Good People Skills Essential to Attract and Retain Vacation Rental Guests

I was reminded of the importance of this when browsing a recent Skift blog outlining ‘The Skills Hoteliers Want in Employees to Make Guest Experiences Better’. Though we are not in the hotel business, we are part of the wider hospitality business and have to be just as reliant on our person-to-person people skills to attract and retain guests.

So what can we learn from this? We might start from the premise that our properties are a home from home for the guests staying in them. While there they need to feel relaxed, comfortable and secure – just like back home.

Empathy is the keyword

The good news is that the people skills we need do not require a psychology degree. Most people should have acquired them while growing up. They include listening to people, looking at them and making eye contact, talking to them and exuding a caring attitude. Empathy is the key word here. Knowing what your guests might be feeling and how you can make their stay better. One of the speakers featured in the blog makes a telling point: ‘One thing I have learned is that if you want to show someone you care about them, listen to them. Most people listen with an intent to respond, instead of listening with an intent to understand’. So often, if we are busy and pushed for time, we are thinking more about what we want to get across to guests rather than what guests are trying to get across to us.

Good written communication is vital to people skills

All of the above refer to people skills with regards to face-to-face interaction with guests, but the standard of your written communication is equally important for your people skills. In a service industry like ours clear, engaging communication is a must. Not everyone is a born writer, though, so how do we guard against our people skills falling short in this area? One way is to carefully write then edit a bank of prepared responses to guest emails – reservation confirmations, requests for guest reviews, information packs etc. This way you can carefully word your responses and have someone check them over for grammar, punctuation and sense before using them.

Professionally crafted communications

Here at Homes and Rooms, we realize the necessity for good people skills and professional communication with guests. We provide all subscribers with a bank of professionally crafted response emails as part of our service. These can be further personalized to your requirements and delivered automatically if you wish. Though you are able to choose a high degree of automation for our services, you still retain control of all communications. Be assured, with Homes and Rooms, automation does not mean a loss of personalization. For those owners who are remote from their properties and who may only get to communicate with guests (and managers) via phone and email, this high degree of personalization plus the features of our Communications Manager are real assets. Your people skills will ensure you are reflected as a caring and concerned owner, intent on providing their guests with the best possible experience.