Chances are, you’re probably starting to get inquiries for next summer. But have you reached out to your past guests yet? Repeat guests are the best kind, and they might appreciate the nudge! While you’re at it, contact vacationers who inquired about your home in the past but never booked it. If they were interested once, they might be interested again.
I recently sat down with Lauren Binder from our homeowner team to discuss her thoughts about the who, what, where and when of reaching out to prior guests.
Some of the questions we answer:
- When is the best time to reach out?
- Is it different for Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket than the Cape?
- Does the size of the house make a difference in terms of timing?
- Should you hold weeks for guests who say they might want to come back?
- How far back in time should you go when contacting past guests?
- What is the best method for staying in touch?
We actually wrote a very popular blog post about this a few years ago that covers all the reasons why you should be contacting your prior vacation rental tenants.
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We send a photo Christmas card of the cottage in the snow with the printed inscription “Happy Holidays Happy Memories” and occasionally will write a handwritten message on the back asking for a review.(just the tenants from summer past)
I do not say anything about a return rental which would detract from the pure Christmas spirit, making it more a commercial than a friendly greeting. If this does not inspire a renewal, I let it rest since I am adverse to hard sales pitches.