Do you host any repeat guests?

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Do you host any repeat guests?

Repeat guest.png

Hello everyone,

 

As we continue hosting, we get a lot of guests from different places (wherever the regulations allow). Every guest that visits you probably has a certain plan on what they want to do when booking your place. 

 

Having said the above made me wonder if you host a lot of repeat guests? Is there a specific reason that they book your place, or is there anything you do to drive repeat bookings? 

 

In the past, I've only had one repeat host from Glasgow who booked my place about 4 times. He gives regular lectures at a university nearby, which was his reason for booking my place.

 

It would be great to hear your thoughts and experiences on this!

 

Quincy

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

42 Replies 42

@Quincy Hello! We have 2 listings: White Mountain Sunsets in Campton, NH, USA, and Be Our Guest in Merrimack, NH, USA. The latter is our home and it's a shared space, so this is blocked for now given the coronavirus situation and that we (hosts) are both older and at higher risk, since my surgery this summer especially. (Also Scott had to clean all by himself in the mountains while I was out of commission. I owe him big time!)

However, White Mountain Sunsets is open and we've been lucky to be pretty busy since the state allowed Airbnbs and hotels to reopen to guests end of June. Unlike other summers, where we've had lots of international visitors, this summer our bookings have all been from the northeast of the US. So we are open in the mountains, but will keep our home closed into early 2021 at least.  M.E.

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

@Scott-and-Mary-Ellen0 @Quincy @Nick @Anthony608 @Yadira22 

 

Yes I've had several repeat guests, both locals living  in New Zealand and when we had them also international travellers.

 

They have enjoyed my kind hospitality, Central To All Home & Location,  been fabulous people to stay and I highly recommend them to others in our Community to welcome them with an open heart.

 

  I'd welcome them back anytime, just like I would most of those I hosted as International Language school students when I hosted them.

 

@Quincyas it so happens I've been having a sort through some personal papers, cards and things I've had stored away that those very people wrote and gave me.

Treasured memories.

 

 I'm hoping to hand write as many of them I can a Traditional Christmas / New Years Card as I think  it's a great way to reconnect and keep our Postal services in existence.

 

 It's much nicer to have a card one can pick up, place on a table, dresser or decorate on the Christmas tree than an email one may not access or see so often.

 

 Let's start a trend, educate those who may not know about this tradition as they grew up only with the internet and revive a lost traditional ....

 

 

 

Yadira22
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Helen427 aww imagine a holiday card exchange between hosts- this would be lovely! I love recieving "wish you were here" cards but no one I know is travelling except for work 🙂

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

That's so sweet @Helen427! I like that you let other hosts in your community know about your lovely guests. 

 

I think I've only had one guest that left a handwritten card behind. I will see if I can find it and post it here.

 

How many cards have you received so far? 

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

Oh @Quincy to be honest I've not counted them.

 

When I hosted English language school students I mainly had shorter term ones and lost count of how many came to stay.

 

Let's just say it's not a small box they at tucked in!

 

Reading their letters & notes always makes me smile.

 

Ditto that of my ABB guests.

 

 One of my most touching ABB guests was one who lost use of her vocal chords through a permanent injury.

We mainly communicated via hand writing & use of hands.

Every now & then I reread through their writings.

 

 I've great empathy for pple who have sensory challenges whether it be visual, hearing, memory, speaking, smell loss or physical.

 

 It's an area of life I've always been aware of which increased when working as a promotions consultant as one is confronted with the challenges those pple live with daily.

 

One reasonably expects others also to have similar values regardless of one's chosen field.

 

 

 

@Helen427  I envy you your New Zealand leadership which has led to so many fewer cases and deaths due to Covid 19. That's all I can say without going on a rant.  M.E. 

@Scott-and-Mary-Ellen0 

 It's nothing to do with the leadership in NZ.

 

It's thanks to the family of the late Jean Anne Guenole from the South Island speaking up & asking questions that put a stop to recording incorrect information on medical files & death certificates in New Zealand who are to be admired.

 

 

Anne was the first person Public Health officials etc tried to get away with saying she had Covid when in fact she had influenza.

 

David Fisher, NZ Herald, wrote a good article about it which has helped others in similar situations as Anne's family.

 

May she Rest in Peace, along with all those who have passed away this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michelle1164
Level 10
Clearwater, KS

@Quincy  I currently have 2 upcoming bookings from repeat guests. We have 1 couple that has been coming almost monthly since the beginning of the year. They have been attending some classes in our area each month. (COVID put a few kinks in there) We look forward to seeing them each month.

Other repeats have come to visit family, are here for work, or to attend events that are held annually in the area. Hoping to hear from a hunter in a couple months who stayed with us last year. 

“It’s not where you go, it’s who you meet along the way.” Wizard of Oz
Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Quincy 

 

Yes, I've had repeat guests, but not as many as I might have done had my listings been less busy. I've often had former guests contact me about availability for a return visit when unfortunately there is none and also frequent business travellers who would have liked to use my place as their home away from home, but gave up because someone else would book before them. There was a lovely American young lady who lived in Morocco and would book a couple of weeks here every year, but hasn't made it this year for obvious reasons.

 

Hosting long-term guests means that I get less repeat visitors than I used to, although there are some exceptions. My current guest stayed for one month and has now come back for another month as he still hasn't found a permanent home.

 

I had a lovely girl stay for a few days one Christmas. When she decided to move to London, she came to stay with me for a few weeks last year. We are still in touch and were supposed to meet up with another guest who stayed at the time (now lives down the road from me) but COVID-19 kind of scuppered that plan. Hopefully I will see them soon.

 

I haven't noticed repeat guests trying to bend rules. I've not had any problems with them. They do occasionally ask to book off platform, but most are happy to simply book again via Airbnb. They don't ask for discounts because they already know my place is good value.

Gregory87
Level 10
Minneapolis, MN

@Quincy 

 

Prior to the pandemic, we had quite a few repeat guests.  In fact, there were two scheduled a few months ago who had to cancel due to the advice from the CDC and other restrictions imposed by some states.  

 

Many of our return guests are here to visit family since we are located in a residential neighborhood, so holidays, graduations, and pending/recent births drive the bookings.

 

One of our potential repeat guests from this spring has an upcoming booking.  We're excited to see her again.  Of course, given that her family and grandchild live only a few doors down the street make us a perfect location.

 

It will be interesting to see whether there are repeat bookings for the upcoming holidays.  

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi there @Gregory87, I'm glad to hear that you're getting booked again by a repeat guest.

 

I would love to hear if you've had some more repeat guests show up later on 😃 ! 

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

John47
Level 9
Chatham, MA

@QuincyRepeat guests? You mean like same guest twice in a season or every season?

I operate a second generation summer 6 unit cottage colony on Cape Cod MA that my parents built in the 1950's and i took over in 2002 when Mom passed away. So yes, i have lots of repeat every year folks!
Have some that were her guests before me, including one who skipped this year due to COVID but had come every year since 1974! So THAT'S a repeat! They're one of two customers where the youngest kids are 4th generation customers! Try and top that, ok?

 
Because of that, I often only have room for a handful of newbies per year as have a 85%+ repeat rate and Airbnb has been helpful for last 5+ years in getting those leftovers filled. This year, a number of the older repeaters skipped due to COVID so actually ended up with 26 newbies, with 14 coming from Airbnb.

They like my simple place, the location and the fact that I am very reasonably priced and clean. Plus I like to treat them not as just a customer but a very distant relative who's coming to visit.

One of my newbies this July is coming back to a different unit next week for an encore.  

intresting