A Few Amazing Ways Of Managing Vacation Rental Reviews

What’s in it for me?

Providing the comfort of a home away from home, vacation rentals run heavily on reviews just like any other property. With guests pouring in from far and wide and sharing their valuable feedback on what they have liked/disliked about your rental, it’s important to constantly measure the guest satisfaction levels to ensure that your online reviews are doing great justice to your property by acknowledging the experience that you aim to provide to each of your vacation house customers. In this article, we teach you just that along with a few extra tips on how to score amazing reviews.

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“450 million people worldwide use vacation rentals”

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Vacation rentals are a booming business opportunity. It is a chance for people away from home to live at home. But how do they decide from the vast count of rental options out there? This is where the relevance of house rental reviews pops up. Hence managing vacation rental reviews becomes one of the most critical duties for a host.

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How Do Reviews Matter

Ratings and reviews are crucial in determining a property’s reputation for being comfortable and hospitable to guests. When you need to advertise, go for vacation rental reviews and let them do the job. Obtaining maximum guest feedback builds up to a better average rating. This leads to a higher ranking in search results.

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Consider an individual looking at vacation rentals for his/her family through a booking site. They would want the best facility at the intended price range from a list of properties claiming to be the choicest of the bunch. Now when it is time to select one from the top results, it will be the house reviews that make the difference. 

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85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations and 59% of people review websites, online forums, feedback, etc. before going on a trip.

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Nowadays, images can be misleading, and descriptions can be overhyped. While it is possible that customer feedback can be faked, you cannot hide authentic property rental reviews from guests and visitors.

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Key Practices For Raving Reviews

The best departure reviews stem from the most satisfying vacations. As a responsible host, you can deliver quality experiences and reap your guests’ contentment by following good hospitality practices. Let’s run over a few major points to remember and execute:

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• Maintain high hygiene standards: Nothing affects the first impression more than an unkept property. A clean and cozy home makes way for your guests’ appeasement. Keep your floors, walls, furnishings, and every inch of the place in pristine condition to deliver the luxury of a premium vacation.

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• Ensure the functioning of appliances: From the TV in the living room to the heater in the bathroom, your customers expect to relish their stay with the working of every amenity guaranteed in your vacation rental email confirmation. Make sure you don’t break their trust by offering broken tools and devices.

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• Be ready to assist your patrons at any time: When managing vacation rental reviews, one of the most critical complaints you don’t want to come across is the host’s inefficient performance and lack of responsiveness. This is a concern that alienates potential customers and badly impacts your rating. Hence stay on your toes and always be available to your guests. The friendly and patient touch in your interactions can go a long way in securing their confidence.

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• Provide the necessities to the fullest: A shortage is never appreciated when it comes to the small things that make up a comfortable homestay, such as towels, toilet paper, coat hangers, condiments, tissues, and similar provisions. Holiday home reviews do not hold back on sharing their disappointment with the absence of assured amenities and toiletries. So, be careful to arrange the required supplies without fail.

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• Extend a warm welcome and a quick introduction: Your rental clients hope to spend a stress-free and cozy holiday season at your property. Therefore, it is imperative that they feel comfortable and restful from the get-go. 

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Similarly, you can offer them details on the neighborhood and locality so that they can get a better idea of tourist attractions, dining outlets, or supermarkets in the area by sharing a personalized digital concierge or amenity page. After all, “95% of visitors have their travel plans influenced by brochure information.”

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• Keep your descriptions articulate and minimal: Disappointment often stems from massive expectations. Managing vacation rental reviews teaches you that it is ideal to describe the conditions of your holiday homes in an exciting fashion but without exaggeration. Hype up your customers only up to the extravagance you can deliver.

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• Do well on the communication front: Constantly keeping in touch with the guests at all stages of the guest journey is imperative. Therefore, improve your communication methods to provide the most comfortable, convenient, and contactless stay to your guests. Let staff messaging stay on top of your game!

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The different techniques of managing vacation rental properties do not end here but these are matters of primary importance and immediate attention. If followed correctly, the facilities, services, and hospitality provided at your property and the subsequent feedback you accept will be a matter of pride for you. 

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You should be able to impressively show vacation rental reviews you’ve received as badges or tokens of guaranteed satisfaction, comfort, and pleasure on your website and other channels.

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Bonus point: Recreational resources and activities are a great boost to enriching and enhancing the guest experience. Additional facilities like a swimming pool or a game table exceptionally work in engaging your patrons and helping them enjoy their stay, thereby fetching you more brownie points.

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Requesting Your Rentals Review

Every remark from your guest, from the time of check-in to check-out, can be considered feedback. Similarly, you must take care that a review of their experience is shared online as a part of building recognition for your property. You can request your guest to post a review during check-out or invoke it in your guest messaging measures. 

