One of the most crucial aspects of establishing a good foundation for the visitor experience is the welcome procedure. Suppose you’re a property owner who wants to establish a short-term rental company. In that case, you already know that greeting visitors properly is critical if you want to provide them the best possible experience from the minute they arrive.
A vacation rental welcome book is one of the most important and valuable items you can present to your visitors to make their stay memorable. As a result, we’ve designed a free vacation rental welcome book template that you can get here:
When visitors arrive at your vacation rental, you want them to feel like they’ve walked into a peaceful and friendly home, where they can find everything they need – including information.
That entails performing a little mind-reading and predicting any possible difficulties or concerns before they emerge, as well as giving detailed instructions for how to deal with them in the event they do!
All of the practical information in your welcome book will be crucial in preventing panicky phone calls from your visitors late at night (or early in the morning). There are only advantages when it comes to creating a fantastic vacation rental welcome book. If you’re not sure where to begin, we’ve defined all of the areas you should include, as well as some helpful hints for creating the ideal short-term rental welcome book.
What is the definition of a vacation rental guidebook?
Guests are often inundated with information concerning their bookings. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with information before the trip even starts, from vacation rental property guidelines to check-in procedures. A vacation rental welcome book’s purpose is to relieve tension, set the tone for a peaceful stay, and, of course, make your visitors feel welcome.
This is the area where you may meet your new visitors relaxed while also giving them all of the pertinent information concerning their stay. Because the welcome book is about the whole visitor experience, you should also educate them about the surrounding environment and relevant municipal information. Consider it a kind but informative greeting.
Why is it Necessary to Have a Welcome Book at Your Vacation Rental?
Providing the correct services to your visitors when they walk into your vacation rental may make a big impact and increase your return guest rate.
Additional essential elements to consider when renting your home to persuade visitors to select you over your competitors. Things like property cleanliness, prices, additional services, and all the amenities you may supply in your vacation rental house are crucial.
But, as the saying goes, “the devil is in the details.”
You must pay attention to the details to ensure that your visitors have a memorable experience. You might begin with the ideal welcome book. Here are some ways a visitor welcome book might help your company.
Demonstrate your concern for your visitors
Keep in mind that they’re giving up their hard-earned cash and valuable time for more than simply a holiday home. They’re offering you something worthwhile in the hopes of getting a wonderful vacation in return.
Having a welcome book for your visitors adds a personal touch to the procedure. Because you’re unlikely to be there to personally meet your visitors, make sure your guest welcome book does an excellent job of filling in for you.
The ideal alternative for a handshake at the entrance will be a polite, informative welcome book for your visitors. Through your welcome book, show your visitors that you care.
Assist visitors in finding their way around your home.
Your visitors have never been to your second house, even though it is your second home. The only information they have about your vacation rental comes from a few photographs on your website.
You don’t want your visitors to be perplexed when they arrive. What sort of welcome is that, after all? Tell them about all of the services and perks you provide and how to do things like connect to wifi, run the dishwasher, and use all of the other facilities. This will familiarise them with the lay of the land and how everything on your property operates.
Make suggestions for the area.
Show them you’re a pro by giving them in-home recommendations and suggestions for things to do in the region. Your guests will be astonished by your understanding of the area and appreciate the local information.
The residence doesn’t just determine the visitor experience. What visitors do and how they engage with the environment will influence their feelings about your holiday rental. Provide them with some exciting choices throughout their stay to ensure they have a nice time for the duration of their vacation.
Obtain 5-star ratings
Finally, you want their vacation to be positive, which will be reflected in their review. A glowing review indicates a positive visitor experience, allowing you to attract new clients and rebook existing ones.
The more information you offer in your welcome booklet, the more you will be rewarded for your thoughtfulness in their online evaluations, which will help your vacation rental company and website gain a reputation.
The Ideal Welcome Book Checklist for Vacation Rentals
What is the most common issue you may encounter while creating a new welcome book for your short-term rental? – That it requires a significant amount of time and work!
It may seem like writing and generating a new welcome book from scratch will consume much too much of your time. For these welcome booklets to be beneficial to visitors, they must be filled with high-quality content, but doing so will take up a lot of your time.
You could undoubtedly spend hours (or even days) attempting to figure out how to arrange your writing, what tone of voice to employ, and what important information to add. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with a fresh welcome book!
Fortunately, you can bypass this time-consuming procedure with a little assistance from us. Continue reading to acquire a free vacation rental welcome book checklist of everything you need to do, including how to greet your visitors.
What Should Your Vacation Rental Welcome Book Contain?
