Guests who keep coming back

Weekly Prompt 1 – The Personal Touch

Returning guests are the dream.

You already know they're lovely to host. They know what to expect. You pay no commission. You spend far less time securing the booking. Best of all, once someone has come back once, there's every chance they'll become a regular.

This whole month is about building a relationship your guest wants to return to. Although your place is important, it’s actually you and the communication with guests that likely creates returners. So let’s get to it!

Think back to your work on sussing out your ideal guest: once a guest has booked, they have already overcome all of their worries and decided they trust you. You’ve done the hard part…. Now the question becomes much simpler.

How can you make them feel remembered?

This process starts in pre-stay comms and it starts with asking: ask about dietary preferences, ask the ages of the children, ask how they're travelling and where from, ask if they're celebrating anything or if they’ve been to the area before.

Then act on it, and tell them you have: "I've put some books out for your two-year-old, and there's a toddler step in the bathroom, so no need to pack yours." You've just made packing easier and shown them you listened, before they've even set off.

One of my guests mentioned her granddaughter’s a birthday in passing; there was a balloon and a cake waiting when they arrived. It cost me a tiny fraction of the changeover, or the carpet clean, or the new pigeon spikes or the new shower but this is what they noticed as soon as they arrived and it set the tone for the whole stay.

You don’t need to do lots for every guest: just whatever fits, whatever shows you were listening and you care (of course you do; you’re a CHCer!)

Your task this week

Look at your next three bookings. Read back through every message you've exchanged and every note you've made. Find one thing you know about each guest that you could acknowledge or use to make their stay feel more personal.

Choose the action that best fits where you are.

Beginner

If you're not already leaving a handwritten card, start this week. It doesn't need to be branded or fancy (we will talk more about branding later in the month). Mention something personal if you can, such as a birthday, the dog’s name, somewhere they’ve said they want to go, a previous visit or how excited the children must be for their holiday. If you host remotely, write a batch of cards and post them to your cleaner to leave out between changeovers.

Experienced

Make personalisation part of your booking system rather than something you remember when you have time.

· Create a bank of questions you will ask: if guests haven't naturally shared anything useful, ask another question. Sooner or later they'll tell you something you can use. If you use automated messages, adjust them accordingly;

· Create somewhere to record those details, whether that's a column on your spreadsheet, a note in your calendar software or your PMS;

· Make any arrangements for the next few guests: balloons, cakes, flowers, high chairs left out, some bunting you get out time and again, gluten free treats (honestly, dietary restrictions are such a win for your reviews because acting on them means SO much to people), a note for the dog… whatever works!

· You could also spend twenty minutes building a list of local businesses you might call on in future, such as florists, cake makers, balloon suppliers or local hamper companies.

Little touches don't need to cost much, if anything: it could be as easy as leaving out the high chair rather than it being tucked under the stairs. They just need to show your guest that you noticed them.

Tell us in the comments what you’re doing already and which challenge you will be taking on to get done this week.

Kay x

Weekly Prompt 2 - Creating Touchpoints

Our aim this week is to take guests from 'That lovely time we had in Swanage last year' to 'That lovely time we had at Magnolia House last year'. The difference is big.

Our plan is to create powerful physical touchpoints that we can have guests take home with them, so we pop up in their homes throughout the year.

In marketing, touchpoints are any interactions or encounters between a person and a brand. They can be adverts, spotting a business card, seeing us on a map or popping up on a Facebook feed. But they can also be there after the stay, so that's what we're working on today. Tangible objects create stronger emotional connections and higher recall than ads. (May I ask you to consider if you felt more connected to me and the group when you received your welcome pack?)

So, once they've unpacked and the washing's on, you want something of yours in their house: on the fridge, in a kitchen drawer, marking their page. Every time they see it, there you are.

Some ideas, from free to fancy:

• A printed recipe card for whatever's in your hamper or a local dish

• A postcard (they take it, or you post it after)

• Bookmarks

• Seed packets (credit to Paula for this idea, and what a brilliantly long lasting one it could be!)

• Pens

• A jute bag that doubles as the hamper

• A tea towel they use and then take home (one less thing to launder )

• Key rings

• Little games for the kids' basket

• A teddy (I've seen them with branded T shirts)

I will share the link for Little Grove and my discount code in the comments - please then add your own links.

This is key:

Don't get hung up on the branding itself. Your name, your property, a way to find you: that's enough. Consistency matters far more than a perfect logo.

This week, choose ONE touchpoint and put it in place. Order it, print it, or make it. One thing that goes home with your next guest.

Tell us in comments which one you've picked; and if you've already got a takeaway touchpoint that guests love, share it.

Kay x

This great example is from Steph of Great Ash Barn. Devon., an ex member who has been in touch about rejoining as she misses us!