Easy Check-In: 5 Top Tips for Vacation Rental Owners - Guaranteed to Make Your Vacation Unforgettable!

The current situation presents many challenges for owners of holiday condos. For now, it is difficult to estimate when the tourism industry will recover. It may still be a few weeks or months before guests start their vacation travel as usual. However, as a host, you can already think about what can be improved in your accommodation. Let's start with your front door:

Your guests' arrival at the hotel officially heralds the start of their vacation at the resort. For guests, this is the first impression of a vacation apartment, and as we all know, there is no second chance to make a first impression. According to one study, check-in and check-out play a key role in the overall accommodation experience for 30% of respondents. If these two checks go well, the likelihood of your property receiving a good rating also increases.

We've gathered for you the five most important points that you should definitely consider if you want to guarantee your guests an unforgettable vacation at your vacation apartment.

Tip 1: 5-Star Guest Communication

Before your guests start their journey, a lot of communication-related exchanges take place. Because in addition to the countless tasks to be organized and prepared in advance, the communication with the guests is a decisive part of the "pre-work". Therefore, you should always be accessible to your guests and answer their questions promptly (ideally within a day). Because if you don't respond to customer inquiries at all or only late, it can be difficult for your guests to build trust in you. This affects not only your reviews, but the booking itself. So, make sure you have reliable and positive communication with your guests at all times.

Tip 2: Provide all necessary information

No one wants to research the most important information on their own. So put yourself in the guest's shoes and consider what information they need before they arrive. Ideally, this information should be displayed on your website or the corresponding booking platform. If not, make sure your website is updated regularly. Before booking, your guests should know how to get to your property, whether parking facilities are available or how best to use public transportation.

Accordingly, holidaymakers should be informed in advance how to enter the holiday apartment. Do you hand over the keys yourself, someone else does it for you, or is there an option for self check-in? Depending on the method you choose, make sure your guests have easy and convenient access to the property. Waiting times, such as in front of the front door, can negatively impact your ratings.

Tip 3: Preparation is everything

Good preparation sounds obvious, but it cannot be overemphasized. Of course, you have to make sure you have everything ready in your stay. Your guests expect a sparkling clean apartment. Therefore, if you hire a cleaning service provider, you will still need to regularly check the accommodation yourself.
Another thing you should be prepared for is "paperwork": unless bills will be delivered in person, be sure to print out all legally required forms and have them ready for your guests.

Hot Tips: You can fill out many of the form fields yourself by receiving the necessary information in your booking. Your guests will appreciate your efforts and be glad they spent less time filling out forms than they thought.

Tip 4: Offer self-service check-in

Even if you value personal contact with your guests, it's not always possible to hand over the keys there. Automated self check-in combined with electronic door locks gives you more flexibility, especially if you rent multiple apartments. You can handle multiple check-ins at the same time if you are no longer physically present each time you arrive. This saves time, money and effort. Imagine your guests are late when you are bedridden or unable to attend due to childcare? With a digital door lock, such as the Nuki smart lock, you can send guests access authorization in advance so they can check in on their own at any time. There is still time for a personal greeting the next day.

• No more time-consuming key handovers
• No need to entrust external partners to hand over keys
• No need to wait if your guests experience unforeseen delays and late arrivals
• No need to duplicate expensive keys for cleaning staff and service partners
• Losing keys is no problem, this usually requires replacing the entire lock cylinder

Tip 5: Be different and make your stay unique

Focus on the needs of your guests and find out if they are traveling for business or spending a vacation at your property. Find out in advance how many people are arriving and whether they are interested in visiting attractions or want to experience action-packed activities. important:

Offer advice and insider information (such as about restaurants, events, or special venues), but make sure not to give the impression that you want to sell something.
Provide your guests with modern, well-appointed accommodation where new technologies can be discovered - for example, when a door is unlocked with a smart lock and the lights come on automatically.

Proactively meet the needs of guests. Are you renting accommodation in an area with a high probability of rain? Make sure you always have enough umbrellas, raincoats and rubber boots of different sizes available.
Do you know the owner of the best breakfast place in town? Then negotiate with him - maybe a discount coupon will be offered for your guests.
Think about the little things in life: Surprise your guests with local delicacies or fresh grass flowers on the table.

Of course, meeting guest expectations is a challenge, but a comfortable stay is a great start to a great stay and the foundation of long-term and successful customer loyalty.