When determining what to include in your vacation rental welcome book, keep in mind that each part should be useful for first-time visitors in your location and house.
As a result, we believe it would be preferable to divide the vacation rental welcome book into easily navigable parts. Here are some of our favorite ideas, recommendations, and pointers for what to include!
- Initial information
Above all, the first portion of your welcome book should be used to greet your visitors and welcome them to your vacation rental.
You’ve heard it said that the first impression is the last a million times. So don’t lose out on this chance to give your visitors the finest possible start to their stay at your resort.
This customized “hello” will not only be a polite way to introduce yourself to your visitors, but it will also demonstrate that you care about their experience in your house. If you have an automatic check-in system and are not generally there to meet visitors upon arrival, this is handy and can help you establish a fantastic first impression.
You may also give a quick overview of: in the same section.
- Cleaning Procedures and Instructions
- Access code required for parking information (if applicable)
- Password for guest wifi
- Your contact information
Even if your visitors don’t read your short-term rental welcome book, they must have it. Otherwise, they’ll very certainly come to you for help.
- The contents page
Your visitors will read your welcome book in its entirety in a perfect world. That isn’t going to happen in reality. Guests are itching to go away! They’ll most likely scan through the book or hunt for the information they want right away, such as the wifi password or pool access code.
A table of contents organizes your welcome book, making it easy for you to steer visitors correctly while also providing them with a clear path to the information they want.
- Information on arrival and departure
It’s a good idea to include arrival and departure data inside the first few pages if you will send an electronic copy of your welcome book via email before visitors arrive.
This should contain the entire location of your rental, instructions from the closest airport and train/bus station, check-in and check-out procedures (and if they are flexible or stringent), and so on.
- Contact information in case of an emergency
In addition to your contact information, you should provide the following emergency services’ contact information and locations just in case:
The nearest medical clinic or hospital and the fire department and police department are all close by.
Remember that visitors do not have access to all of the resources they would have at home. They’ll feel more at peace if they know you’re concerned about their safety.
- Policies governing rental properties
Even if your visitor has been at a lot of vacation rentals in the past, there’s no guarantee they’ll know your vacation rental home regulations unless you spell them out explicitly.
Including your rental restrictions in your welcome book can also assist you in preventing problems with visitors who claim they were unaware of the rules. Include any rules and procedures in this part and clear directions for visitors on what is expected of them throughout their stay. For example, if trash is collected on Tuesdays, make sure your visitors are aware of this, so they don’t miss out on the chance to dispose of their rubbish.
This section will remind visitors how to properly depart their homes. Another advantage of following your rules is that you are far less likely to have products go missing or be abused!
- A list of amenities
Perhaps your visitors made a last-minute reservation or made reservations months in advance. In any event, they may have forgotten about the features that your house has to offer. It’s a good idea to bring them up again so that all your property may wow visitors have to offer.
This also provides the authorization to utilize your Property’s facilities indirectly. Perhaps the apartment complex has a washer and dryer or a fireplace. Guests may be unclear whether they have access to everything on the Property, particularly if they don’t have at home. A comprehensive list of your facilities ensures visitors are free to utilize them whenever they choose.
- Step-by-step instructions
If your visitors can’t figure out how to do simple things like turn on the thermostat, they may vent their frustrations in your property reviews. It’s critical to give instructions for using certain of your services and products.
You may write the following instructions:
- Access to the Property (lockbox code, garage code, gate)
- Restrictions on the router and the Internet
- Thermostat
- Fireplace or Hot Tub
- Barbecue
- Aquatic center
- Washing Machine and Dryer
- Appliances for the Kitchen
- Remote control for the TV/DVD player
- Netflix/HBO/Hulu
This is also a great location to post guidelines about smoking, breaking the law, dumping trash, and water information. You may even bring up any peculiarities about your rental. Is your WiFi strong throughout the home but weak on the patio? Include it in this part so that they are prepared.
- A guide to activities
While some visitors may have a set schedule, others may be seeking local suggestions from residents – you! As a result, you should devote an entire part of your welcome book to the activities and attractions available in your region.
Include a “best of” list of your favorite activities to do around your Property to demonstrate your knowledge. You may also wish to develop a section for each of the most popular leisure pastimes, such as walks/hikes, cycling routes, beaches, and watersports, as well as shopping alternatives like fresh produce and second-hand markets (depending on your rental area).
- Guide to Bars and Restaurants
Write a brief introduction of your location’s food and beverage choices, including as much information as feasible. Keep in mind that the suggestion reflects you; therefore, you don’t want a terrible eating experience to be associated with your establishment.
Is there a specific dish that is well-known in the area? Alternatively, do you have a regional culinary style?