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While mid-stay feedback is an effective measure to figure out what you’re doing right and what’s gone wrong, you should not shy away from asking your beloved customers to honestly speak their minds in an online review for your kind efforts. Remind the guests through email or whatever means suits you best to review you 2-3 days right after their departure when the stay is still fresh in their minds. Also, don’t forget to share with them the correct review links.

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Positive reviews and comments are indispensable and impactful to readers, which is why we have covered the tips and tricks to creating a gratifying guest experience and earning the desired feedback. While this is a part of managing vacation rental reviews, there is always the challenge of dealing with negative ratings, criticisms, and even fake commentary.

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Handling Negative Feedback On Your Rentals

Negative reactions and reviews do not necessarily mean “bad.” It is only practical that you may not be able to satisfy everybody with your facilities and hospitality. However, this does not mean that these reviews are to be ignored. Chances are they may contain vital information about actual shortcomings in your service and provide insight into improving those domains.  

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While it is wholesome to be proud of the positive reviews and be joyed to read the compliments scattered throughout the feedback you receive, it is not ideal to be personally troubled by negative evaluations and other criticisms. 

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The perspective of a reader going through the reviews and responses for your property must always be visible in your mind. Analyzing and understanding the opportunities for refinement and executing them to upgrade the quality of your guest experience reduce the scope for negative reviews.

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As it is a part of managing vacation rental reviews, an attentive host must be grateful to the reviewer for opening up and speaking out freely. Let us ponder over a vacation rental review example:

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Review - "The neighborhood was pretty nice. The bathroom walls were peeling and it felt like no one was maintaining the property. It also seemed a bit overpriced for what was offered."

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Response - “Dear Guest, we are glad to receive your feedback on your stay but disappointed to know that we could not make you feel entirely comfortable. We are pleased that our location and surroundings felt pleasant and suited you well. However, we apologize for the poor condition of the bathroom walls. We will fix it immediately and run additional maintenance to recognize similar issues. We are let down that your experience has left you feeling our services are overpriced. We shall take an in-depth look at our facilities and resources to identify any areas of improvement so that we can truly deliver the value of an enjoyable guest experience to our customers. Thank you very much for your review - honest reviews like these help us improve our quality of service for all of our beloved guests. We hope to take all measures required to rectify the situation and have you back here once again as a contented customer!”

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In this case, the response covers a compliment as well as two complaints submitted by the reviewer. Starting with an acknowledgment of their feelings and ending with the assurance of improvement, this reply also shares gratitude for the feedback, thereby delivering completion to the review. 

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Keep in mind the following points to improve your skill in managing vacation rental reviews:

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• Respond to online reviews as soon as possible, as your guests highly appreciate this. The delay caused in replying to criticisms and queries raised in a review may badly affect your possibility to re-establish a better connection with that customer.

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• Maintain a respectful tone throughout your responses without being defensive or starting an argument. Well-meaning responses inspire confidence in potential customers who check out the rentals review board before finalizing a holiday home.

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• Bravely opt for the best vacation rental management software to take care of your needs. You can effortlessly handle every aspect of your property once you hand over the reins to the most efficient software service for timely management.

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Maintaining Online Reputation For Vacation Rentals

The comfort of accommodation in your vacation rental and the hospitality you offer can lend value to the reputation you build online. Reviews and responses are noteworthy deciding factors that influence bookings and have an effect on your revenue stream. The competition in the hospitality industry is now fought within the virtual constraints of the internet. 

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Providing excellent accommodation and controlling the narrative of your reviews is how you climb up the ladder as a respectable and hospitable host with a fantastic property to check out. These amazing ways of managing vacation rental reviews comprise of-

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• Delivering an impeccable guest experience, thereby assuring positive feedback
• Responding to your guests’ opinions in a professional and friendly manner, irrespective of their tone and essence
• Identifying areas of improvement from them and making the essential changes to eliminate the possibility of similar criticisms.

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Prepare an enjoyable and entirely comfortable vacation for your beloved guests and earn their trust in your hospitality. Rely on them and their satisfaction to shout out the quality of your property. Share your gratitude and address their concerns as you make your way to the top. This art of managing online reputation and vacation rental reviews takes you to the heights that you aim to attain.

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With GuestTouch, Stay On Top Of Your Vacation Rental Reviews By Handling Guest Feedback, Providing Top-Notch Stays, and Boosting Occupancy

Streamline operations, connect with customers, drive sales and delight your guests with the best guest experiences with reputation management for vacation rentals:

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• Personalize responses to every guest review
• Get more reviews seamlessly on sites customers love and trust
• Collect guest feedback proactively
• Manage all your reviews in a single dashboard

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