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My secret to incredible guest reviews

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Patriciatimlin1986

Every guest that enters our home is welcomed as part of our family.We provide a home away from home to everyone.

  • Spend time getting to know your guests over a cup of tea & some yummy pastries.
  • If they have been travelling for a few days as if you can do their laundry.
  • If they are staying for a number of nights send them of with a picnic to enjoy. 
  • Have useful brochures about what to see in your area & the surrounding areas also know your history of all areas.
  • Look up useful information that they have queries about.
In general treat your guests like you would like to be treated.

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    Maric Park Cottages, Qld.

    Being genuine, friendly and helpful. We always try to be here to welcome our guests and give them a quick run through what is in the cottage and ask them their plans for the stay.  If we can offer advice we do. Having said that we don't waste too much of their time. They are here to rest and relax and enjoy the area. We are on hand if they need us but let them have their own space as well.  We offer little extras in the cottage which are usually very much appreciated by our guests.

     

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    Bfmpropertiesllc

    Yes, I agree with Maric Park Cottages. We are welcoming and generous, giving tours, answering questions and sharing details about the cottage and area attractions/restaurants.  We don't offer cooking/laundry services (I can't even make homemade brownies) because that will put us in a different tax bracket that we're trying to avoid, but we do provide our guests with tea and coffee, as well as quick breakfast items such as pastries, instant oatmeal, fruit and yogurt and daily snacks in a "help yourself" format. We provide a couple of bottles of wine and fresh flowers on arrival, bedside chocolates, bottled water and books/games.  I don't make a gift basket for my guests; I tell them the entire cottage is their gift basket!  We get great comments on the many indulgences they've found while staying on property.  Our guests are truly spoiled!

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    Rohan

    Our accommodation is quite old and homely however we continue to receive high guest scores.  We are in a tiny town in Victoria that is a cross-road to major destinations, both north & south and east & west.  We are welcoming, enjoy meeting our guests in person and having a chat, and provide comfortable accommodation with lots of extras. 

    We have high quality linen, soft fluffy towels, bathrobes, Lavazza pod coffee, fresh milk in the refrigerator, a range of milks for special diets & fresh ground coffee for plunger, a complimentary dinner basket for when the shops are closed, port, chocolates, fresh fruit, a selection of organic leaf tea and organic tea bags, instant coffee, and gluten free cookies. We often have fresh picked herbs from our garden in a vase.  The apartments are decorated with our own art, bric-a-brac, books and furniture.  Our online photos accurately reflect our accommodation.  Apart from high quality toiletries in our bathrooms we also have extra shampoo, deodorant, razor, tooth brush & paste. 

    The two compliments most often received by us are "your attention to detail was wonderful" and "you have thought of everything".  We really get a buzz from guests who appreciate our old fashioned environment and then let us know in person and through guest reviews.

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    Rojas950

     

    Bfmpropertiesllc  and Rohan..

    wow..great wellcome..i am new in this but for sure will try to follow your advises..I would love to visit for a stay some time..

    thank you for your comments

    cheers

     

     

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    Michael

    Our rental is a cabin in the mountains, and is an hour drive from where we live. So we're not there when the guests are there. But we leave them a gift basket with candy, popcorn, and a bottle of wine. We provide everything they need for their stay, except food and personal items. We have toiletries, spices in the kitchen (some of which have been left by previous guests). Our cabin is large and beautifully decorated. And we always get great reviews.

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    Helena

    Hello. I work hard, most of the guests are well appraised, but some of them give a very poor rating, no matter how you work with them. It always affects me. I can not help: /

    maybe some advice? :/

     

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    michael beeston

    fantastic information from you all..Thanks and it really helps knowing these things  Michael

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    Dandmtrainor

    We also have to respect our guests privacy. There is a fine line between being friendly and being a little too friendly. Art not science i suppose. And everyones intent is always to look after their guests the best way they can. Little things alll mean a lot to our guests and they so notice. If we can brighten someones days with a posey of flowers in their room on arrival, some bikkies to go with a cuppa, herbal teas, treats. They feel like we do care. 

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    Villa Marqua

    "treat your guests like you would like to be treated"

    That's the secret. That's the first step.

    Image being in there shoes and start from there. 

    What would you except from your host is the question.

    think about the answer and act.

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    Simone Mendelovitz

    Indeed, treat your guests as they are truly guests and not only clients. I consider I give them a lot even an washing machine and a dryer. They get 3 rooms, a big terrace and a swimming pool. We have perpetual contacts in WhatsAp and they can call me 24 /24. My guests get a super accommodation for their dogs, cats and babies. Is all that enough for a "thank you" and a good score? Unfortunately not many guests bothers to write for me two or three nice words. Really, do we have to pay them to do it?

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    Villa Marqua

    Good moves in my opinion. We also provide them with a cell phone with free calls to and from Vodafone in order to communicate free. Well some guests maybe don't know how to write a review or even if review sustem exists. Try to "fish" them ( as we say in Greek) talk to them about reviews and how important is for you and how much appreciated you will be if they do a positive review. Of course you will need to built a good and positive attitude before asking that. If they leave and you haven't had the time to ask for a review them send them a feedback email, asking them how was their stay and how honered you will be by writing you a review. Mayby some "lies" like: we might visit you country next Christmas so how about letting us know some good seight seeings? That could be a good start. And at the end mention how important for you is that they should write a review.

