What do you include in a welcome message?

[Katie]

 

I know many of you send a welcome message to guests who book, and this is sometimes the first interaction you’ll have with them. 

Some of our members here in the Community have mentioned that they use this opportunity to underline the House Rules, whilst others prefer to use it as a chance to get to know a little more about a guest’s reasons for staying. Perhaps you direct them to the local attractions in your area, or let them know to bring their swimsuit if you have the facilities. 

What do you like to include in your welcome message? Do your guests respond right away?

[Katie]

Hey @Nutth0, great to hear from you, I hope you're well? Very good point on getting them to confirm the number of guests - always best to check and make sure 😊

[Barbara2309]

Hi Katie,

Thanks for this community forum. Now that we are in the new Covid-19 world I have adapted my welcome message to include information regarding cleaning, as well as my usual info, that I will send another email with house details close to the date, and if they have asked any questions or offered information about why and who is coming, directly responding to that to personalise the message. Here is an example.

Dear NAME,

Thank you for your booking request it has been accepted and I have confirmed your reservation at 60s Beach House Dalmeny for 6 - 9 November. Great to hear you can find some time for a coastal getaway and some relaxing down time. Your toddler is very welcome and we have a child’s gate in our garage that can be put across the top of the internal stairwell. Also all dogs are allowed inside and we have a fully fenced backyard, just make sure the side gates are closed.

We will send you the directions to the property and the key instructions in a separate email [name the date], or you can find the information on the AirBnB app in your booking information. At that time we will need the names of all your party and contact details where applicable and someone’s address - this is part of our Covid safe actions.

As part of our preparations for the lifting of travel restrictions, we have enhanced our cleaning regime as per our cleaning guidelines below. In addition we have now extended the gap between guest bookings to help us prepare for your arrival. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks for booking and we hope you have a great stay.

Kind regards,
Barbara
60s Beach House Dalmeny

CLEANING SCHEDULE
Our cleaner will use disinfectant and/or hot water and detergent when undertaking the cleaning of all high touch surfaces including:
• Tables
• Hard-backed chairs
• Door handles
• Light switches
• Remote controls
• All wardrobe and cupboard handles
• Toilets, sinks, taps
• Bedside tables and lamp switches
• Kitchen and bathroom surfaces including cupboard handles
• Handrails

FLOOR SURFACES
• Vacuum and mop hard floors including under beds, using hot water and disinfectant detergent. Mop from one end of the premises to the other.
• Vacuum all rugs.

LINENS
• Towels, linens and other items washed and dried completely.

VENTILATION
The house is aired and ventilated during and after cleaning

[Candace9]

Guests rarely response at all to welcome messages.  We normally send out, an acknowledgement and a thank you for booking. Along with our contact numbers in case of issues and directions to the property.  The only time they normally the response is if they want an early check-in. 

A few days before they arrive we resend check-in details, check in time and directions.  

[Bridget116]

I send the guest a series of 4 messages all automated but crafted in a way that it seems its directly from me. This really helps as we have loads of listings and I do not have time to respond to them all. Some of these messages on some listings also have photos attached of say difficult to find lock boxes.

Here they are and Im keen to hear what others think:

1.Confirmation message sent seconds after a confirmed booking.

Hello _____, and thanks for your reservation!

I wanted to confirm right away your reservation at "Name of listing" starting on Sunday, November 1 for 1 night with 2 people.

I will contact you a week before your arrival to make sure that everything is okay on your side, and give you some additional instructions for a smooth check-in.

If you have any questions please let me know.

See you soon!

Bridget

2. Arrival instructions message sent 7 days prior to guest arrival

Dear _____,

Not long till you arrive! Here are the details for your check in:

The address of the property is at _________ Queenstown, Otago.

The key is locked in a key lock box on the decking, it is on the back fence under the light of the house. The code is ____

The home will be warm and ready for your arrival. My number is ________- call me if you have any issues.

I hope that you will have an enjoyable stay at "Name of listing"

Best regards,

Bridget

3. Thank you message with departure instructions sent on the morning of departure

Hi _____,

Thanks so much for staying with us, we hope you have had a wonderful stay.

On your departure this morning; we would love it if you wouldn't mind checking the following:

- Please remove the rubbish from the house and leave in the bins provided outside
- Load and start the dishwasher for us
- Please leave all the furniture where you found it on arrival
- Please leave the keys inside and return the entry key to the lockbox.

Of course we love to hear your feedback to ensure we’re improving our guest experiences! All the best to you and your onward travel wherever that may be.

Aroha nui,

Bridget

4. Another thank you message sent a few hours after checkout. This one is the clincher that helps me to get great reviews 🙂

Hi _____,

I just wanted to thank you for staying with us and we hope you had a great stay at our place.

All the best for the year ahead and we hope to see you again on your next trip to Queenstown!

I'll be sending you a 5 star review shortly.

Best regards,

My overall 5 star review rate is 94.6 over 33 listings and 1500 guest stays!

And my over all rating is 4.95 out of 5 over the same amount of guests stays.

I hope the above is useful 🙂