Your marketing successes?

[Ben205]

Hi. We've only been hosting since April, so haven't done a full year. I don't think we're in an area where we'll get repeat visitors but I'm thinking of writing to all our guests from this year, anyway, and offering them a discount if they come back next year.

What do you think?

Have you tried enticing back previous guests - did it work?

Or should I spend time on something more constructive (like a new coat of paint!)

All ideas welcome!

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Ben205 This is a brillant idea that you have posted, speaking from my personally experience i have often hosted repeaters without offering any discount as they were happy to come back again so i am sure that you will surely get some repeaters if ever you are planning to offer them a discount.Good luck for the future!!!

[Ben205]

@Oomesh-Kumarsingh0

I wish we were in Mauritius! We tend to get people visiting family. They may come back again, but I'm interested in ideas for how we can encourage them (we get good reviews, so facilities aren't the issue).

We can't provide palm trees and sandy beaches, though!

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Ben205 The palm trees,sandy beaches and the warm climate does help a lot! You can provide your guests with a baby crib that may help you get bookings from guests who are travelling with a baby.

[Linda108]

@Ben205  If you have potential repeat guests, I think a personal message about how you would enjoy having them stay again is inviting.  You could highlight any positive changes you have made and indicate a special offer should they stay with you again.  While a few dollar discount is enticing I think the personalizing of your message is more important.

I added a secondary room to my listing and let some of my favorite guests know I could accommodate a larger party of guests now.  Many hosts have low starter rates and increase the rates after a few reviews.  Former guests might be looking with a simiar budget and then not finding your listing.

[Ben205]

@Linda108

Thanks, I agree the personal touch is necessary. Offering something new is a good idea that I can think about and work on. We don't plan on increasing prices (not this year, at least!).

[Kimberly54]

@Ben205,

You've gotten a ton of great advice!  I'm with the 'add value' rather than discount crowd.  And it doesn't have to be much.  If you're going to write personally, think of the experience you had with that person/couple and imagine what little extra you'll have for them... like offering fresh bread in the morning. (This is just a throw-out-there idea, not a reccomendation.)  About $60 can get you a bread-maker... I think some of them you can even load-up the night before and have it done at exactly 8am (or whatever time) and all you do is put in a little flour, water, salt, sugar, yeast and the whole house is reeking of FRESH BREAD.  Most people go swoony-weak-in-the-knees at that! 

If you've gotten great guests and would love to have them back, just enhance the experience a little!  Totally worth the effort, and when they come back the relationship will have moved up a whole 'nuther level. 

Nice.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Ben205

A few thoughts - the platform does not allow you to send spam email to your guest (except at Christmas when they do it on your behalf). Why not have a busniess card printed with your contact details and offer of an x% discount for repeat stays.

[Ben205]

@Gerry-And-Rashid0

I like that idea, I've been thinking of postcards or similar. Only, I don't want to invite everybody back!

As for spam, I've contacted previous guests before okay. You can send them an email through reservation history. Several have left socks that I've sent on (no cost), so an email offering a discount should be okay!

[Kimberly54]

@Ben205, think of us as your host business advisors:  Skip the discounts and just spiff something up and engage ONLY with the ones you want back!  😉  Have more fun, make more money!  Enjoy life. :-))

[Willow3]

@Ben205 - returning someone's left belongings is vastly different to soliciting business from them.  No matter how much they enjoyed your space, contacting them without their prior permission for your financial gain - is spam. 

[Linda108]

@Willow3  I agree that part of spam is that a message is sent without having permission to do so, but in this case, @Ben205 would not be sending it out to a large number of recipients, which is the definition of spam.  I think if you approach the personal messaging as a way of keeping in touch and not a blatant sales pitch, you will experience the very essence of the shared home experience.

I have kept up some correspondence with some of my guests that I might never see again.  I will never forget a gentleman I hosted for over a week who came from Nice, France.  More than a year after I hosted him the terrorist attack occurred in Nice and I sent him a message of concern.  He was fine and appreciated my outreach.

[Willow3]

A welfare check is vastly different to a marketing email - Ben's word and intent. Spam is typically to large number of recipients, but for example, I've had ~100 guests, so even 40 emails would be a "large number" by percentage. Knock off sunglasses wouldn't get out of bed for that kind of number. 

Ive a funny feeling that Airbnb would consider this spam - and if a previous host sent it to me, I would absolutely consider it spam and would report it as such. 

I have an Etsy shoppe - I can include a special offer IN a buyers package, I CANNOT harvest or use a buyers email without their permission to later send them an offer. Not one buyer, not all 700 of my buyers. 

[Ben205]

@Willow3

You've made me think, so I'd like to run something past you. We had a guest who messaged me after to say 'Hope to come back soon.'. A couple of weeks later, they messaged again to ask about the panelling in our bathroom, which they were thinking of reproducing in their own home. So, we have some some of conversation, even relationship, going on.

Would it be okay to send this person a message after Christmas to wish him and his family a happy new year and say something along the lines of, if you, your family or friends would like to come stay, we'd be happy to offer a discount?

Yes, it's marketing. But also the discount would reflect the fact that we know what we're getting and it would be less stressful. It's likely we'd lose money (they have family so it's school holidays only, when we are full), but I'd still rather they came back than somebody I've not met before.

I don't know, what do you say?

[Kimberly54]

@Ben205,

OK, you didn't ask me, so maybe I'm spamming you! 😉

My longest term hosting-turned life-long friendship became the closest ever... over 40 years.  (Two generations... we've done this forever.)

Develop relationships!  If you consider developing friendships as 'marketing,' well a lot of folks would agree; I don't.

Does a smile make you more attractive?  YES!  Is that 'marketing?'  Ouch.  That seems a bit harsh. 

If discounting makes you feel better, that's your deal.  I don't think you need to, but that's my deal!  *)