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    Simone Mendelovitz

    Thank you for your advice. The question is if Booking.com like Airbnb is asking them for a review. Otherwise you need to be so lucky for having the nicest people in the world for being your guests.

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    Kathedralhousing

    I agree with everyone here. Greeting guests personally and providing a tour is enough to get even the most hostile guest over the edge. Because you can identify problems at the start. We offer a little welcome platter of chocolates, and non alcoholic cider, some snacks in the room. And free wine down stairs. But we know our guests are 90 % going out to see the fireworks, so they aren't going to abuse our generosity. We also are on several other platforms and as part of the information we leave on their bed, we included the book we wrote on the history of our house, and Niagara Falls. ( YEP- a real tourist guide book.:) Plus a laminated card telling them about their breakfast and picnic basket options that we provide, .. ..and a laminate card with wifi, a few FAQ answers, AND a polite explanation as to how certain platforms just changed the way they review hosts. At this point we are not referring to booking.com. Just explaining the change on another platform.  After check out if they are great guests and we know they deserve a wonderful review, we tell them we are giving them one, its an easy way of reassuring guests, and we only do it if we are genuine.  With booking.com guests if we see them at check out, we literally just invite them to leave a review. "Thank you for staying, it's been a pleasure sharing the falls with you. Please leave a review, your opinion matters to us, and it's a way for us to improve." That seems to do it. 

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    Giallombardo

    Great tips/reminders, thank you.

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    Bonnie Phillips

    Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what we have to do and what we are doing, we forget to pay attention to what guests are focused on. In the situations where a lower review has happened, I noticed that I failed to ask in a persistent way for feedback early - after the first day or two. Something like, "What comes to your mind right now that could be better about your experience here?" Then perhaps run through shared kitchen, bathroom, common rooms, bedroom, sleep time, etc.  People need encouragement to provide what they perceive to be negative feedback. When received I thank guests profusely - it's what our business runs on. Best you smoke it out while you can do something about it. Then try to fix it.  Also - I neglected to ask close to departure time, "how well did your stay live up to expectations?" "what was it you most enjoyed in staying here?" 

    I am working on a little handout about evaluation as I don't feel the present Booking.com review is really fair to BnBs. That said, I really enjoy Booking.com.

    One other thought: When you provide unadvertised benefits, let guests know.  I would often do this without charge but neglect to point it out - "we don't usually . . ."  

    Bonnie

     

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    Themansion

    We welcome all guests the same and try our best to be consistent with all. It is tricky to get round all guests and have the personal chat, though we have a just ask policy for any wants, needs, or information. Some guests book thinking they are coming to an hotel as we have 15 rooms and an indoor pool and get huffy when there is no room service. That said our reviews are more good than bad, and I would advise asking guests what you could do better and ask what they have liked the most, they will proffer bad feed back usually at this point and some guests we just don't ask, you know the ones.

     

    Ian

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    Elinnog60

    We respect all our guest, leave them do their thing

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    Elinnog60

    So far no problem with any guests, 4 years in. I am lucky.

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    Berylkristen
    • Editado

    Dealing with rude and the self centered customers are often difficult to please. And when they don't get their way they left leaving a very bad feed back and its not good for the customers who wants to book.. I know that we put customers first but how can we deal with the ones who makes them selves too important and bargain their way in just about anything.

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    Themansion

    We had a 1 on TA, in a sea of 4 and 5 star marks. Some people can be empathised with, some are just odd and obviously never pleased, read their other reviews and then you won't feel so bad. I try to explain clearly our side of the points this often makes them guilty on reflection and they remove the comments. If it is genuine I have no problem taking it on the chin if it is mentioned before leaving, however have no sympathy for key board warriors who think they are Alex Polizzi.

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    Ccpddb

    I think it is very important to recieve your guests and offer them a glass of wine or a beer or coffee or tea when they enter. We also have little baggies of homemade cookies waiting for them in their room with flowers and bottled waters. I also upon completion of their stay never let a guest leave without a care package of treats , these can be cookies or leftover pastries, bottled waters some fruit, and usually some homemade snack sandwiches for the road. We have made a practice of this and so far we have a perfect 10 on all of our reviews.

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    michael beeston

    Hi Guys...............some interesting comments, Like our comrade Ccpddb, we offer a bottler of Champagne on arrival, six types of coffee and 6 types of tea to the guests. I personally do the meet and greet because we live only ten minutes away so no problems.. ..and I have time to talk to the guests, which I enjoy very much.............45 PERFECT 10s so far......good news indeed...Michael.

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    Ccpddb

    Wow! Michael Beeston great job, you have every right to be proud! That’s incredible!

