Your Airbnb welcome book: The ultimate guide to boosting revenue and guest satisfaction
Enter Airbnb welcome books, the modern-day upgrade to traditional paper welcome books. These online manuals are revolutionizing the way short term operators interact with guests, ensuring a stellar first impression and streamlining the entire guest journey from pre-arrival to in-stay troubleshooting, and increasing post-stay engagement.
When investing in digital welcome books, short term rental operators typically see ROI as high as 200%. In this article, we’ll look at how you can get similar results and delve into the numerous advantages they bring.
Table of Contents
1. What is an Airbnb welcome book?
2. How an Airbnb welcome book saves you and your team time
6. What to include in your Airbnb welcome book
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What is an Airbnb welcome book?
An Airbnb welcome book, digital guidebook, or guest book are all different names for the same thing, the online evolution of the traditional guest books found in vacation rentals for decades. A not-so-secret weapon for creating a memorable guest experience, it compiles essential information about the property, check-in and check-out procedures, and local attractions, but with a significant twist — it’s all hosted online. And the shift from physical to digital comes with many benefits for both hosts and guests.
How an Airbnb welcome book saves you and your team time
Elevating self check-in experiences
The self check-in process is a breeze with digital guidebooks like Operto Guest. Guests receive clear, concise instructions, in advance of their arrival, minimizing potential hiccups and ensuring a seamless arrival experience. With no more waiting around or confusion, guest can effortlessly settle in and start their vacation on a high note. You can incorporate automated pre-arrival guest verification to ensure the security of your property and alleviate you and your employees from the headaches of stressful and potentially damaging situations.
Additionally, recent research shows over 80% of travelers would prefer to stay in a hotel with keyless access. With the desire for independence being one of the major reasons why people stay at short-term rentals, this market is no different. With Airbnb smart locks, guests can check in with ease any time of day using only their mobile phones, bypassing the need for key exchanges or clunky lockboxes. And with a solution such as Operto Guest, you can send digital keys in the same branded app as your welcome book, or provide a unique access code for use on your smart lock.
A digital guide in Operto Guest
The revenue ripple effect
An Airbnb welcome book isn’t just about convenience — it’s a revenue driver, serving as an ideal platform to showcase additional services and upgrade options to your guests. By highlighting enticing add-ons such as early check-ins, local experiences, activities or tours, or premium amenities and services your property offers, you enhance the guest experience and open avenues for increasing revenue.
Integrating third-party platforms like Viator into your welcome book is an easy way to earn additional revenue. By becoming a Viator affiliate, you can earn 8% revenue on each booking your guests make from their wide range of local experiences.
You can also include direct booking links in your content to encourage people to return and book directly with you.
How an Airbnb welcome book improves overall guest reviews
Since the great merging in which hotels and vacation rentals began to be promoted on the same channels, guests have come to expect a hotel level of service when they stay at a short term rental. This means 24/7 access to important information, personalized local recommendations, and a streamlined online experience that prioritizes convenience.
Welcome books mean guests can access information whenever and wherever they need without getting frustrated waiting for a response. In a centralized location, you can give them instant access to FAQs and personalized recommendations, allowing you to prevent issues before they even arise.
For example, if you previously received a complaint from someone who couldn’t work your oven, you could include a how-to video in your guidebook. Or, if you know a family with small children is arriving at your property, you could add information about local childcare services to take some of their stress away.
Happy guests lead to five-star reviews, repeat business, and recommendations to friends and family — direct revenue boosters.
What to include in your Airbnb welcome book
Crafting an effective Airbnb welcome book involves providing comprehensive information to enhance your guests’ experience. From check-in procedures to local recommendations, here’s a checklist to guide you:
- Check-in process: Include property availability times, directions, and access details.
- Property manual: Include Wi-Fi details, smart device and appliance instructions, house rules, and extras like cooking essentials.
- House rules: Explicitly state any rules or guidelines concerning noise levels, parties, smoking, or pet policies.
- Local restaurants: Offer insights into local eateries, cafes, and bars, and menu recommendations.
- Area activities and attractions: Provide information on hikes, landmarks, adventure sports, theme parks, museums, shopping, and personal recommendations.
- Local amenities: Highlight nearby shops, grocery stores, and convenience stores.
- Equipment rental: Include details on renting children’s equipment and any additional perks.
- Departure guidelines: Outline check-out procedures, house departure guidelines, garbage disposal, and information on airport transfers.
- Short term rental upsells: Consider a digital welcome book provider that offers the option to easily upsell your guests. Ex. Extended stays, cold beer in the fridge upon arrival, offers with affiliate partners.
By automatically answering guest questions through an Airbnb welcome book, you gain back time to focus on delivering a guest experience that stands out. For example, instead of answering a query about directions for the fifth time that day, you would be able to respond rapidly to a maintenance issue and have more time to improve your overall business
When you use a solution such as Operto Guest, it’s easy and quick to edit details and add PDFs, images, videos, and more. Investing a short amount of time uploading content results in a resource that could save you hours each week.
Operto Guest: Elevating your short term rental business
As you embark on the journey of creating your Airbnb welcome book, consider leveraging advanced solutions like Operto Guest. This innovative platform takes your welcome book to the next level, enhancing automation and guest communication, while adding your your overall Airbnb marketing strategy. Operto Guest empowers you to provide a seamless and personalized experience for your guests, setting you apart in the competitive vacation rental market.
The transition from traditional paper welcome books to digital guidebooks is not just a trend; it’s a strategic move that can elevate your short term rental business. The time saved, improved guest reviews, streamlined self-check-in, increased revenue opportunities, and the overall enhancement of the guest experience make Airbnb welcome books a must-have tool in your arsenal. Embrace the future of hospitality, captivate your guests, and watch your short term business thrive.
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