"What a host communicates and how often they make contact influences how a guest feels about their experience as well as their inclination to spend more - we’ve always had a strong hunch about this and now the data confirms it"
- Andy McNulty - Touch Stay
The ‘Guest Communication Study’ conducted by Touch Stay asked more than 2,000 rental vacation guests about the communication received from hosts before, during and after their trip. It found that almost one in ten (8.4%) never heard from the property owners at all.
58% said they only heard from their hosts once or twice, which suggests that communication would likely have been limited to functional information such as check-in/out details and WiFi passwords.
Yet hosts could be missing out on additional revenue as a result, with figures indicating that the more contact hosts have with guests, the greater the likelihood of them extending their stay.
In fact, the research reveals that further communication could increase this likelihood by as much as 572%, as only 6.4% of those receiving one or two messages from hosts booked additional nights compared to 43% of those being contacted between six and ten times.
The significant increase underlines the importance of multiple touchpoints for a successful rental property venture.
Andy McNulty, Co-founder & CEO, said: "What a host communicates and how often they make contact influences how a guest feels about their experience as well as their inclination to spend more - we’ve always had a strong hunch about this and now the data confirms it.”
Fewer than half of guests said they felt 'very well looked after' as a result of the communication they received yet the data also revealed that communicating just a handful of times more (three to five times versus one to two) significantly improved a guest's perception. So, for minimal additional effort, the impact on a host's bottom line could be significant.
Good communication doesn’t just impact incremental revenue opportunities, the data also reveals what else it influences.
69% of guests state that communication influences their likelihood of leaving a positive review. This, in turn, is likely to impact new bookings considering 72% of new customers will not book a getaway until they have spent time reading other travelers' reviews according to TripAdvisor.
Furthermore, Touch Stay’s study indicates that guests like a mixture of information straight after booking and then within two weeks of arrival, with an appetite for intermittent communication during this period as well.
Good communication and creating a positive experience are more important than ever, especially as the staycation boom of recent years begins to level out. Recent data highlights that the revenue per available rental (RevPAR) in the U.S. fell by 14.1% last year, with a decrease in overall bookings meaning an increase in competition.
Andy concludes: "Standing out in a crowded, competitive marketplace this year could be as simple as scheduling a handful of additional messages to guests.
"Yes, everyone can perform a web search for nearby restaurants or activities, but a host's personal recommendations undoubtedly mean more for guests, save them time, and fuel their propensity to share positive words whether that be in online reviews, to friends and family, or just to the host - maybe they'll even book again."
