Lay My Hat

Do you send your guests (past and future) Christmas greetings?

Up to now my wife only sends a Christmas card to one set of guests, a lovely couple, who have stayed at our holiday-let 3 times this last 2 years and have booked again for next year.
My wife always writes and sends Christmas cards and sending to friends and family is quite time consuming. If she started sending to past and future guests she would probably end up with writers cramp.

Like you Drax, I've got one couple who have been twice and are coming back again this coming year.
I wasn't thinking so much of cards - sending them back to the UK is tedious - but maybe just an email with seasons greetings.

We send our guests from the previous year Christmas cards, we think that it reminds people of the great time they had on holiday at the time when they are thinking of booking next years holiday. It seems to work as we do get a lot of repeat guests. The effort is worthwhile in our opinion.

Thanks Dusty. I wondered whether it felt too "commercial". I hate receiving cards from people with whom I do business - eg insurance broker - it feels so insincere. And I wondered whether my guests might feel the same.

SPJ wrote:Thanks Dusty. I wondered whether it felt too "commercial". I hate receiving cards from people with whom I do business - eg insurance broker - it feels so insincere. And I wondered whether my guests might feel the same.

I hate getting business related cards. I don't even display them; they go straight in the recycling. I know that they are just sent to try and encourage me to use the company again not because they really want to send me a card.

I've sent an e Christmas card out every year for the past 12 yrs. It really does help keep that connection and is instrumental in getting bookings. I use the Jackie Lawson website to send the cards so it's easy peasy.

Mousie
x

Mouse wrote:I've sent an e Christmas card out every year for the past 12 yrs. It really does help keep that connection and is instrumental in getting bookings. I use the Jackie Lawson website to send the cards so it's easy peasy.

Mousie
x

I love the JL website as well. Do you continue to send to people who haven't stayed for a year or two? I wondered about sending to those who stayed this last year and to those who have booked for this coming year and leaving it at that.

We've been sending the odd e-card since 2007, but started in 2011 sending one out to all guests that had stayed with us during that calendar year.

Some e-cards are never opened, but we often get an e-card sent in reply or a follow-up email to say how very much the guests had enjoyed their stay and would stay again if they are ever looking in our area again. We have had a few who said that they would book again for next year once the festivities were over. Some went on to book, others not.

We've found that it's better to send e-cards out in mid-December when people are less busy. Sending them out just a few days before Christmas Day will result in many not being opened.

We've always sent them out via 123Greetings (USA), as they're always free to send. There are always some good ones there, but you have to find them among the 'schmaltz'!

AngloDutch wrote:We've been sending the odd e-card since 2007, but started in 2011 sending one out to all guests that had stayed with us during that calendar year.

Some e-cards are never opened, but we often get an e-card sent in reply or a follow-up email to say how very much the guests had enjoyed their stay and would stay again if they are ever looking in our area again. We have had a few who said that they would book again for next year once the festivities were over. Some went on to book, others not.

We've found that it's better to send e-cards out in mid-December when people are less busy. Sending them out just a few days before Christmas Day will result in many not being opened.

We've always sent them out via 123Greetings (USA), as they're always free to send. There are always some good ones there, but you have to find them among the 'schmaltz'!

Under GDPR have you obtained their permission for this?

Jonathan wrote:

AngloDutch wrote:We've been sending the odd e-card since 2007, but started in 2011 sending one out to all guests that had stayed with us during that calendar year.

Some e-cards are never opened, but we often get an e-card sent in reply or a follow-up email to say how very much the guests had enjoyed their stay and would stay again if they are ever looking in our area again. We have had a few who said that they would book again for next year once the festivities were over. Some went on to book, others not.

We've found that it's better to send e-cards out in mid-December when people are less busy. Sending them out just a few days before Christmas Day will result in many not being opened.

We've always sent them out via 123Greetings (USA), as they're always free to send. There are always some good ones there, but you have to find them among the 'schmaltz'!

Under GDPR have you obtained their permission for this?

We'd have to contact guests first to ask their permission, as we don't send out contracts in which could be stated that by booking, guests give us permission to communicate with them until the end of the calendar year of which their booking falls.

I haven't looked into the GDPR regulations, but I suppose that if a guest wanted to make an issue of it and report us for invading their privacy, we could be fined quite heavily. Another reason why we should start getting guests to sign contracts, apart from requiring guests to be more aware of our house rules and taking more responsibility for their actions when they stay!

I haven't looked into the GDPR regulations,

Buuuuutttttt this forum we have had discussions on this.
Being in business it is a regulation we ALL have to abide by.
Some links for you to read.
https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpe ... aan-de-avg
https://www.kvk.nl/advies-en-informatie/avg/
Does not your website apply the regulations either?

For heavens sake! Forget this. I thought it might be a nice gesture.
I'll find other ways to be nice to my guests.

SPJ wrote:For heavens sake! Forget this. I thought it might be a nice gesture.
I'll find other ways to be nice to my guests.

Yes, SPJ, it seems a shame that you cannot send your guest/client a Christmas card anymore without fear of doing something illegal.
But in around a week's time I will be sending them out electronically to our past guests as usual. If anyone wants to complain about receiving a Christmas card, then let them....

AngloDutch, be it Christmas cards or not, it was you who stated that you have not done anything in complying with what the Dutch call AVG. (Brits call GDPR).
The links are for you to get reading. Every country interprets the EU privacy laws in a slight different way. For example we as a professional business have had to register how we grad our clients data. Giving the clients details to an online card website is not perhaps a great way to comply is it?

Going back to the original question of what to do, what happens if you have guests who do not celibate Christmas. Would you not feel you could be offending them?