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Ilaria - Community Manager

Show and tell: How do you give your guests the same great experience, even when things get busy?

Hi everyone,

With peak season approaching for many of you, business is about to get busier and busier. Do you have ways to make sure your guests still get the best experience at your property, even when you have less time to help?

For example, do you hire more staff to work on reception during the peak season? Have you introduced auto responses to messages? Or do you always make sure to leave handwritten notes to your guests, no matter how busy you are?

Share how you deal with more guests arriving at your property in the comments below!

 


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Captainsquarters21 4 years ago

Have the right staff in at the right time, pay them well and look after them.

Preparation is key, check supplies in advance and take extra stress away by having stock and supplies ready and in.

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Preparation is key...fully agree. Leaving in a country village a couple of klm away from the center of the market place we always have plenty supplies not only for our guests but for us also.

Busy hours and peak seasons are the same for us. Having always many friends and relatives in our home enjoying their company and having fun is a pleasure we seek to.

Peak season for us is here and we are looking forward to meeting all our guests and making new friends from different countries and cultures having new experiences.

Wishing all a great season...

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Merch Gymreig … 4 years ago

It doesn't matter how busy and hectic we get we always make time to offer our arriving guests a cup of hot beverage with home made cakes (baked by moi). I can bake a batch and then freeze. We have three en-suite rooms and therefore easier to know in advance how many guests will arrive on any given day. Also, not to overstretch ourselves - we could offer five rooms but have decided to give fair play to our guests by providing three.

Fresh produce is available locally but at a higher price and we will have to travel to the nearest market town to buy in bulk.

A smile doesn't cost a thing and five minutes of your time to greet and chat benefits greatly.

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Sitges Villa A… 4 years ago

this is one way and this is how we do it, it means the guests always know whats on and what to do and where to go, we find this is a valuable tool and as we now have a small intel Nuc computer directly linked to the large LCD wall display TV the clients can use this on the TV while sitting on the sofa to help plan their day.

We call it a Google Interactive Map, basically its a pin map of where we live, it shows us and all the things around where we live , you can zoom in and out and you can add or delete pins add information et etc and you can get driving directions to the place just by clicking and printing or download it to your phone. We also have a GPS that this map is on and we lend this to clients who have not got smartphone or a GPS so that they know where things are and can always find there way back to us if they get lost which does tend to happen a lot when you are in a strange country and driving on the other side of the road, the GPS also warns the driver if they drift over to the wrong side of the road. We find this is a really good asset, its so simple to create, the maintenance of it takes time as places close and new ones open but well thats just part of the experience. Here is the link, feel free to play, you can zoom in and out as we include areas of up to one days drive from the house. http://goo.gl/maps/xC7QY Have a look and play around and if you live or go on holiday to the Sitges area feel free to use, if you are a host in this area I am more than happy for you to add to the map just contact me.

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I Gusti Ngurah Awan 4 years ago

As the owner i also working and manage another hotel's company but instead of our staffs, however busy, i try to do our best to welcoming speech to the most of our arriving guest as i could. We welcome them by offering a welcome cool drinks upon arrival, and explained some activities what they can do and what they can see during stay with us. we have been prepared their key room and asked the guest fill in the regeneration form as well base on the situation of them. Sometime we do after checking in the room as a personalize service.

We are also explaining our guest about our products and services onsite including our facilities. Due we are a small villa it's just 4 units but the guest feel happy enjoy the quiet and nature atmosphere which is located in the middle of jungle. Playing around in the pool areas overlooking to the nice mountain and valley view would be make our guest feel back to nature

We also offer the motorbike or car rental with reasonable price if might they would like to have a look around of the village, temple tour or visit a traditional market, authentic local foods. cooking class or show the local people who made hand weaving or arak/alcohol processed traditionally though. Due to we are small villa our concept is almost of our guest is our family look like and they can easy to collaborate with us and of course we and our staffs could be more intend communicating with our guest and it's absolutely really difference than stay in a big Hotel for sure.

