How to choose the best welcome package?

Welcome packages, or all about how to professionally greet a guest

As many guests, as many personalities, passions, lifestyles and expectations from a dream vacation. This is well known to any short-term rental or vacation rental entrepreneur.

How do you optimize your offer so that you manage to be versatile enough to fit in with many tastes, yet original enough to make your offer stand out? In this article, we’ll touch on how to prepare a welcome kit for the guest and the equipment that should come as standard to complement our rental offer.

From the article you will learn, among other things, what role the online reception plays in the first stage of booking, what books and newspapers are worth making available for short-term rentals, and what practical extras to complete on a regular basis in your vacation home. If you want to run your short-term rental business fruitfully, the subheadings below should be a viable description of your business.

My offer sets me apart

The vacation rental sector is in a phase of rapid growth and continuous evolution. This is directly related to the creation of greater demand for vacation rental properties. The increase in demand for the services in question naturally creates competitive companies, and the only thing that can set our business apart is providing services and products that are better than the competition. One aspect that contributes to this
contributes is the offering of welcome packages.

Welcome packages are no longer a novelty or something particularly original these days, and tourists have become accustomed to the fact that there is often a package of products waiting for them at vacation properties to get their vacation off to a good start. Thus, their expectations of welcome packages continue to grow and are often not met, generating the feeling that landlords fear most: guest dissatisfaction.

In the tourism sector, the topic of holiday home furnishings and the type and content of welcome packages is not standardized in any way, which means you can get creative and use this as a great way to differentiate your offering from the competition.

Welcome packages are an added value in customer relations and this is how we should justify their meaning. They noticeably improve guests’ opinions and their impressions of the vacation.

Guests feel at home

“Guest at home, God at home”.

The Polish proverb about the value of hospitality has its counterparts in almost all languages of the world. Not surprisingly, it’s a principle that commands hosts to warmly and hospitably welcome newcomers. In vacation rentals, even if using a rental management app your contact with guests is minimal or nonexistent, remember that you are the host, and small gestures toward your guests will always be appreciated – even more so in a vacation rental. To ensure a great first impression, think about a welcome package at each of your rental properties.

What is a welcome package and what can it include?

In this subtitle, we’ll hint at a few little things that shouldn’t be missing from your vacation home to welcome guests in a nice way. Generally speaking, a welcome package is something you offer your guests upon their arrival at the property they’ve rented for the vacations.

So start by asking yourself – what would you expect if you were in the shoes of your guests? What might be useful to them? And what will pleasantly surprise them? After all, the possibilities are endless. Guests’ requirements for the contents of these packages change over time.

In the past, an emergency phone number in case of fire and a wi-fi password were sufficient, but growing needs and expectations, as well as competitors who don’t wait for your business to dominate theirs, are factors that are dynamically changing the habits of accommodating guests. Basic amenities are, of course, keys, rules and regulations, washing machine/kitchen instructions and security codes.

However, this is not a welcome package, but the basic standards in rentals that are now a must for any short-term rental property. Welcome packages add value, making a real difference in guests’ satisfaction with their stay.

Guests can’t lack anything – welcome package solution

After a long journey it is always nice to arrive at a place that is already prepared for us. Every guest will appreciate the fact that the host has taken the time to prepare a welcome package and properly equip the house to make the vacation pass pleasantly and comfortably. In the welcome kit it is worth including basic accessories useful for the first days like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, learn liquid, a few tea bags and a little coffee. In addition to this, it is common to include basic items of equipment for any home, such as an umbrella or fan, a cleaning kit. Completely additional items such as fresh flowers in a vase or a bowl of fruit or a jar of cookies – a small, but noticed by guests, detail that can make a big difference in their opinion of your offer.

Local guide

It’s not just the welcome kit that will satisfy guests upon arrival at the accommodation. There are also other options to make travelers feel at home. It’s a good idea to equip the property with maps, advertising newspapers and flyers of nearby places, attractions, restaurants and anything else that can make it easier for guests to get to places of interest. Although nowadays all the information is at your fingertips, available on the Internet, there is nothing like “recommended places.” Guests will be grateful that you have taken optimal care of their leisure time by suggesting interesting local spots.

Whether included in the welcome kit or as a permanent fixture, snacks and drinks in small quantities are a nice gesture toward guests. It’s important to understand that people who choose to stay in a vacation home want the privacy and comfort of a home, but at the same time don’t forget that they expect certain amenities. Leaving them snacks or drinks will make the first day of their stay more pleasant.

This is one of those details that make us feel at home from the first moment we arrive at our vacation property.
You can only make a first impression once – the golden rule to follow when putting the finishing touches on a property for our guests down to the smallest detail. The best marketing is guest satisfaction. They are the ones who promote your offer most sincerely and effectively, and the hospitality shown to them through the prepared property and its appropriate furnishings will do its part in fulfilling the customer’s needs.

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