Customers are the lifeblood of a successful Airbnb venture, and as well as attracting new ones, getting guests to return to your property is vital.
So, with that in mind, what are some of the best ways to encourage visitors to come back to your own Airbnb property?
Table of Contents
Impress your guests
Ensuring your property is clean and well-stocked should be a given, but there are certainly other things you can do to make it a winner with guests. These include everything offering extra amenities (like a coffee machine and board games), making check-in simple, and providing a welcome pack of treats.
Another way of impressing your guests is to be an excellent communicator. By responding quickly to messages, communicating politely and comprehensively, and asking guests what they would like to feel comfortable with, they’re more likely to return to a property.
There are Airbnb property management companies that can support you by going above and beyond guest expectations. Take Frank Porter, for example, who offers property management for rentals in Dubai, or GuestReady specializes in the London area. Alternatively, Airbnb has a hosting partner program that may be of use to you.
Demonstrate honesty and transparency
Good communication should start before your guests have even booked their stay, and this means being upfront about your property. You don’t need the perfect home to wow guests, but you need to be honest about it.
Visitors will be disheartened if you overstate your property’s amenities or omit important information, like if there is building work nearby that sometimes causes noise, or if the internet occasionally cuts out.
By including such information in the listing, prospective guests will know what to expect and will likely be more satisfied as a result.
Be personable and present
Getting to know your visitors on a more personal level makes them more likely to have a memorable experience, increasing the likelihood of them returning.
A great start is being at the property on arrival. Helping your guests to carry their baggage, giving them a quick tour, and answering any queries they may have creates an excellent first impression.
You should also be sure to keep in contact with your guests after their stay. Although reaching out to them and asking for reviews is encouraged, this doesn’t have to be the only time you interact.
A simple message thanking them, wishing them a safe journey home, and letting them know that they’re welcome to stay again can go a long way in encouraging them to do just that.
Offer incentives to return
Incentives are a fantastic way of getting people to reuse products or services, and the same is true for Airbnb stays. So, consider offering guests the following sweeteners to encourage them to re-book:
- Discounts – Everyone loves a bargain, so by offering discounts to guests for re-booking your property, they’re much more likely to return.
- Free nights – You may even want to go a step further and offer a free night at your property for returning guests. While this will cost you in the short run, it can pay off should the visitors in question become repeat guests.
- Additional activities – Similarly, you could offer to pay for an additional activity should a guest return, like a meal at a local restaurant or tickets to a local show of some kind.
It’s a good idea to offer these incentives in exchange for referrals and five-star reviews, as this will help you attract new guests too.
