How many emails do you send your guests?

[Denise741]

I've read it's better to send more emails that are shorter before arrival to keep excitement up, and then the ones during and after their vacation.  How many is too many?

Upon booking I had been sending some basic welcome  (+2 pages resort rules) info which actually adds up to 4.5 printed pages.  I also include links to an FAQ page on my website,  link to pdf for favorite restaurants/things to do and link to my house manual.

I want to break that into maybe 3 smaller emails--Upon booking, 2 weeks out, 1 week out.

Then what do you do after arrival? I always do a follow up the next morning (prevents the bad reviews that xyz was broken for 5 days!), are the others overkill?

1. A quick note that evening to welcome them?
2. The next day to make sure all is going well? (CRITICAL!!)
3. Day before checkout to remind of c/o policies, time, etc ?
4. Day after c/o to request a review.

Thanks for all input--this should be interesting!

[Kevin1056]

I send 1 or 2 emails only...

Email #1: Thanks for booking please let us know approximately what time you will be arriving. Just a reminder check in is at 3pm or anytime after 3pm.

Email#2: Hi I never heard back from you in regards to your approximate arrival time. I plan my day based on when guests arrive. Just a reminder check in is at 3pm or anytime after 3pm.  Please keep me posted. Thanks and safe Travels.

I keep it simple....

Some guests will email me 20 times that gets very annoying. I don't mind getting emails but when you have multiple properties it gets annoying.

[Pete69]

Initial email immediately after I accept their booking.

Email one week before their arrival with important details.

One last email (as soon as my last guest before them checks out) telling them the lock box code.

That's usually it. More often than not I don't even meet my guests ever. Most guests just want to go about their business. They like the privacy and independence of my self check-in stay with no shared space. Unless they are very chatty with their emails, I assume that they want to be left alone or could care less about the host. But sometimes I size people up and figure that they might like to hear from me a day after they check in.

I have a note on the door reminding them of the check-out time. I also have notes about everything else from A to Z under a glass desktop. So rarely does anyone have any questions or need reminding about anything.

[Anonymous]

@Denise741  If I got this much email as a guest, it would drive me crazy.  It does not in any way "build excitement" to get a bunch of messages from my accommodation; really, it just gets lost in the clutter of all the other confirmation messages and spam. Also, don't forget - Airbnb itself also sends several emails to guests after booking. 

I find it much handier to have all the important pre-arrival information  - check-in instructions, directions, House Manual, etc - in one message, so that it's easier to refer back to.

After arriving, I prefer to enjoy my vacation without being deluged with huge amounts of tedious text, and I'd rather not have to engage with my email (my inbox is likely to be full of work stuff which might really spoil the mood). If you have no choice but to present several pages ( ! ) of rules, it's better to have them printed, laminated, and posted in a prominent place where all the guests can see them, rather than just sitting (likely unopened) in the inbox of the one who made the booking.  For helpful things like the House Manual, WiFi password, local maps and tips, a nicely organized and concise little binder of printouts is also more useful than emails.

Nothing wrong with checking up on guests during their stay when you're an offsite host, but an email requesting a review is total overkill. Airbnb actually spams guests several times about this during the 14-day period, and you don't want the last impression guests have of you to be that you just wouldn't leave them alone. 

[Laura2592]

I don't send the "how's it going" email because I have found it is a door opener to complaints. I send the welcome email at booking, I check in before travel to see food preferences or allergies for the treat we leave at check in, and instructions a few days before. I leave a hand written note near nicely presented food treat with my number and my husband's for any issues.  I do a short email the day if check in to make sure they got in okay (we have a keypad) and see if everything is okay first impression wise. Then I leave them alone until the day of check out when I will sometimes offer them a late check out if we can do it. 

[Kevin1056]

Agreed.... I don't want to open a can of worms.

[Alexandra316]

@Denise741 I also don't send that many emails: I don't want a ton of communication as a guest, so I keep it to a minimum for my guests. I recently booked a place for about 2 months out, and they have sent me no less than 9 messages about my trip, parking, etc. It's really irritating.

My email pattern:

Email 1 - sent at booking, thanking them for their reservation and letting them know that I'm available should they have questions or need any help with trip planning.

Email 2 - sent approximately 5 days before arrival, reminding them of check in and out times, letting them know where to park, addressing any other issues that may have come up, and again letting them know to reach out if they need anything.

Email 3 (potentially) - day of arrival - if the flat is ready early, I just shoot them a quick message letting them know that if they wish to check in early, the space is good to go and wishing them a good trip.

That's about it. Email 1 might be omitted/combined with 2 if the reservation is less than a week away.

I personally hate the request for review email from the host, and I'm actually less likely to review if I receive one. Your work as a host should speak for itself, and as @Anonymous said, they already get harassed enough about it by the Airbnb automated system.

[Laura2592]

@Alexandra316  yes! I would never ask for a review. I have a business on Etsy as well and it drives me batty when I get barraged with requests from others for reviews. Buy something on Amazon and you get emails asking for a review.  You can hardly turn around without being asked to review your experience turning around. It would be a big turn off for a host to ask for a review. 

