guests refer two people who book and stay in the same month, you can even offer the original guests a free night’s stay. Or, because sometimes simple is best, offer a set dollar amount for each guest referred (and booked) to be delivered to your original guest upon their own return and to be used in any manner they please. Maybe they will use it towards their own rent, on a special bottle of wine, or even put it towards souvenirs, but that simple gesture will remind them why they chose your property and encourage them to continue spreading the word.
Follow Up with Every Guest
In a world where impersonal is the word of the day, a follow-up email that is personalized with the guest’s information can be what makes them remember you, your property, and the good times they had staying with you. One of our own staff travels to their hometown every year for a get-together with their friends from high school, and they have been renting the same property every year for about 10 years. When we asked her why she continues to use the same property, she tells us it is all about the owner. She sends follow-up emails thanking them for their stay and she also remembers their story and asks about everyone when they choose to stay again the next year. They have actually become friends of sort due to that specialized treatment, and although we aren’t suggesting that you become friends with all your guests, the personalized follow-up email may be the key to their return visits.
Bonus Tip Because with Abode Sun Valley, Less Is NOT More
We get that these tips can seem overwhelming in your very busy world, which is why choosing the right vacation rental property management company can be the best tip of all. With Abode Sun Valley, we treat your properties like they are our own, and we implement as many or as few of these tips (and many others) to ensure that your guests want to return year after year after year. Providing housekeeping and maintenance services, sending follow-up emails, and working hard to ensure that your rental shines in a sea of so-so rentals, we want guests to feel at home and welcomed. The properties we manage become sanctuaries to tired travelers, havens of peace and serenity that are an integral part of their vacation experience, and we accept nothing less than complete satisfaction for your guests and maximum ROI for our owners. If this sounds like something you need, give us a call today and let’s start working together to make your Sun Valley travel investment work hard for you!
