Timing Is Everything: Why It’s Important to Provide Guest Information at the Right Time and in the Right Way

Nars Krishnamachari
1/16/2024

Sending information to your guests is part of your job as a property manager. But knowing when and how to communicate can be as important as the information you’re sharing. Bad timing or the wrong delivery method can impede the arrival of crucial communications, leaving guests fumbling to find a door code upon arrival or calling with repetitive questions because they didn’t get—or couldn’t find—the information they needed.

How well your business delivers vital information can determine how your guest will view their stay, how they’ll rate their vacation rental home, and whether they’ll book with you again or recommend your business to friends.

Besides promoting guest satisfaction, observing the time-sensitive rules of guest communication can help your business save money and time, achieve an agreeable work/life balance for you and your team, and dramatically reduce the number of routine calls from guests.

Here’s how to create a communication plan that benefits your business and ensures that your guests will get the information they want when they need it.

Start with a Game Plan

Map out your guest’s timeline so each message serves a purpose and delivers information in a clear, concise way. Too many messages can overwhelm guests, while excessive or irrelevant information can cause confusion.

• Think about what information guests need, imagining each step of their trip, from arrival to departure.
• Decide when and how guests need to receive the information. Email is good for contracts and long messages, for example. Text is best for timely information, like door codes and pre-departure and urgent messages.
• Determine what your message priority is, whether high, medium, or low.
• Think about the tone and style you’d like your message to convey. Should it be formal and businesslike or relaxed and conversational?
• Consider how to brand your messaging. Messages offer an opportunity to promote your company and underscore your professionalism. You may want to include your logo, company colors, or a photo that distinguishes your business.

Consider Your Guests

Step into their shoes. Think about what they need to know each step of the way so they can avoid anxiety while trip planning and enjoy their vacation when they arrive.

• Provide easy-to-follow information about arrival, stay, and departure.
• Make sure that messages always arrive on time.
• Supply information about the vacation rental, Wi-Fi, type of coffee maker, and what to pack. This will answer guest questions proactively and eliminate unnecessary calls to you and your team.
• Provide digital information about the area, including activities, things to do, restaurants, local experiences, equipment rentals, grocery stores, and pharmacies. A digital area guide doubles as a trip planner and a convenient smartphone guidebook that guests will use during the trip.
• Reply promptly when guests have a question or issue. Always.

Checklist: What to Send

Our checklist, shown below, supplies the basics. Adjust it as your business requires. But remember, seven or eight messages is the sweet spot for helping guests without overwhelming them.

Booking confirmation	Upon booking	Email
Contract sign and payment	As needed	Email
Trip planning (what to pack, coffee maker information, local area guide)	2 to 4 weeks before arrival (pm)	Email
Pre-arrival information (address, door code, directions, rental rules, safety, instructions)	1-7 days before arrival (pm)	Email & Text
Post-arrival information (how was check-in and offer an extended stay if available)	1 day after check-in (am)	Text
Pre-Departure (Departure checklist)	1 day before check out (pm)	Text
Post-Departure (Review request, survey and rebooking invitation at a discount)	Day of departure (pm)	Text

Email or Text?

Text messaging rules as the preferred delivery method for the hospitality industry. But email remains vital for certain tasks, like sending attachments and lengthy messages.

Why text? It’s short but impactful, has a high and speedy open rate, is convenient and efficient (guests love it), and it won’t land in a spam filter. With text, your team can help multiple guests at once. Use texting for messages that require immediate attention and convenience (text the door code so guests can find it easily, for example). However, texting has a limited character count and makes it difficult to convey tone.

Email’s strength is its ability to send lengthy messages and attachments. It is also ideal for low-cost marketing campaigns. But email has a low open rate, lacks urgency (emails can languish unopened for days), can be hard to find or get lost in an inbox, and can get buried by spam. To ensure no message goes unread, send a backup email when you text, and text a backup message with email.

The Takeaway

Mastering guest communication’s time-sensitive rules starts with creating a communication plan. Though this can take time, but once you’ve done it, you’re set. To save time, create templates you can tweak as needed for necessary correspondence (hire a copywriter if you’re uncertain about phrasing). Use text and email as each situation requires. For added efficiency, consider a software provider that automates sending emails and texts so you can schedule messages to be delivered automatically on a date and time you choose. Another time-saver is a digital guest guide customized for each home with information about the vacation rental and the surrounding area that guests can download to their laptops and phones. Finally, since life doesn’t stand still, remember to revise your communication plan and copy once a year.

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