CAPTIVE PORTAL FOR CAPTURING EMAILS AT AIRBNB / VRBO VACA RENTALS

[Tony Gregg]

Looking for advice/knowledge on Captive portals for capturing email address' of AirBnB / VRBO guests that use your wifi. This may have been discussed, but I haven't been able to find it. I am looking for advice on whether or not Vacation rental/STR owners are using a Captive portal and if so what are your suggestions for one over another, i.e. StayFi, Skyfii ?

[Michael Skinner]

@Tony Gregg and @Account Closed

I first rolled out StayFi at 2 properties as a test about this time last year. Now StayFi is installed in almost all 18 of our STRs. 

The system is great—a passive method for capturing guest data (legally and unobtrusively). And to deflect other privacy concerns about email marketing, you can also create an 'opt-in' box for guests. 

A few things to know about the StayFi portal: 

- Signage and Instructions: you need to create AMPLE signage and perhaps even make a quick video to help guests understand how to connect. We were stumbling over this in the beginning but now everything is smooth and guests "get it". The biggest lever is in the check-in messaging. 

- Airbnb Direct Connect: Airbnb has an in-app feature that allows your guests to connect directly to your wifi from the app if you put in the credentials. Some people like the convenience this offers but they won't be able to do that if you use StayFi because of how the portal works. 

- Smart Devices: Captive wifi tech is still in the dinosaur age when it comes to IoT. If you have smart speakers, TVs, thermostat, etc. that you want guests to be able to access, it probably won't work because of compatibility issues. Since they're not connecting directly to your network, they can't control things that are on your network. For example, we have a 5BR villa with embedded surround sound throughout the home and we want guests to be able to play Spotify from their phones directly to the speakers... in order to do this, they have to be connected to the wifi network (so this house does not use StayFi). I've mentioned this to StayFi before but no telling if it's on the road map.

Our email list grows on auto-pilot. Turning that data into revenue-generating activity is a whole other conversation though. Email marketing is a delicate dance but we've been able to maintain a 40-50% engagement rate with our guest list. 

Happy to answer other questions or even hop on a zoom to walk you through our setup if that'd be helpful—just shoot me a message. 

I haven't experimented with other captive tech so can't speak to those but honestly this one works so I don't see the need right now. They also just rolled out text marketing integration so you now have the option to capture that data point as well. (priced per text sent though, on top of the reg subscription)