Communication is key, particularly during the festive holiday season. In addition to a welcome book, I provide my guests with a quarterly newsletter that's brimming with seasonal insights. This includes details on local events such as Christmas carols, markets, and sporting events, along with recommendations for popular restaurants and exclusive local coupons.
To streamline the process, I crafted a template for drafting my property's quarterly newsletter. Itโs a quick and easy layout inspired by a newspaper design, which guests find quirky and enjoyable to read. I simply insert my content and upload photos. Once completed, the newsletter is printed and ready to welcome our guests upon their arrival!
Before you start writing your first guest newsletter, it helps to learn as much as you can about your audience. Who is your target market? What are their interests? Why might they be staying at your Airbnb? Are they attending an event? Are they travelling for fun or work? Do they live locally or are they tourists visiting from overseas? Knowing some of the answers to these questions will help you decide on the content you include in each newsletter.
Guests will be excited to receive your newsletter if it provides useful and informative content such as:
Content Ideas for your Christmas Newsletter
1. Use Top 10 Lists
Travellers love top 10 lists; 10 great places to eat, or 10 new things to do in your area. Thereโs bound to be something suited to everyone!
Tip: lists engage your guests and make it easy for them to digest the information (excellent for a newspaper column layout).
2. Local Christmas Trivia
Many Airbnb properties are on historical sites or in older houses. Your guests would undoubtedly appreciate stories from the past, particularly those related to Christmas. Uncover interesting historical facts and share these intriguing tales with your guests.
3. Share Reviews
Be proud and show off some of your recent 5-star reviews with your guests! Who knows, it might even entice your current guests to leave a 5-star review, with the hope of featuring in your next newsletter!
4. Show Recognition
If your Airbnb was recognised in your community, you want to share the news with your guests. Like reviews, this builds brand loyalty. It also allows your guests share in your joy! They may feel a part of the good news because they stayed at your Airbnb and can identify with your success.
5. Behind the Scenes Peek
Everyone loves to see what goes on in the โsecretโ areas of your Airbnb. So, let your guests know whatโs going on by including photos of your team members getting rooms ready, washing linen, or a group pic at your Christmas party.
6. Highlight Your Recipes
You are the host of a short-term rental and therefore officially ingrained in the hospitality industry. Food is a key element of the holiday season so why not use a Christmas recipe as content for your newsletter! Consider these ideas:
7. Include Inspiration
You want your guests to feel good about your Airbnb, so share some inspiring quotes. These could be travel or holiday related, humorous or family related.
8. Introduce Your Family
Let your guests get to know your family and pets. Perhaps this is you and your partner. It could be your extended family, or your best friend. I like to let my kids write a column in our newsletter. Ideas to consider:
9. Share Special Events
Are you having a special event at your Airbnb? Perhaps youโre hosting a wine tasting or a Christmas party. Any time you have a special event, itโs a great idea to share it in your newsletter.
10. Create a Contest
Christmas is the perfect time of year to give something away! This might be tickets to a local event, a gift card for a dinner out or a bottle of wine. Include the details and instructions on how to enter in your newsletter. The following newsletter can feature the winner of the competition.
11. Be Humorous
You run a short-term rental and host guests all year long, so youโre bound to have a funny story or anecdote to share. Humour draws people in and helps them engage with your business. Just be sure to get permission before you showcase a funny story about someone else.
12. Include FAQs
Do you answer the same questions day after day? If so, share some FAQs with your visitors. Theyโll appreciate the kindness.
Final thought
Itโs imperative to keep your guests engaged, and you do this by providing creative, interesting, and engaging content during their stay. To make life easy, try to plan ahead as much as you can. Gather ideas and stories throughout the year and save them to a file. That way, when the time comes to create your next newsletter, the task isnโt an overwhelming one.
Merry Christmas โ Bree from Sunshine Coast, Australia
