Vacation Rental Rapid Customer Service (Airbnb)

[Richard Scott Dinnan]

In todays Society, a review can make or break your business. In the vacation STR realm, on a platform such as Airbnb it is no different and often even an inaccurate review can have this effect.

In my experience dealing with countless issues, whether big or small, “quickly” understanding the current guest, their needs, and their perception of your property is paramount. 

With vacation rentals I have come to understand that you are advertising a perception that must meet each individual guests reality in order to maintain a 5 star experience for each individual. Each guest has their own idea of what a five star experience should entail. So how do you deal with the outliers? 

Building an effective system to deal with specific common issues quickly without putting in my time and effort has been extremely beneficial to me. Understand things you are willing to compensate for and decide a fair amount for those things. Above all, keep track of each instance. This can help you with trending and give you a more accurate estimate of where and when and who your problems could be moving forward.

Last year just two of the properties (Smokey Mountain, TN/ St Augustine,FL) had over 120 guests who brought an average of 6 people with them. Thats over 700 individual people, each with their own thoughts and ideas on what your property SHOULD be. 

Bottom line… if you aren’t great with dealing with people this type of property might not be for you. 

Maximizing on rapid customer service and effective honest advertising will keep you on track for these cash flow cows. 

Looking to hear what others think on this topic.. all perspectives. Just wanted to start a conversation that could help some individuals on the fence about this or in the midst of it.

If you have a specific concern or comment feel free to message me directly!