How to Create a GOAT Guest Experience
May 4, 2022
Knowing your customer is step number one in creating a top guest experience. Who is staying in your properties? Are they looking to have a relaxing vacation? Create unforgettable memories with their family? Or to fulfill their values by traveling sustainability?
To answer these questions, you need to be aware of market trends and demands. But these can be ever-evolving and different generations may have different interests, so how do you keep everyone happy? We’ve got some simple tips to help you get started. Shape your ideal guest’s GOAT (greatest of all time) vacation experience and see the uplift to your property management business:
Three ways to create a GOAT guest experience
1. Make it easy – Most travelers go on vacation for a break from their busy daily lives, so make their trip as stress-free as possible. The Connected Trip is the use of all-in-one software to simplify the booking and travel process, by eliminating the need for multiple platforms for each part of the travel journey.
Every step of the process should be efficient and work well, especially the basics. Keep your listings accurate, your availability calendar up-to-date, have clear directions, and ensure the property is stocked with supplies and cleaned ready for arrival. Travel tech can automate many of these processes and allows you to update all your listings in seconds.
Guests want quick responses and more communication from their travel hosts. According to Google over two-thirds of guests are more likely to purchase from businesses that offer convenient communication.
Automated technology ensures guests receive a non-stop service, through 24-7 guest services, without taking away from staff resources. For example, in-room voice-enabled technology, like virtual concierge SmartHost, can answer questions like ‘where’s the best restaurant?’ and ‘what nearby activities can we do today?’ immediately with fully customized responses.
2. Make it memorable – Create a service so good guests will be talking about it with friends for years to come, leading to ace reviews, loyal customers, and positive word of mouth. This service starts right from the beginning of their journey when they are looking at your property listing online.
Be sure to have professional-looking, detailed listings, with high-quality photos and accurate descriptions so your properties match and exceed guest expectations. There’s nothing worse than being oversold by misleading photographs of amenities that aren’t actually available, or by incorrect occupancy levels. Be honest and your customers will trust in your brand, making them more likely to return.
Go above and beyond to leave lasting impressions with an arrival gift, like a basket of local bread and jam or discounts on fun day trips. Provide more than the guest thought they needed, with tech advanced rooms, and truly local activity recommendations to help them plan every day of their trip.
3. Make it fulfilling – Give guests what they’re looking for by staying tuned in to the top travel trends. In the year ahead, guests are looking for fun (76%), relaxing (69%), and stress relieving (61%) travel.
Top activities US travelers have suggested they’re looking for include: enjoying scenic beauty in nature, visiting National Parks, and trying out new food experiences. Younger generations, like Gen Z and millennials, have a more diverse set of interests and hope to take part in arts and culture, attend amusement parks and experience big cities while on their travels.
Expedia found over a fifth of travelers want a once-in-a-lifetime experience on their next trip. You can help these guests create those incredible memories, by partnering with attraction providers to offer discounts and free fun experiences. Through authentic activities, guests get the unique opportunity to live like a local and contribute to the economy, which over two-thirds want to do in future vacations.
This fulfills another top market trend: eco-friendly travel. Guests have shown they’re willing to pay more to give back to local communities by taking sustainable vacations. Accommodate these savvy guests with eco options within and beyond their rental, by subbing supplies for less wasteful options, cooking with local organic produce, and suggesting transport-free activities.
With short-term rental lodging competitors all looking to boost their appeal and bookability, it can be hard to stand out to potential guests. Offer them something extra by adding value to your listings with discounts and free local activities, through creating relationships with trusted attraction partners. If there’s one thing you take away, let it be this: the guest experience is everything, not just for travelers but for your business’s success.
Xplorie
Xplorie is the leading platform in guest acquisition and retention solutions for leisure lodging providers. Since 1996, Xplorie has leveraged local and complementary activities to help lodging providers differentiate their properties, improve guest loyalty and increase top-line revenue. To learn more about how Xplorie enables lodging providers to deliver an unforgettable vacation experience to guests, visit xplorie.com/partner.
