So we are on to booking number 5 since we started advertising in July. I have not had any feedback from any of the guests so I presume this is a good thing...
Do any of you contact the guests after their vacation and ask if everything was ok or do you just wait to see if they submit a review? I guess most people would need to be pushed to submit one unless they had a bad experience.
Approach Guests for Reviews or Wait
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croatian_villa
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 10:41 am
- Location: Croatia & U.K
We contact them to ask for bank details so that we can return their damage deposit. This gives me the opportunity to ask if all was well etc etc. However I'm constantly disappointed in the lack of 'chat' after the holiday as opposed to the amount before.
But I suppose people are back to their busy lives.
Mouse
x
But I suppose people are back to their busy lives.
Mouse
x
One martini, two martini, three martini floor!
I've noticed this too Mousie, over the years. Rather puts one in a spot when asking for a review/comment doesn't it.Mouse wrote:....... However I'm constantly disappointed in the lack of 'chat' after the holiday as opposed to the amount before.
But I suppose people are back to their busy lives.
Mouse
x
This year fewer guests have left comments in the guestbook too; unless I ask them (which embarrasses me
) many seem to 'forget' or 'overlook' this. Yet they speak glowingly about it when we are chatting the day before departure. Will now make a point to ask guests to comment should they feel like it. (Sigh!)-
croatian_villa
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 10:41 am
- Location: Croatia & U.K
Do not be discouraged...it took a while for our first reviews to get posted. We began to send them the photos James takes of every guest for our guestbook, thank them for staying with us and so ask for a review. We now have 66 reviews on TA -open since Christmas 2011. We have calculated that about one out of 8 has taken the time to write a reiview.
aasta
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Beachcondo
- Posts: 760
- Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2011 7:51 pm
- Location: Anna Maria Island, Florida and Sweden
- Contact:
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charles cawley
- Posts: 1205
- Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 1:53 pm
- Location: Herefordshire, Shropshire, Borders
We send requests to everyone who has stayed at members' cottages.
Owners tell us that we get more feedback than they do; it seems many guests are happier to be more open about what they write if it is to a middle man.
As ever, the feedback that often causes the most upset is sometimes the most useful. The best owners are often those who take remarks personally because they care the most.
There have been times when I have been tempted not to forward unfair feedback which are, fortunately, very rare. But we have a policy to report everything, warts and all.
To make things easier, where we feel the remarks are out of order, we normally ring up the owners before forwarding them to let them know our feelings about the situation. Sometimes, people leave unfair feedback due to things totally out of the control of owners.
It does not make it any easier but negative feedback is often the most positive help in keeping up good quality.
Owners tell us that we get more feedback than they do; it seems many guests are happier to be more open about what they write if it is to a middle man.
As ever, the feedback that often causes the most upset is sometimes the most useful. The best owners are often those who take remarks personally because they care the most.
There have been times when I have been tempted not to forward unfair feedback which are, fortunately, very rare. But we have a policy to report everything, warts and all.
To make things easier, where we feel the remarks are out of order, we normally ring up the owners before forwarding them to let them know our feelings about the situation. Sometimes, people leave unfair feedback due to things totally out of the control of owners.
It does not make it any easier but negative feedback is often the most positive help in keeping up good quality.
No web-site for now.
Advice about holiday letting
Advice about holiday letting
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barbersdrove
- Posts: 985
- Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:48 pm
- Location: crowland south lincolnshire
About a month after people have left I write to those who have not already submitted a review, to say hope you had a good journey home etc and invite them to submit a review with a link to the review site. Most do do it but as I said before there are a couple of things i think help.. One is we are on site and get to meet our guests so we do tend to build a relationship with the.
We usually discuss reviews as they are leaving, more often brought up by them in response to our 'leaving page of the welcome folder where I say how important they are and ask them to do it when they get home. most promise they will leave one and do.
The other is that we don't have a guest book so they are not being asked to do something they have already done.
We usually discuss reviews as they are leaving, more often brought up by them in response to our 'leaving page of the welcome folder where I say how important they are and ask them to do it when they get home. most promise they will leave one and do.
The other is that we don't have a guest book so they are not being asked to do something they have already done.
A cream cake a day keeps the wrinkles at bay:)
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barbersdrove
- Posts: 985
- Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:48 pm
- Location: crowland south lincolnshire
on the subject of reviews I have recieved one in the past few days that has yet to appear on TA but should do so this week. I can't help but think that the young lady concerned is a travel writer or somesuch as it is so comprehensive. I don't think she's left anything out!
