Property management sure does keep you on your toes, especially when it comes to communicating with guests. Can you even remember the last time you managed to go 15 minutes without receiving some sort of guest inquiry?
Let’s face it, most of those questions are redundant and have you thinking “déjà vu”. And what’s more, your time is way too valuable to constantly type out messages that your guests usually already have the answer to. But as always, we’re here to help.
One of Guesty’s most popular features is our 24/7 Guest Communication Services, which is comprised of a team professional experts who answer all messages from guests on your behalf – regardless of the day or time. We sat down with our guest service experts, aka GSEs, to find out which questions they answer the most.
If you’ve been personally answering all of your guest inquiries, the results won’t shock you, but the benefits and amount of time this feature can save you definitely will.
1. ‘When will I receive the check-in instructions?’
It seems some guests want instructions about the instructions. While the easiest response might simply be “soon,” our experts would never respond to any of your guests so abruptly. They answer all questions directly and politely. In this case, they tell your guests the day on which the instructions are scheduled to arrive.
2. ‘What time is check-in?’
Your guests already have the answer to this question, both in the listing description and in the booking confirmation, but somehow it’s asked so often that it’s second on this list.
You’re juggling way too much to respond to a question that your guests already have the answer to.
Luckily our experts are more than capable of checking the listing description and answering accordingly. They keep the guests happy and save you time.
3. ‘Do you provide linens or towels?’
Like check-in time, the answer to this question can be found in the listing description, so unless you’re using a messaging system, prepare to answer this one a lot. Our experts check your listing description and provide your guests with the answer. Easy peasy and out of your hair.
4. ‘Is there parking?’
I bet you can guess the rest of this paragraph. It’s in the listing description, and typing out a long response to this one is not worth your time.
5. ‘How do I check in?’
If you’ve already switched to keyless entry, the check-in instructions are pretty clear, but if you’re still handing over keys, this question might be the most important one throughout your guests’ stay. Our GSEs take note to answer this question with great detail so your guests’ vacation can start off right and they can get their keys on time.
6. Can I check in early & can I check out late?’
Every host that signs up for the 24/7 Guest Communication Services fills out a detailed questionnaire on how and what they’d like the GSEs to respond. Questions like these are answered on a case-by-case basis, depending on your policies and other reservations. Whether the answer is yes or no, our experts are always diligent to answer each guest inquiry clearly and politely.
7. ‘Where can I store my luggage?’
This one is no challenge for our experts, they are guest service experts after all. They simply check your personal portfolio and answer accordingly. Easy, breezy, Guesty.
8. ‘What’s the bathroom situation?’
Umm… with a toilet?
Okay, but actually, they look at your rentals’ description and tell them how many bathrooms and half-baths there are, and even where each of them can be found.
9. ‘Can you recommend a restaurant?’
When asked for any sort of recommendation, our experts take it upon themselves to search for the best of the best in your area. If a guest requests a restaurant our GSEs will send them a number of suggestions that have all received positive reviews on websites like Yelp or TripAdvisor.
Once You Get Guest Communication Services, You Won’t Go Back
If your reaction to this list was “Oh yeah, I’ve had to answer those 1000 times before,” it’s time to stop manually answering your guest inquiries and let us take care of them for you. You deserve it and your business will be better off because of it.
What the 24/7 Guest Communication Services Can Do for You
In August of 2018 we conducted extensive research about guest communication, and the results speak for themselves. A property manager with 115 listings will have to answer around 18,000 questions in the span of 90 days. Based on the average amount of time each question requires, our research showed that the 24/7 guest communication services are proven to save a property manager over 215,000 minutes on guest communication alone!
Beyond answering all guest inquiries, our 24/7 team offers a variety of other services, like screening guests based on your criteria, and managing your reviews. They can even adjust bookings to fit any special requests you or your guests might have.
All of these services greatly contribute to receiving, or maintaining, your Airbnb superhost status by keeping your response rate high and lowering your cancelation rate, which is proven to increase bookings and revenue.
All the Truth About Guest Communication
Time is money, and manual guest communication is costing you, big time. Stop investing your time in typing out frivolous messages, and start investing in our team of experts to do the work for you.
With all that extra time on your hands, you’ll be able to focus on growing your business, bettering your rentals, and any smaller details that may have been overlooked due to constant communication overload.
To truly succeed in the modern, fast-paced, vacation rental industry, you need to be fully guest-centric, and the most important part of guest centricity is excellent communication. Your guests want their answers, and they want them now. You want to give that to them, but you also have so much else to take care of that it becomes too easy for these things to slip through your fingers.
Successful guest service is founded on three major components: accuracy, speed, and personalized service. Your portfolio with the guest communication services is verified to ensure accuracy, and the experts are equipped to provide quick, personalized responses every time.
Guesty’s talented marketing team is comprised of passionate professionals who share insightful industry knowledge and shape brand narratives. By bringing a diverse blend of expertise to the table, we are the visionary architects behind the Guesty brand and innovative campaigns that help people understand our product.