[Emilia42]

I basically have the exact same process as @Alexandra316. But if the guest is staying more than one night I usually check in with the guest to remind them that I am here if they need me. I also send a message on checkout day thanking them again and wishing them a safe trip back home. 

So I probably send 5 messages per guest and I would say I get some sort of reply to maybe 1 or 2 of them. Although none of the messages ask any direct questions, very few guests send an acknowledgement that they received them. 

[Lisa723]

1) at booking: acknowledgement, thanks for booking, will send details before your arrival, let us know if you have questions meanwhile

2) 3-7 (depending on property) days before arrival: check-in details

3) evening or next morning (again depending on property) after check-in: confirming all is as expected, important info on fridge, no need to reply if all is well but if you need anything at all or we can improve your stay please let us know right away

4) evening before checkout (remote vacation rentals only): hope you've had a great stay, please note check-out request list on fridge and let us know about anything that needs maintenance or attention

5) two days after check-out, if they haven't reviewed: we've left you a 5-star review and if you enjoyed your stay it would be great if you could review us as well

6) if they leave a good review, text message with thanks and link to direct booking site for next time

[Kat162]

Hi Denise!

As a new host, I've thought about your question alot; "How much info is too much - especially in today's 'instantaneous & quick' world".... "How to cover all the bases, yet keep it concise"?

We have had success in correspondence by sending the following emails:

1) Sending a message of "Booking Thanks" at time of Booking Confirmation;
     - besides saying thanks & sharing our excitement to host them, we offer a few tidbits to help with
        their adventure planning (our exact address, how to find our guidebook, house manual and 
        our social media account)
     - share that we are open to answering any questions at anytime.
     - state that we will be in touch closer to their stay to offer detailed directions to find us
        (due to our rural location) and coordinate a check-in time.

2) 72 Hrs prior to their stay a Pre Check-In Message;
     - detailed directions to find us
     - coordinate a check-in time as we meet our guests on property to exchange keys

     - remind them to review the house manual to make the most of their stay

     - offer a few 'seasonal reminders' - as we are a rural and rather remote listing.

3) Optional -  If guests stay more than 1 night, we like to send a message late morning after their first evening to say we hope their first night was relaxing and if there is anything they need to make their stay complete to let us know!

4) Post-Checkout - Once I arrive to clean, if the guest has left the property in super shape or left a special note, etc - I try reach out to share my gratitude and say thanks!

That's it!

We've tailored our messages to meet the needs of our guests and our property. 
If our listing was not on a beautiful rural lake but rather in the heart of a city's downtown, I would likely omit detailed directions.
If we were set up for self check-in, I may omit the pre check-in message all together.

It is all about what you find works for your guests, yourself and what manages everyone's expectations.
The great thing about Air BnB is your Saved Messages can be edited; so play around with format and experiment with less or more and find that happy medium!

[Dimitar27]

One-when they book.

Second- 1-2 days before arrival, with transportation and check-in instructions.

Third-on the second day of their stay, to ensure, that everything is OK

Fourth- before check-out.

I can't meet all my guests personally. Check-ins after midnight are so common, as the early check-outs (5-6 am.).

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Denise741: Generally most correspondence is done via the Airbnb messaging system but three (3) days before a guests arrival we send an email with pictures to our guests. These pictures show their parking space, entrance to the property and the entrance to the guesthouse. Hopefully one day Airbnb will be able to do formatted emails with pictures (in their correct spots) via a desktop computer as the Airbnb app is garbage.

The second email (via Airbnb messaging) is the next day just to check to see if everything is good with the space. We do not send a check-out email as that is all listed in the house manual in the space. We live on the property as well so we typically run into our guests at some point. In the 4+ years of hosting we have not had any issues with the current protocols we use.

[Denise741]

OK, so I definitely see where the request for review email could be very annoying, especially if Airbnb sends a bunch as well. Besides, I hint at it a few times--ie "I hope we provide you with a 5-star experience, please let me know if there's anything you need to help make your trip more comfortable."  It sets the expectation that I want them to review us with 5 stars.

I think I'll also combine the night of arrival/next morning email.  They probably won't read it the night of anyhow--hopefully they'll be having too much fun.  I use Canva.com to create a "Welcome" image and drop it into the email. 

I'll also make the resort rules a Google Docs link, which looks a lot less imposing than 2 more pages on the welcome email.  I can remind them there's a 48 hr free cancellation if any of the rules don't work for them (ie 25 age minimum, no visitors, etc) to get them to open the link and actually READ the rules. 

The pre-arrival emails I'll limit to 2.  If the booking was made way in advance, I'll do a quick thank you only with important dates, payment info, and that I'll be sending more info about 2-3 weeks prior.

New Plan--4 total
2 pre-arrival emails

Night of 
Day before check out

Thanks for the input and hope this helps someone else 🙂

[Stephanie]

@Denise741  - great topic and I can see we are getting a lot of variance in opinions on when to email!