After that, make a list of your favorite restaurants, bars, and lunch locations, as well as suggested meals to try at each. Remember to add phone numbers, a website or TripAdvisor link, and, if possible, a map! This will simplify visitors to discover them and make bookings if necessary.
- Adherence to local regulations and codes
Short-term rentals are subject to highly stringent municipal laws and guidelines in certain places. Some locations, for example, forbid outdoor rubbish, so visitors must dispose of their waste at nearby facilities. Campfires and pyrotechnics are often prohibited in certain areas. It’s essential to make your visitors aware of these local restrictions to prevent issues throughout their stay. It will also assist you in avoiding your hosting horror tale!
- Public transit in the area
Create a section providing recommendations on how to travel about your location to assist people in exploring your area. Make sure to include contact information, timetables, and any other details that visitors could find helpful, such as:
- Taxi and shuttle services are available.
- Routes of the Bus
- Automobile Rentals
- Train Stations and Airports
- Maps of the Local Area
This information is especially helpful if your rental is off the grid and cell coverage isn’t easily available. It’s also beneficial to give insider tips on navigating your neighborhood that only residents would know.
- Apart from your target audience that is tailored to them
The welcome book is a great way for visitors to feel acknowledged right away when they arrive, so why not make it personal? Including a section dedicated to the sort of person, you’re entertaining or the purpose for their visit will add to the overall wow effect.
Let’s imagine you’re entertaining a group of newlyweds. You may create a separate area for them that includes honeymoon photographers, the finest romantic picnic sites, a couples massage facility, or anything else relevant to their holiday.
A bachelor party, family reunion, or workcation may all be done the same way. Customizing the welcome book and including a few hand-picked favorites is sure to please your visitors.
- Where can they locate you at the end of their stay?
The ideal kind of visitor returns year after year. The welcome book is one of the most effective strategies to boost the number of repeat visitors to your establishment. Ensure they know how to contact you, particularly if they booked via a third-party site or an online travel agency (OTA).
Although having emergency contact information is required and expected, many hosts overlook linking the pleasant methods to reach them. Show them how to sign up for your email list to get property updates and special offers. You may also include a link to your vacation rental blog or your social media profiles.
- Unique extras
Why not give some more recommendations to make every guest’s arrival as seamless as possible to fully wow your visitors? You might also utilize the last part to provide them with useful information about the neighborhood where your property is situated.
That includes anything they can discover in the area, such as:
- Grocery shops nearby
- Convenience shops that are open 24 hours a day
- Stations that sell gasoline
- ATMs
- Pharmacies
- Worship locations
Allowing your visitors quick access to this information will ensure a pleasant and stress-free stay. All of these suggestions will make traveling a breeze, particularly for those who arrive at inconvenient times!
How to Display Your Welcome Book For Your Vacation Rental
You’ll need to give your visitors a copy of their guest welcome book before they arrive, but how should you do it? While we wait for a resolution to the print vs. digital debate, many hosts are stumped on how to best provide their visitors with the vacation rental welcome book. Both have advantages, and the best option is determined by the host, the visitor, and the Property.
Printed version
What I like most about a printed vacation rental welcome book is how personal it is. It’s that added touch that some visitors say they don’t get enough of throughout their stay. Remember that many people prefer vacation rentals to hotels because they provide a more personalized experience. That said, you may find that providing visitors with a real copy of your vacation rental welcome handbook is the greatest approach to make them feel that their stay is being lovingly catered.
Take into account your target audience as well. The additional touch may go unnoticed by millennial and Gen-Z tourists. Furthermore, they may prefer a digital copy, so they don’t have to lug along a vacation rental welcome binder. Identifying your target audience can assist you in deciding whether or not to print a copy.
Copy in digital format
So, how about a digital welcome book for your holiday rental? Should your welcome book be virtual, too, or should that be the exception? Almost the whole reservation process can now be digital, so why not your welcome book? Hosts are constantly torn between what has to be printed and what can be done online. So, when is it appropriate to make a digital copy? There are several advantages to going digital with your guidebook, which is why we’ve listed them all here: vacation rental digital welcome book.
What Makes it Different From an Airbnb Welcome Book?
It’s not a short tale. Using the same welcome book template we specified previously, you may construct an Airbnb welcome book or a Vrbo welcome book. Instead, you may use our Airbnb welcome book template if you want something a bit more specialized.
You may offer this book in various forms (e.g., a binder, a scrapbook, etc. ), but make sure that all of the parts are well-organized. Include section marks so they can quickly locate certain sections of your Airbnb welcome book.