In hospitality ....always keep our nature smile due to smile nothings to lost...

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Coolspratt 4 years ago

We always give our Guests a very warm welcome and show them to their room and show them where everything is in the room and Ensuite. We check with them as to where they are going to have dinner and suggest the pub just around the corner from us where they will get 10% discount as they are staying at Newark Lodge Guest House. We take their breakfast order so we have it all ready for them the minute they come down in the morning.

We are around all the time they are in the Guest House so we can assist them with any queries they may have.

We Love our Guests !!!!!

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Stringybarkhills 4 years ago

dont put off little jobs till tomorrow!! because they are the ones the guest will notice (one complained about the spiders web high up outside!)
make sure our well stocked up on the basics, soap shampoo toilet paper etc
try to source local supplies and always recommend local eateries/attractions for guests to enjoy.
above all dont panic!! we are all human doing the best we can and sometimes things are forgotten or not up to scratch, apologize, learn from the experience and dont beat yourself up when it happens. We are all trying our best to provide the guest with the best experience possible.

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Hello guys!!! We love our guests...so do we.

If we love our guests they will surely love us.

Most people when in holidays they want freedom and to relax in a cool enviroment.

Too much love never hurt anyone, so be generous and everything will be ok.

Cheers!!!

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Katerinka12 4 years ago

I guess working more means almost no sleeping! ???

I really don't understand how auto responses do work. First of all, the guest will feel it's a robot and next minute cancelation will follow (many hosts complained recently about cancelations).

Second, different guests ask different things in their first message. Some will notify about old mother, little kids, additional guests, visitors, girlfriend visiting, etc. How can you autoresponse all of that? ?

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Hello! Katerinka12 my beautiful girl. So nice to hear from you. You are always on the point. I only use auto response after reservation is made. Thanks to your suggestions I have copied your welcome message. “I start Hi... my name is Maria and I am the owner...” if they have any questions they message me their request and after that I personally respond to any of their requests. You know Katerinka12 I only have one Studio so it’s not so much work for me.
Yes...communicating is the key...
Cheers!!!

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Daniela+Vincen… 4 years ago

wow, you guys are so organised and so inspiring: cool drinks on arrival, home baked cakes, interactive maps, amazingly done to you all

we run over 90 holiday apartments on central marbella beachfront and we only provide them bottle of cold water, tea and coffee. And as there is 24 hour reception in the building, they check themselves in!

However, we leave a welcome letter with contact details, should they need anything!!!

we def have to up the game!!!

Prep for peak season is extra staff, take care of your staff and they'll take care of your customers

(not my quote but Mr Branson)

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Hi! Daniela-Vincenzo-Marbella-HolidaysMr Branson is so right!!!
If you are on the beachfront you have everything!!!! You don’t need anything else.... just a few smiles and off you go!!!ha...ha...
Wish you a great season...

n
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Nblodgesarangkot 4 years ago

First thing we treat guest as a GOD so however at any cost our motto is to serve them well. Even busy time we have to hire extra staffs to fullfilled guests requirements.

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Katerinka12 4 years ago

Daniela, you have a different format than a guest house with so personal touch of the owner.

However, you can think about something to upgrade. The problem with the staff is that they are not so creative and they refuse to upgrade to things that will require more cleaning or supervision.

You can think of small details that will not give trouble to the staff and will not require your presence every time. Pictures on the walls, mirrors, message boards, plants or artificial flowers, maps, printed tips, etc

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SmyleInn 4 years ago

To handle peak season:

Increase the available resources. They can be more computers, more scanners or printers, if you use technology products that have user based licenses, please add more user licenses for the busy months. Purchase extra tools for house keeping, maintenance etc. It could be as simple as buying extra power cables, extra routers for WiFi, Extra brooms, extra linen, extra toiletries, extra places etc...I hope you get the point. After this is done, increase the staff in the support departments like Backoffice, reception, kitchen, restaurant etc.

