Ten Ways to Ensure Guests Feel Welcome and Cared-For
Welcome cottages: When guests feel well and truly welcome by a caring owner (even when that owner is not present), they are far less likely to complain about anything after that and far more likely to award 5-star reviews. Impressions gained during the first minute of arrival will make a world of difference.
None of these is a ‘trick’ or underhand tactic. They are all excellent common-sense things that help your guests feel they are about to enjoy a happy and memorable week in your property. Give them that pleasure!
By the way, a sure sign that your house isn’t properly welcoming to guests is a regular flow of minor, often inconsequential complaints): A light bulb not working, a single cobweb or dead fly on a windowsill etc. Such things are commonly used to beef up a request for a refund or bad review.
Here are our top ten tried and trusted ways to make guests feel they made an intelligent choice when booking your holiday cottage.
1. Lighting: Turn on exterior lights and switch on hall lights to create a warm and welcoming appearance whenever guests plan to arrive after sunset. Tell guests where the main ground-floor light switches are in your advance email so they don’t fumble around in darkness at any point in the first few minutes).
Not welcoming!
2. No subliminal ‘early warning’ signs: A coffee ring on a coaster, a sticky door handle/tabletop, or a smear on a mirror means the cottage hasn’t been cleaned. Be scrupulous!
3. A Handwritten note from the owner written on or in something nice such as a postcard. We know of some places where young children are welcome to leave a personalised special welcome message to children written in fridge magnets! (See also the bonus tip at the end).
NB: If you leave postcards of your cottage out for guests to use, only about three out of ten will be posted. Put second-class stamps on them, and they’ll all be used!
4. High-scoring front door: Your entrance door should unlock easily, not stick or squeak when opened, and not have a sticky handle. Brass handles: polished or unpolished, send out an appropriate subliminal signal, too.
5. Garden power: The garden path to the front door must be free of weeds, litter, and cigarette buts.
6. A picturesque (and flavourful) welcome pack is within view from the hall, so it is one of the first things they see. The best ones feature local produce. Leave the light on in the room containing it to act as a natural draw to after-dark arrivals.
Very welcoming!
7. Correct Aromas: Ensure your hall or whichever room guests first walk into smells naturally nice. Use fragrant flowers or a suitably natural, clean-smelling, cleaning fluid fragrance. Don’t use plug-in fragrances or perfumed candles – they mean you’ve got something to hide.
8. Fridge contents: There should be no ‘leftovers’ but something appealing and instantly usable, such as a pint of milk or a large (preferably local) pork pie.
9. A brand-new (still wrapped) pack of playing cards: Include them in your welcome pack so that guests will know they can keep them (this is a complaint-stopping, 5-star review trigger). If you buy 20 at a time, you can still get them online for less than 99p per pack.
10. Warmth: Put the heating on an hour before arrival time, especially out of peak season. Ensure the ambient temperature inside is higher than outside so guests can immediately feel the reassuring difference. NB: If it’s 80 degrees outside, ensuring the inside is cooler has the same impact. Think seasonally!
11. Bonus Tip: No ‘No’s on Arrival: While everybody has sensible rules, avoid allowing people to see or read signs that start with _nO- or Do not’ until they are properly settled in. Being told ‘don’t do this’ before you’ve had time to take your coast off creates a subliminal but strong negative vibe that influences your whole perception of the cottage and whether its guests are really truly welcome. Take a leaf out of the Coventry Cathedral ‘Welcome Notice. It’s superb!
Why not create your own notice in a similar vein? Send it to us - we’ll publish all the best and most enjoyable examples.
Please email them to me, Rick Bond, at info@mfhc.co.uk.