When is the last time you added something meaningful to your guest’s experience? Maybe it was a remodel, a new furniture set or some recreational equipment. Chances are you may not have made any new changes to your vacation rental in some time. If you are honest with yourself, do you feel like your VR is more competitive in the marketplace today than it was a year or two ago? As owners and managers, sometimes we struggle to find new ways to add value to the guest experience.
Of course, that is the ultimate mission: to continuously improve, finding new ways to increase guest satisfaction. As the vacation rental market continues to evolve at a rapid pace, those that are standing still are falling behind. Repeat guests and referrals are something that you can control by delivering outstanding experiences that get people talking. So, that brings us back around to the original question – are you constantly looking for new ways to delight your guests?
If you are looking but need ideas, here’s one for you – give your guests a virtual concierge. There is a new capability recently released for the Amazon Echo and Google Home devices that provides exactly that. It is the Vacation Rental Virtual Concierge (http://vacationrentalvirtualconcierge.com). It is a free platform that allows you to create a custom interactive voice experience for your guests.
If you aren’t familiar with the Amazon Echo or Google Home, they are hands-free speakers you control with your voice. They can play music, provide information, news, sports scores, weather, and more—instantly. The Vacation Rental Virtual Concierge is an app that runs on these devices, much like an app on your smart phone. On the Echo, you start the app by saying, “Alexa, use the concierge service”.
Guests can ask questions like, “What is the wifi password?”, or “What is there to do around here?”. They can say “Give me some restaurant recommendations” – but the information they get back won’t be generic Google search results. The secret sauce is in the fact that all the content is provided by you, the owner or manager.
You have local insight and knowledge that is valuable to guests. So the next time you are wondering how to add value to your guest’s experience, consider sharing those insights through a virtual concierge. The interactive voice experience is fun, and a great way to delight your guests and grow your business.
Dana Young is a vacation rental owner in the technology industry.
Along with the Vacation Rental Virtual Concierge (http://vacationrentalvirtualconcierge.com), he also developed TrackVacs, a free tool for owners to help manage their vacation rental business.