During the busy time, human connection is very important. Hire some people to interact with guests so that the guest don't feel neglected. Lastly be ready to offer some freebies if in case there is any customer satisfaction issue due to resource crunch.

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Coolspratt 4 years ago

It doesn't matter how busy we are, we always give our Guests a very personal welcome and show them around our Guest House and take their Breakfast order and show them to their Bed Room and explain where everything is in their room and Ensuite.

We also suggest they go across the road to The Chesters Pub where they can have Dinner and get a 10% discount when they tell the Pub Staff they are staying at Newark Lodge Guest House.

So it all works !!!!

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Lyka 4 years ago

My mention is that the guest is almost always like the king even they did wrong. If we treat them like the king, they will treat our property too. I will learn more from all of great people like you.

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Katerinka12 4 years ago

No way. Even they did wrong? They will think the host is an idiot and it's better to do more wrongs, cheat him and ruin the property.

Be careful. If the guest is doing something wrong, it should be pointed out to him (nicely). That way the property will be treated properly and not by jumping around host like a monkey, closing his eyes and mouth on wrongdoings.

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

I treat my guests like I treat my family and friends. I respect them and they respect me and if somebody is not so kind I try even harder with kindness to change his attitude.
Wish everybody a wonderful weekend.

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Katerinka12 as always you have a point. We love monkeys but not guests monkeys...ha....ha....
Have a marvelous weekend.

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Katerinka12 4 years ago

Ha ha. That happened to me in India. I returned from the lunch and what did I see... Finger prints on the mirror, all my sweets were eaten, someone jumped on the bed and maby things like notebook, vase were on the floor... Monkeys enjoyed their time in my unit on the 4th floor! Only Don Perignon was not touched!

Have a great weekend!

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Oh so nice!!! Even monkeys realized your desire for bubble wine!!!
What an experience??? So many laughs... ?
Btw what is the time in your place???? Here it’s 3.

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

BDC has to pay me this time overtime....ha...ha... what do you think???

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Katerinka12 4 years ago

Two guests will check out today. One is super nice and no hassle at all, from Airbnb. The Booking one is very demanding, because she demanded to personally pick her up at the airport and "the driver to hold the sign with the name written like that". And that's all without paying. And not in the form of question... But as demand, no even "please" or "can I"... See here: https://ibb.co/89R1mX9

On top of that she demanded to pay cash. Again, demand, no question. So, we expect that worse ever review will follow. Especially on bad location and staff!

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Demanding guests are very frustrating but you can find them everywhere. Hope they don’t leave you bad review....maybe some wine with bubbles can change their minds...
Today we are enjoying the sun by the sea side.
Wish you a great summer season...

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Pat 4 years ago

The old saying "The customer is King" is my approach every time.

From the time of booking until arrival I send messages to ensure that by the time the guest arrives they are not only familiar with my number and name, but feel they are a valued friend.

Except for directions I have found that the auto response function is really not suitable or practical, for example, if someone asks about parking the auto response would say, available subject to availability.....UUUMMMMM what exactly does that mean!

A personal response giving details on parking relaxes the guest and opens the door for further friendly "chatting" which hopefully will result in good reviews.

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Although I send personal messages most guests don’t bother to reply.
It’s really frustrating when guests leave you in the dark until arrival.
Wish you all well.

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Pat 4 years ago

I agree Maria there's always those that don't reply. If possible I then call and ask if they received my message and if I can help on any other way.

It seems to be a winning method for me.

Take care.

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Do you call from the beginning of the reservation?

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Coolspratt 4 years ago

We keep our Customers happy and attended to from the minute they arrive till the minute they leave, BUT we are only a 4 bedroom Guest House, BUT we are Five Stars and Gold Award and Breakfast Award so we have very high standards to achieve. Having been in the hotel & catering business all our working lives we don't know any other way to live, it is our life, c'est la vie as the French say !!!

Mike & Sheila

NEWARK LODGE GUEST HOUSE

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Hi! Coolspratt, so nice to have you here. C'est la vie..... I love your moto....

Have a beautiful day.