The NOW Vacationer Doesn’t Wait

Updated January 2024

The more homeowners understand about today’s vacationers, the more successful they are in their rental business. Thanks in large part to technology, vacationers are accustomed to almost instant gratification – and it behooves homeowners to manage their rentals accordingly. In her Blog post The NOW Customer, Julia Luce aptly defines today’s short-term rental vacationer.

Who is the NOW Customer?

According to Luce, they are “consumers who seek speed, results, and an emotional connection from the brands they frequent.” They are always “on” and don’t tolerate “try again later.” Their expectations have risen dramatically due to on-demand technology and the incredibly fast results provided by companies like Amazon and Netflix.

Vacationers are your customers. How can you best respond to their demands?

Time is of the essence

Like all of us, vacationers are busy! When they set aside time to research their vacation rental, they want to get results quickly, not take hours, days, or weeks to make decisions and get things settled.

• Responding to inquiries: It starts with their initial inquiry to you. How quickly do you respond? Keep in mind that yours is likely not the only listing they are inquiring about. The sooner you respond, the greater the likelihood of converting that inquiry into a booking.
• Your communications with vacationers: And it’s not just the initial inquiry from prospective guests – being promptly responsive to all their communications is important. We have heard complaints from vacationers that the homeowner was very responsive at first but less so once the booking was confirmed. Read more about the Importance of Good Communication.
• Conveying the lease: Instead of sending your lease through the mail, you can email it to your guests and ask that they print, sign, scan, and email it back to you. And then you do the same so that they have a signed copy. This expedites the process. If you have a digital signature account, that provides a great option, too.
• Providing online payment options: Another way to accelerate and facilitate the booking process is to offer online payment options. Read more about the Benefits of Offering Online Payment Options and Online Payment Options for Your Guests. Not only are online payments very popular with vacationers, but they provide many advantages to homeowners as well. They are safe, quick, easy, and trackable online.
• Returning security deposits: Don’t forget to return your guests’ security deposits as quickly as possible. Even if they sent you a check, offer to return the funds via Venmo or some other quick and easy online option. The longer your guests have to wait for their security deposit, the more anxious they get. And what started out as a great relationship can quickly sour.
• Requesting guest reviews: Your request for a guest review should also be sent very soon after their departure and the return of their security deposit. Read more about the need to Strike While the Iron’s Hot.

It’s also about professionalism

While speed and responsiveness are paramount, it’s also important to provide your guests with a frictionless experience. One way to assure that is to use templates, when appropriate, for:

• responding to inquiries
• sending additional information about your home or activities in your area
• sending instructions to enter your home
• returning security deposits
• requesting guest reviews

It’s helpful to use a good, reliable booking management system to keep you organized, prevent double bookings, track documents and payments, and note special situations or requests. Read more about how to use our Booking Management system to start Managing Your Bookings with Ease.

The importance of that personal connection

In addition to speed and efficiency, vacationers also prefer to engage directly with the homeowner or manager and establish a personal connection. According to Luce, “Customers who feel an emotional connection with a brand have a 306% higher lifetime value and will recommend that brand 26% more than the average.”

If your home is already booked for the week inquired about, do you simply reply that it’s booked, or do you use it as a marketing opportunity for a future booking? Ideally, your response would include more details about your home and an invitation to the vacationer to reach out to you again in the future – or perhaps they could be persuaded to change their dates.

WeNeedaVacation will send you a text the moment you receive an email inquiry. This will alert you to the inquiry, which allows you to speed up your response time considerably. It also eliminates the need to continually check your emails. (If your listing has not been coded to receive text alerts, be sure to update it on your “Contact Info” page.)

If the vacationer provides a phone number with their inquiry, you might call rather than respond via email, especially if the vacationer expresses special interest in your home or if it’s a last-minute booking. Even if your initial response is via email, a phone conversation is always recommended. It provides a personal touch and helps to establish a rapport and a sense of mutual trust. You want the reassurance that your guests will care for your home as if it were theirs. And your guests want to trust that what you tell them about your property is an honest and accurate representation. It’s important that the prospective guest feel positive not only about your home but also about you as the homeowner.