You know yourself that when the time comes to book a trip, reviews are one of the first things you check, the good and the bad!
You may think that having a negative review on your holiday let spells a drop in bookings, and while numerous negative reviews might, the occasional bad review shouldn’t. It all comes down to how you respond to them.
Before we get into responding to the reviews, let’s look at how you can encourage more!
How can I encourage positive reviews on my holiday let?
The simple answer is to give your customers something to shout about! If your let is clean and welcoming the reviews should follow!
Cleanliness
Guests have high standards when it comes to cleanliness so ensure your property is spotless. Check it over before your guests arrive and just to be sure, check it again.
Warm welcome
Greet your guests (by phone if you can’t be there in person) and let them know that you are around if they need you for anything. If there are interesting facts about your property or the area, let them know!
Welcome pack
A thoughtful welcome pack can go a long way in the mind of the guest. Fill it full of locally sourced treats (jam, bread and milk). If your property is family friendly think about including something for the children, or something for pets if you allow them!
Focus on quality
When you invest in quality products and decor your guests will notice. A calm space will leave your guests feeling relaxed and happy throughout their stay.
Display your reviews
Use a reviews widget (like the one available through Bookalet) to collect and display your reviews on your website allowing future customers to easily see them.
How to get more reviews on my holiday let?
Request reviews shortly after check-out
People easily forget once they’ve checked out so jog their memory with a follow up email asking for a review. It’s important not to leave this too long, get people to leave a review when they are still feeling happy after their trip!
If you are struggling for reviews, offer a discount
Maybe you have just started out and don’t yet have any reviews or are struggling to get customers to leave one. A sure-fire way to bring in those initial reviews is to offer a discount to those who do.
Act fast if problems occur
Things go wrong, it’s a fact of life. When something happens during your customers stay, act fast and go above and beyond to fix the issue for them. This is a great way to turn a negative into a positive and get a glowing review from it. Often customers don’t mind when things go wrong, so long as you deal with it accordingly!
How do I deal with negative reviews on my holiday let?
To avoid negative reviews in the first place there are some key points to stick to:
- Accurately portray your holiday let so there aren’t any surprises. If you are by a busy road, have limited parking or noisy neighbours, be sure to make this clear before taking bookings. Being honest about these things will make sure your guests know what to expect.
- Be communicative with your guests. Leave clear instructions for check-in/check-out, leave the WiFi code somewhere obvious and if you have any difficult to use items in your let, leave instructions.
- If you’ve had a difficult guest, don’t ask them for a review!
We know it is disappointing to receive a negative review, but the way you respond is so important. Try to remember that your response isn’t for the previous guest, it is for future guests who may be looking through your reviews!
- Don’t respond immediately. Give yourself some time to think about (not weeks but try sleeping on it). It is best to respond without anger and emotion especially when the review isn’t 100% accurate!
- Find out what happened. If you weren’t involved in the issues raised, speak to your team to try to find out exactly what happened, photos are a god send in this instance! Email the guests for more information if you need to, and when you respond focus on the major issues.
- If it was your mistake, own up. When a guests complaint is justified, the easiest thing to do is to admit it, even if the guest is being ‘petty’! Explain that you have listened to the issues and made changes to ensure it doesn’t happen again, e.g. “Thank you for your feedback, following this we have hired additional cleaners to ensure this does not happen again”. You can also try to offer a discount on their next stay as compensation.
So to summarise, respond to all reviews. Good and bad. Encourage guests to leave reviews by providing the best service you can, and by asking for them, and don’t get down about negative reviews, use it as an opportunity to further show how hospitable you are!
