The STR Revenue Growth Course

Beyond Airbnb: Everything you need to know to boost bookings and grow earnings.

Episode 9: Crafting Exceptional Guest Experiences, with François from Enso Connect

Creating memorable guest experiences is more than just a buzzword, it’s the key to success. François, the co-founder and CEO of Enso Connect, knows this all too well. With a passion for anticipating guests’ needs and leveraging data to exceed expectations, François shares some invaluable insights from hospitality visionaries that can transform your short-term rental business.

At Enso Connect, they’re not just in the business of hospitality; they’re in the business of creating moments that matter.

Don’t have time to watch the video right now? We’ve got you covered. Our key takeaways mean you won’t miss out on a thing!

Key Takeaways:

Anticipatory Service: Hospitality is all about anticipating guests’ needs before they even know they have them. It’s about going the extra mile to make them feel welcome and valued. Whether it’s providing a personalized welcome message or offering recommendations for local attractions, every interaction is an opportunity to exceed expectations.

Data Monetization: Data is king. From analyzing booking trends to tracking guest feedback, data-driven insights can help hosts optimize their offerings and maximize revenue.

Automation and AI: François believes that automation and AI-powered tools can streamline operations, enhance guest experiences, and drive efficiency. Whether it’s using chatbots to answer common queries or implementing smart home devices for seamless check-ins, technology has the power to elevate the guest experience like never before.

Upselling with a Focus on Service: While upselling may seem like a way to boost profits, it’s actually an opportunity to enhance the guest experience. By offering personalized upgrades and add-ons that align with guests’ preferences, hosts can create unforgettable moments that leave a lasting impression.

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Transcription:

“My name is Francois and I’m the co-founder and CEO of Enso Connect, an AI powered guest experience platform for hospitality professionals. I’d like to share with you four learnings from hospitality visionaries on excellence in guest experience and what’s on everyone’s mind today.

The first principle is what guests want: the art of anticipation. Anticipatory service is the essence of hospitality, where the genuine desire to understand and fulfill guest needs precedes even their own awareness of those needs. 

How do we apply the same mindset in short term rentals, especially when scaling up the business?

Today, the line between hotels and vacation rentals is blurring as both are competing for a high demanding audience of guests. 

So how do we provide a hotel-like service to guests exceeding their expectations for forward-thinking vacation rentals? Today, the answer is data.

Here are four questions you should ask yourself to implement this approach:

• Are you collecting data from your guests?
• Are your booking website and Google Analytics giving you the general trends preferences for your audiences?
• Are you leveraging guests verification requests to collect valuable information?
• Are you getting the feel of your guests’ sentiment and main requests throughout their stay?

The second question is: What are you doing with the data that you’ve now collected? Is it centralized, structured, and used properly for personalizing interactions? Where do you store all the information about your guests? Do you leverage the data to be proactive?

The third point is to automate the predictable to humanize the exceptional. According to transparent data, there is a direct correlation between the number of properties you manage and the average reviews. The more properties you manage, the lower the average rating. How can you change this? Automate communication, guest onboarding and verification, check-in, and even the upselling process.

Our fourth point is: Don’t use upsell, use upservice. Upselling creates key new revenue streams, but maximizing conversion of upsells is all about upservicing them. People come to your rental with a purpose to either rest and relax, have fun, work, or all of the above. You’re the expert and they need your help to get around.

And I’d like to finish with the famous quote of the father of guest experience, Walt Disney: “Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it, they will want to come back and see you do it again, and they’ll want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.”