0 Shares VRS064 – How to use reviews to grow your vacation rental business Reviews are more than just an opportunity to pat yourself on the back and bask in the glow of compliments about your home and the service you give. They are also a reservoir of suggestions, recommendations and ideas that can provide you with so much information on what you could do to improve the experience […]
0 Shares VRS060 – Touch Stay: The evolution of the welcome book with Andy McNulty From the founder of Getaway Earth and Vacation Insider Guides, comes Touch Stay – the “Online Welcome Pack for the Digital Age”, and it was a real delight to have Andy McNulty back on the show to talk about it. This testimonial from a Touch Stay client shows that Andy has found that sweet spot […]
0 Shares VRS042 – Creating a Vacation Insider Guide with Andy McNulty My guest on this episode is passionate about the vacation rental business, and although he doesn’t own a property himself, he has been a powerful advocate for delivering great information to guests, for many years. Back in 2007, Andy McNulty, together with a business partner, founded Getaway Earth. The site aimed to create a space […]
0 Shares Meeting Vacation Rental Guest Expectations Has anyone noticed how this year renters seem to have much higher expectations than before? I remember when the most asked question was, ‘Does it have running water and electricity’, and feeling amused and slightly smug saying that not only did my cottage have the luxury of an indoor toilet, but it also had a TV. Now, some of the most frequently asked questions are, ‘What size is the TV and does it get the sports channel?’, and ‘Is there hi-speed internet?’ Just a few weeks ago, I heard a complaint from a renter who had completed their vacation at a cottage on a lake local to us. The cottage has grass to the shoreline then shallow water with a hard sand bottom with a few rocks. I would say water shoes are advisable but then I’d recommend that anyway. The listing for the cottage said: “Sandy, shallow walkout to the water, deepening gradually toward the end of the dock”. The renter complained that the ‘beach’ that was advertised was not there and her daughter was unable to play in the sand. Apparently, using the word ‘sandy’ in the listing gave the impression that there was a portion of Bondi Beach on the shoreline, dunes stretching in every direction, and an expectation her children of the family spending happy hours building Buckingham Palace type sandcastles.
0 Shares The Vacation Rental Welcome Book I am about to share my ignorance. Back in school, oh about 40 years ago (although it really does feel like yesterday), I prided myself on being pretty good at geography. I knew the capital cities of most countries in the world, could recite every state in the US and province in Canada, and I […]
0 Shares VRS034 – How to Increase Vacation Rental Guest Happiness in 10 Easy Steps We all know that guest exepectations continue to rise and what was tolerated 10 years ago, would be grounds for a complete refund today, but some areas are slower to catch on than others. There are a lot of reasons for this, not least of which is the traditional nature of vacations in places where […]
0 Shares VRS015 – 25 Ways to Attract 5 Star Reviews In this session of Vacation Rental Success I share 25 ways you can make an impact on your guests that will contribute to them writing a great review on your listing. I know from personal experience how much reviews can impact a vacation decision. We use vacation rentals wherever we travel and the reviews are […]
0 Shares The Sure-Fire Way to Get Negative Reviews – and How to Avoid Them I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what happens when things go wrong at a vacation rental and how easy it is to screw up all the goodwill you have created with guests by simply mis-handling the situation. When I say ‘mishandling’ I mean not having the systems and procedures in place to manage a […]
0 Shares How to Please Guests When the Sun Doesn’t Shine in Paradise Many years ago we planned a vacation in the Cahors region of France – in a rental villa. It was a small place just for the two of us, but it was in a beautiful region and we were excited about exploring; eating out on terraces in old villages; relaxing by the pool at the […]
0 Shares How we got 60 Reviews and created a loyal band of repeat guests This week saw a milestone at Osprey Cottage and our 60th review. It was from a group who have been to the cottage before but this was the first time they had posted a review so it was a delight to hear from them. Since we have had such great success with this property, I […]
