Pre-arrival preferences: a simple way to provide guest experience and get great reviews

One of the most powerful ways to provide impeccable guest experience is to ascertain guest preferences.

What are guest preferences? For starters, think about yourself and what you like, as it’s easiest to relate to.

For example, what do you like to drink? Are you someone who enjoys a cocktail, beer or wine? Maybe a little bubbly? Or maybe a superb cup of coffee / tea. (Or all the above :-)

When you snack on foods, do you like something sweet or salty?

Do you enjoy cheese or meat? Or maybe you're gluten free, vegan, Kosher or have specific dietary restrictions or preferences.

Are you staying at a location for a special occasion? Maybe it is a birthday, girl’s weekend trip, vacation or another occasion.

These examples are all simple but powerful ways to craft great experiences, without spending a lot of work on setting up.

The easiest way to learn these things is to simply ask your guests before arrival! While you’re sending your booking email, ask, what do you enjoy drinking or eating? And surprise them.

One of my most memorable examples crafting a great guest experience was when I had an upcoming guest staying with us, who I found out owned a small vineyard. Unbeknownst to the owner, I called and asked his staff what the owner’s favorite wine of his was and had it sent to us. Also, I learned what he loved to eat when he tasted his wines (charcuterie, crackers and cheese). The bottles sent included his employees' signature and card and when the couple arrived; I escorted them to the room. On arrival, they were so pleasantly surprised to discover their favorite wine and snacks with a handwritten card from all of us wishing them a great stay.

Of course, this is 5* superior service and prices and most of us wouldn’t go that far for running our Airbnb, but we could do similar. And the result? Impeccable reviews, happy guests and memories made for life.

So next time you send another pre-arrival email, get curious. You never know how you might make someone's trip spectacular and increase your ratings as a result, too.

Until next time, 

Igor Miller

Founder, PamperedGuest.com

PS: For quick deliveries on last-minute bookings, use Instacart.com. It combines all your local stores and will have someone shop and deliver the items to you. So after you find out, place a quick order and have it delivered directly to your vacation rental for you or your designated team to arrange.