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We all know how friendly people in a hotel, restaurant, or anywhere we go give us a true feeling of being warmly welcomed, and we even feel more relaxed after a good first impression with new people. First impressions are everything, and that also counts for your Airbnb hosting.
In Airbnb property management agencies, we train all our staff to be friendly and punctual and always consider the guests’ needs first. We know that Airbnb guests look for a more personal experience, so we also take a more personal approach when handling our guests. So, does it mean the host needs to get into personal details immediately? No, we don’t mean that you have to get intimate. What is more important is that the service and the smiles we offer should be genuine. We don’t want to sound monotone, like the way we sometimes feel when we enter the hotel.
We want to make the guests feel we are expecting them, and they should be very welcome. They should feel like that already before we meet them. First impressions start when they look at our property listing. So, how is it possible to give a good impression on a property listing? How can we put the atmosphere we have in real life on a website? By adding beautiful pictures, of course! Also, by explaining a bit more about ourselves in the host section of the listing. However, the best thing is being friendly and being nominated for outstanding hospitality. That is something the guests can do for you through their reviews.
Guests always first look at pictures. What pleases their eye is more likely to be the property they will go for. As an Airbnb property management, we hire professional photographers who can capture the best bits of your property. Through pictures, they can bring out an excellent first impression. The warmth and coziness of the property are totally possible to bring to light through professional photos.
The next step is to look into the host details we are giving. Guests love to know a bit about their host before they arrive. Therefore, take a moment to add a personal profile that tells a bit about yourself. You don’t need to write a whole life story, and nobody has time to read that, but make it sound personal, let the guests know who you are. They also need to know if you are available or not, who is the co-host, and how the co-host is available. Give a good first impression here; be friendly, informative, and stick to the facts. Don’t promise to be available if you have a busy work and simply can’t manage to be around all the time.
Sending a warm welcome message after a booking is also a great way to give a good impression of your property. Some guests want to chat more before arrival, and some just come and go without much interaction with the host. You can generate an automated message which gets sent to the guest as soon as they have confirmed and paid for their stay. It can include information like check-in details, where to get the keys, Wi-Fi password, general information, and how to check-out. Even though all this information is available for the guests on their booking site, it is still good to remind them of the most important things. Remember not to make it too long, though, because nobody wants to spend too much time reading the same things repeatedly.
When we have managed to convince our guests through our listing, they book it, and now comes the time to welcome them. This is the time for real face-to-face impressions now, and we better make it even better than the one online.
There is nothing better than a warm welcome. A friendly smile and happy greetings go far. In other cases, the check-in is done by the guests themselves, but you can still give them a warm welcome by adding a small welcome note with chocolate to the house or anything you can come up with.
Every guest is different; you will learn it by time, and you will be able to see if the guests are into socializing or they rather keep to themselves. Don’t push it, if you see that the guests just want to focus on their own things, let them do their own things. If you see that they would love to know you more and get some tips from you on what to do in the area, take your time to interact with them. Make sure to be available at all times. If it’s not possible for you, make sure somebody is there to answer and react to any issue that may appear.
Airbnb property management staff is usually quite busy, especially during high season. However, we always make sure that guests feel welcomed, and we don’t rush with them if they feel the need to know more and ask questions.
Sometimes it’s also important to personally meet the guests on their arrival. There can be several small details that need instructions like how to turn on the hot water, how does the TV remote control work or how to lock the doors when going out. The better you welcome your guests, the more comfortable they will also feel about getting back to you in case of any issue they might face during their stay.
So, an excellent first impression is a whole process that starts from the listing and ends in the day the booking starts. The more you do it, the more you learn about it. Remember that guests want to feel the place is welcoming, know they will be assisted if needed, see a happy face on their arrival and relax, knowing the host is relaxed too. Of course, keep on smiling afterward, so that the first impression will keep on even improving. It leads to more good reviews which then lead to more bookings again.
If you would like to learn more about Airbnb property management, or about Airbnb property management companies like HomeHost, click here to schedule a free phone call with us. We’ll chat about how much your property may be worth, how other similar properties in your area have been performing, and why HomeHost has so many great reviews on Google and Facebook.
