Vacation Rental Welcome Letter: How to Impress Your Guests Right from the Start
Creating a fantastic guest experience is one of the most critical aspects of your job as a vacation rental host, and first impressions matter the most. Your initial interactions with your guests can set the tone for the rest of their stay.
One of the best ways to make a great first impression and ensure your guests feel truly welcomed is to write a personalized welcome letter. This small gesture will help show your hospitality and give your guests the warm welcome they deserve.
Let’s look at a good vacation rental welcome letter and what to include to create an unforgettable first impression for your guests. Here, you’ll also find a good template to use as a base for creating your welcome letter.
You may also want to check out our tips on how to write an Airbnb welcome letter.
Vacation Rental Welcome Letter: Essential Things to Include
There are a lot of things you can do to make each guest’s experience memorable. You can ensure quick communication via messages, provide guests with a detailed welcome book, and delight them with a welcome basket.
You can also impress your guests with beautiful interior design and make each of them feel special by delivering an overall 5-star hotel-style service and offering a warm welcome with a vacation rental welcome letter.
Creating an enjoyable experience for your guests from arrival to departure can help encourage excellent reviews that will win you more bookings. However, managing your vacation rental business can be challenging if you have many guests. The solution is automating your daily routine using tools like Hospitable that can help you save hours every day.
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Writing a vacation rental welcome letter aims to show your guests that you care about them and provide them with the information they may need during their stay. Your welcome letter should be short, sweet, and simple. Tell your guests that you appreciate that they chose your vacation home to stay in, introduce them to your property, and wish them a fantastic stay.
Here are some of the essential things to include in your vacation rental welcome letter:
Start with a personal greeting and thank your guest for booking your rental space. It’s important to address your letter to guests using their first names and include the name of your property.
Provide information about the check-in and check-out time, the exact property address and directions, and Wi-Fi details.
If you have a smart lock, include clear instructions on how to use it.
Let your guests know how to contact you if they have any questions or need help with any issues during their stay.
Gently remind your guests about the most important house rules they must follow and that they may refer to your welcome book for all the details if they have questions.
You may add local tips and share your favorite spots and nearby attractions.
Thank the guests for choosing your rental and wish them to enjoy their stay.
Don’t make your letter long, but let your guests know where they can find the necessary information when needed, for example, instructions on how to use the appliances, emergency contacts, tips on local food, etc.
Creating a digital guidebook and referring travelers to specific sections in your welcome letter is best. Then, they are more likely to look there instead of asking you a question, and you’ll save time on guest communication. Besides, digital guidebooks can be easily updated with new information, and you can add images, videos, and virtual tours to help guests easily navigate their stays.
Today, digital guidebooks that give guests insights into the property and the local area are the new must-have for vacation rental hosts. These comprehensive online guides allow guests to access any information they need for their stay at any time and help ensure a stress-free experience.
So, one of the best things you can do to enhance the guest experience is to create a web-based guide for your property and share a link to it in your vacation rental welcome letter. Then, your guests can start planning what they will do after arrival in advance. Your guests will surely appreciate that you allow them to explore and discover your local area at their own pace.
There are a lot of different software tools that hosts can use to make web-based guides for their vacation rental properties. Hospitable users can benefit from our integrations with an innovative guidebook platform, Touch Stay, and guest experience platforms such as DACK, SuiteOp, or Charge Automation to provide guests with online resources accessible from any device.
But keep in mind that if your guests message you with any questions, you should answer them as fast as possible, and it will be easier if you use vacation rental software like Hospitable. Our system uses AI to recognize questions on more than 20 common topics and instantly create a personalized response.
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Vacation Rental Welcome Letter Template
Creating a personal welcome letter for each guest can be very time-consuming. Instead, it makes sense to create a reusable welcome letter template that allows you to add names and personal details to the greeting and modify specific sections of the body.
Here is a vacation rental welcome letter template that you can use by simply adding the personal details of your guests and your property details.
Hi [guest’s first name],
Thank you for booking my vacation home for your visit to [city name]. I look forward to welcoming you at [property name] on [check-in date].
You are free to check in at any time after [check-in time], but you will have to check out by [check-out time] so the cleaning team can have enough time to prepare the space for the next guest.
My rental address is [full property address]The house door has a smart lock, and your access code is [smart lock code]. It will be active from the check-in time and will expire after you check out.
Here are the Wi-Fi details:
The Wi-Fi network name is [Wi-Fi network], and the password is [Wi-Fi password].
I hope you’ll feel at home, even if you’ll only be here for a few nights, and I would appreciate it if you could follow the house rules and respect the property.
- Please don’t smoke inside the house and use a designated smoking area on the back patio.
- Please keep noise to a minimum not to disturb the neighbors, especially during quiet hours (11 p.m. – 7 a.m.).
- Enjoy yourself!
Be sure to look at our digital welcome guidebook to find additional information you may need for a comfortable stay. There, you can find a list of our favorite restaurants around town and local attractions, important details like the house rules, instructions on how to use the appliances, and other info to help you get your holiday started.
If you need to contact me in case of an emergency, please call my mobile number, XXXXXXXXXXX, or reach me via WhatsApp.
Please don’t hesitate to message me with any questions or concerns. I would be happy to help.
Once again, thank you for choosing [property name] for your stay in [city name].
I hope you’ll have a wonderful stay and will join us again in the future.
[host’s first name]
Suppose you manage multiple listings remotely on several platforms and have a few co-hosts helping you with maintenance at the locations of your properties. In this case, manually adjusting the template for each guest may lead to human error. You may use shortcodes to let Hospitable source the necessary inputs from guests and listing information and generate personalized messages to each guest.
Final Thought
Greeting your guests with a vacation rental welcome letter is an effective way to impress them right from the start, setting the tone for a memorable stay. A well-written welcome letter lets you establish a personal connection with your guests and introduce them to your property. It also shows that you care about details and your role as a host and are committed to delivering a 5-star experience.
