Awhile ago I launched a series called “How To Answer Your Vacation Rental Inquries Better”
The series is designed to help you maximize every opportunity you have to make a booking and turn more of your inquries into confirmed reservations.
In that series we discussed The Golden Rule To Inquiry Responses
I then shared with you the 1 extremely effective tool I use to answer inquries with lightning speed that everyone loved.
In fact the tip was so awesome that a “vacation rental expert” in the industry shared it with their circle and took credit for my idea.
I then asked you “How Many Times Should You Follow Up With An Inquiry?” Most everyone was suprised by the answer. The research behind this is thorough and eye-opening.
Today we are going to pick up where we left off.
Lets say that during one of those follow ups with a renter you hear the dreaded news: “I’m sorry but we have booked another property.”
Has that ever happened to you?
What do you do in that situation? Do you call it a loss? Or learn from that experience?
Part of becoming a vacation rental pro is learning how to answer inquiries better.
In order for you to answer your inquiries better, you’ll need to know what needs to be improved.
You should ask the renter why they didn’t book your property.
However, you need to approach this correctly if you want an honest answer.
Be prepared for what you might hear. If there is something that is costing you money in rentals that you could fix, wouldn’t you want to know about it?
Here is an example:
“Hello, Mr. & Mrs. Jones. Thank you for your response. I am happy that you found accommodations that met your travel requirements.
I hope you and your family have a great time and truly enjoy your vacation. It was truly a pleasure to be of service to you.
Mr. & Mrs. Jones, I am dedicated to my customers, rental business, and service.
If I may ask, can you please share with me what was the determining factor why you chose the other property over ours?
I would like to continue improving my business. Please feel free to be brutally honest.
Your candid comments are important and of great value to me and future guests.
Thank you in advance for taking just a moment to provide your feedback.
Thank you, again…”
Now, take this information they give you and examine the situation for improvements that can be made. Do this regularly, because the answers can vary greatly.
If you begin to see several of the same type of responses than maybe the market is telling you something. And it’s our jobs to listen to it!
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Your Vacation Rental Advocate,
Jay William
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