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    Ccpddb

    Hey everyone, I have been reading all your comments and I really hope that we all remember that we have different types of appeal to our guests! Not all of us are high traffic or large capacity. Therefore we have to be a little different, we can’t have jacuzzis, or banquet facilities, or hold weddings at our facilities. We depend upon our unique service and specialty food service to draw customers. Let’s remember that when we are tempted to go negative in our comments in this forum. Please!

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    michael beeston

    100% agree.................we get great responses/reviews  because of our location and the fab furniture from all over the World PLUS the Champagne,.I understand that is not applicable to everyone as Ccpddb mentions But good luck in all your endeavours........................Love reading all your comments with much interest............have a look at our property (just for fun)..The Pinnacle Apartments Gold Coast Queensland and enjoy....Michael....... and come and stay one day (haha.would love it)

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    Leandri Klopper

    Hi Forum!

    Interesting read. My congratulations on everyone's efforts! I'm impressed. 

     

    All of our properties work the same. Our Receptionists checks the guests in, there is welcome drinks with a staff member from the resort (either public relations or entertainment) who bids the guests welcome and gets to know them. It works well, and each guests will get to feel like they are important. As our properties are quite large, it will be difficult to have One of one chats with every single guest like the smaller properties are able to do. Someone might feel like they are out, and that won't get us a good review. So we also organise a meet and greet event in the middle of the week each week, where more staff members are required to be so as to make sure all the guests get some attention.

    If I could start a smaller B&B now, I think I would look most forward to meeting the guests myself as I'm currently missing out on that. 

    Keep doing what you all are doing!

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    Chris Gregg

    Hi All,

    I have a 9.9 for reviews in both my place one going a year and the other 2.5 years.

    I think reviews is the most important thing there is to get more business. Unfortunately Booking com  don't help this with there review system and I have complained many times. Airbnb on the other hand have it just right. I know a friend who has removed his property completely from booking because of this I am getting to that stage. 

    So you have a guest stay and they couldn't be happier they sing your praises and you think well I'm defiantly going to get a 10/10 here. then few days later it comes through.. brilliant write up but the score is 9.6 or a lot less. Well when this happens to us we reluctantly contact the guest to see what we had done wrong (Also depending on how we got on with the guest), from then on it was always the same thing they had made a mistake they didn't see the last smiley face or they must have tab'ed on and a face wasn't clicked. I still don't know whether its on phones or what but it happens a lot. I seen on other properties on BC really really bad scores but the write up is that its amazing place.

    If this does happen to you the only way to sort it is once you are sure the guest has made a mistake ( I guarantee this happens a hell of a lot) you need to contact BC to send a link to change the review. 

    Its awful that we have to do this but its our business. Big hotels don't care as much as single house and small B&B's. I'm telling you now this is a big problem and if it happens to you or now you read this you think it has happen before. It is a real kick in the teeth.

    As I said I have complain loads of times and been told that the review system is going to change but hasn't happen yet. This has been going on a long time.

    When it does please happen to you, take the time to complain as well as I think its the only way to get them to change there system.

    Thanks and goo luck to you all.

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    Akwador

    We have developed a diagram map with the Guest House at the centre and all shops, banks with ATMs, bus station, restaurants, takeaways and bars listed. The recommended restaurants are coloured in red (based on previous guests feedback, our personal experience and a glance at Trip Advisor).

    Further, we then give them a tour of the premises and end up at the notice board where they are introduced to the above described map and encouraged to snap it on their phone so they always have it to hand.

    We then advise how the buses work, where tickets can be purchased and numbers of local buses. If they are chatty and not tired after their trip, we cover places of interest and discuss trip timings plus where the swimming holes and beaches are.

    If we undertook the private transfer, they are met at Airport Arrivals with a sign bearing their name and then whisked to the property. If they can speak English well, there is usually a conversation in the car (after having determined if they have been before or are first time arrivals) regarding the size of the country, the transport system and any other useful bit of information like "Is the water safe to drink?"

    We firmly believe that letting the guest know they don't have to stay in their room but are welcome to roam the kitchen area and make free tea & coffee plus sit on the roof terrace 24/7 - we want the 'home from home' feeling. This gives a guest a running start and the confidence to go exploring.

     

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    Akwador

    Chris Gregg - we average 9.4 , only once dipping to 9.3 one year which we immediately made an effort to recover from and have been 9.4 since.

    You are doing very well with your scores, but suspect that if you had you 8 to 10 rooms and therefore several guests to accommodate at once, you would also dip in points.

    My wife is more gutted by lower scores than I am - as long as we are in the  9 and above, I am happy - the competition is 7.5 to 8.5.

    Nevertheless - we are also annoyed as we frequently get 'great location' but a 7.5 for location score?! We do not go back to our guest and challenge them  - I am convinced that scores are subjective.

    Some guests say they had a great time and give us straight 10. We like that. Others rave about their stay and rate you 7.5! I am convinced that in their mind they think that no one is perfect and they seriously think that is a good score. I cannot explain it in any other way.

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    Leandri Klopper

    Chris Gregg ,

    I rate your post 10/10. 

    As Booking.com allows the score to have a Massive influence on how the property shows, which then involves performance, methinks there should be a better review system. 

    Very good

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