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The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything. — Theodore Roosevelt
In our short-term rental business and any aspect of our lives, we’re going to make mistakes. It’s inevitable; it’s just human nature. But just because we are making mistakes doesn’t mean that it is a bad thing. Slips and errors here and there help us become better in what we do, as long as we learn from them, and we don’t continue making the same mistakes. In fact, if we’re not making any mistakes, then we have nothing to learn and grow from; we’re not going to have a chance to improve ourselves and our businesses. By learning from our past mistakes, we will gain new insights and new lessons that can lead to fewer headaches down the road, a better guest experience, and hopefully more money in our pockets.
I have made more mistakes than I can remember, but I have to say, now, after thousands of guest accommodations, the mistakes are after and fewer in between. Especially when it comes to accommodating guests. We’ve figured out what works and how to earn stellar reviews. Let me share with you some tips on how to turn your mistakes into something that can help you grow and improve your STR business.
The beautiful thing about the short-term rental industry is that we get a TON of feedback from our guests. In fact, it’s the lifeblood of any STR business. Our feedback is in the form of reviews from previous guests that other potential and future guests can see.
A recent study by PhoCusWright found that 80% read at least 6–12 reviews prior to booking and that 53% won’t commit to a booking until they read reviews. The study also showed that 83% of respondents indicated that reviews help them pick the right accommodation.
Another survey conducted by BrightLocal showed that 76% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends, colleagues, and families.
You could think that your property is perfect, but if you have bad reviews, it’s going to hurt you big time, and the reality is your guests are the ones that will determine that. That’s why learning from your mistakes and using them as a learning experience to gain positive reviews from your future guests is so important.
Another cool thing about the short term rental industry, you don’t need to ask your guests to give you 5-star reviews blatantly. They can do it at a time that works well for them, without pressure. You can send them an automated SMS or email reminding them to give your place a review and share with them a link to your review page. Don’t be afraid to ask guests for their feedback because a lot of people still leave good reviews even if they don’t like your rental. BrightLocal’s study also found that most consumers only leave reviews after a positive experience. We need reviews and feedback to improve our businesses and also to inform our potential guests better. I strongly recommend you ask for reviews not only to build your properties’ credibility by the number of reviews it has but to earn that valuable feedback and discover areas that need improvement you may not have known about.
Aside from the public reviews, we also receive private ones. And that’s where you need to pay extra special attention. Why? Because a lot of times, it’s through private comments that guests tell us how they really feel.
Some guests may have loved your place overall, but there could be aspects they didn’t like that much, and you have to pry it out of them because chances are, future guests may have the same feelings. It could be some piece of furniture in your place, an aspect of the neighborhood your property was in that they didn’t know before booking, a noise they kept hearing from outside, or the communication between you and your guest. It could be anything! You name it; anything can pop up. That’s why it’s essential for you to also pay attention to private comments and respond to them. Don’t just give them a standard copy-paste response, actually read their feedback, answer their questions, and address their concerns.
Monitoring private reviews from your guests and making the necessary changes are important, especially if it affects your business. My team and I are also constantly checking these as well because even after thousands of accommodations, we still make mistakes. While it’s true that we can’t please everyone, it should be the main goal of every STR owner.
One of the big areas you need to double-check where you may have made some mistakes that could haunt you in the long run is your listing description. You have to make sure that your description is exactly like your listing, which means everything from the arrival to whether or not it has a toaster should be listed. Reviews are all based on meeting expectations, and your listing description is where you can set those expectations. So make sure they’re absolutely perfect, and a stream of excellent reviews will follow.
We have made this mistake before, too, and sometimes you don’t discover listing discrepancies until after a guest has checked out. My team and I were in the middle of setting up multiple rentals and, in a crunch for time, overlooked one little checkbox. We accidentally checked the “Smoking Allowed” option in the listing description, so naturally, guests ended up smoking in the apartment. When we found out, we tried to seek damages for the awful smoke smell, but the guest politely informed us it was allowed. Our bad. The listing said smoking was allowed, but the house rules said it wasn’t. It was a pretty small mistake, and it was good that we were able to catch it quickly, saving us from a lot more trouble in the future. So just remember to ALWAYS double-check your listing descriptions.
Quite possibly, the biggest mistake I ever see, however, is buying a property in the hopes that it’s going to make you a certain amount of money. This is not a good practice. Let’s say, for example, a property is renting for $1000 per month, and has had that rate for a while, then it’s not very probable to rent it at $1800 per month with a long-term tenant (without doing anything or making drastic changes). Yes, sometimes landlords get tired or careless and are way underrating a property, but that’s the minority. Make sure to do your research and run comparable for the exact property type in the exact same area BEFORE you acquire it, hoping the rent can be raised substantially higher.
And when it comes to acquiring short term rentals, remember, you always have to make sure that it’s also going to be stable with a long-term tenant so you have a backup plan in case the regulations change.
Despite what society or school taught us about mistakes and having the right and wrong answers, mistakes are necessary and need to happen for any business to improve (and just life in general). For your STR business to work and improve, make sure you monitor your guests’ feedback and reflect on any issues or drawbacks you may encounter. If you do that, the positive reviews will take care of themselves.
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