Here it is:
"Perfect, would have loved to have stayed longer"
We stayed in the Lodge @ Fen-Acre as we were attending a wedding nearby and as a party of 3 adults and 2 babies under 6 months we thought self catering would suit us much better than a budget hotel. After a 9 hour car journey from Devon we were unbelievably overjoyed to be welcomed to The Lodge by Julie. We quickly and easily settled in as the Lodge is very comfortable and fantastically well equipped, the owners have thought of everything from the nail files in the bathroom to the great selection of books and games in the lounge and a fully equipped kitchen. Plus the breakfast hamper of eggs, milk and a selection of cereals was great. My husband and I stayed in the larger room with our baby. There was enough room for the lovely comfortable bed and our travel cot. My sister and her baby stayed in the smaller room which was adequate size for the single bed and a travel cot kindly provided by the owners. The bathroom is very clean and a modern wetroom style, we even managed to shower the babies quite easily. The lounge/diner is comfortable and there was plenty of room to spread out. It's a shame the weather wasn't better so we could enjoy the lovely garden and outside patio area. Although we did take our daughter to meet the chickens. The property felt very secure and relatively secluded. It was very peacful even though it is quite close to the road, we barely noticed it. We didn't have much time to check out the area as had wedding plans on both days, but the village of Crowland looked lovely. It also seems well placed to explore the area. We would love to come back and stay again. It is somewhere i could easily spend a week and do some exploring and cycling on the lovely flat roads. The Lodge is amazing value and in excellent condition. If you're looking for somewhere great to stay in this area then The Lodge @ Fen-Are is it. Thanks, we hope to return.
Here it is:
"Perfect, would have loved to have stayed longer"
We stayed in the Lodge @ Fen-Acre as we were attending a wedding nearby and as a party of 3 adults and 2 babies under 6 months we thought self catering would suit us much better than a budget hotel. After a 9 hour car journey from Devon we were unbelievably overjoyed to be welcomed to The Lodge by Julie. We quickly and easily settled in as the Lodge is very comfortable and fantastically well equipped, the owners have thought of everything from the nail files in the bathroom to the great selection of books and games in the lounge and a fully equipped kitchen. Plus the breakfast hamper of eggs, milk and a selection of cereals was great. My husband and I stayed in the larger room with our baby. There was enough room for the lovely comfortable bed and our travel cot. My sister and her baby stayed in the smaller room which was adequate size for the single bed and a travel cot kindly provided by the owners. The bathroom is very clean and a modern wetroom style, we even managed to shower the babies quite easily. The lounge/diner is comfortable and there was plenty of room to spread out. It's a shame the weather wasn't better so we could enjoy the lovely garden and outside patio area. Although we did take our daughter to meet the chickens. The property felt very secure and relatively secluded. It was very peacful even though it is quite close to the road, we barely noticed it. We didn't have much time to check out the area as had wedding plans on both days, but the village of Crowland looked lovely. It also seems well placed to explore the area. We would love to come back and stay again. It is somewhere i could easily spend a week and do some exploring and cycling on the lovely flat roads. The Lodge is amazing value and in excellent condition. If you're looking for somewhere great to stay in this area then The Lodge @ Fen-Are is it. Thanks, we hope to return.
A cream cake a day keeps the wrinkles at bay:)
I do the same but don't offer a 10% discount. I wouldn't have nearly as many reviews as I have if I didn't do a follow up email.Margaret wrote:our experience is that you have to ask or it is a long slow job. We have got over 150 since 2008 but would never have got so many without asking. I write and hope that they had a good journey home and enjoyed their stay, offer them 10% off a future booking and ask for a review.
I send them a Welcome Home email to ask if they had a good holiday and trip home and also asking for their bank details. This elicits an email full of glowing comments (usually) about their holiday. I then send another one telling them I've made the bank transfer and would they be willing to submit a review - give a link to the review page - make it easy for them. Even so, maybe only about 60% actually follow through even after promising to do so. 
Kathy
Waterfront location in Le Faou
"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am."
Waterfront location in Le Faou
"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am."
I've been doing a similar thing - no reviews yet though but not giving up hope!KathyG wrote:I send them a Welcome Home email to ask if they had a good holiday and trip home and also asking for their bank details. This elicits an email full of glowing comments (usually) about their holiday. I then send another one telling them I've made the bank transfer and would they be willing to submit a review - give a link to the review page - make it easy for them. Even so, maybe only about 60% actually follow through even after promising to do so.
Makes the most it's not a rehearsal
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