Win repeat guests for your holiday rental: how to get guests back.

What brings regular guests back to your holiday rental?

Repeat guests for a holiday rental don't come from discounts, but from a series of small moments before, during and after the stay. The table shows when you can do what. Everything in it is a recommendation from practice, not a must.

How do you stay in touch with the guest after check-out?

On departure day, ask if you can send the guest a greeting later, and note their answer. Without that question, the booking platform often leaves you with nothing but an email address. With a clear yes, you have a direct line to them.

Be honest about why you want to stay in touch: a New Year greeting, a note about free weeks in their preferred period. Nothing more. If guests know this in advance, they'll be happy to get the message later.

What makes a stay so good that guests come back?

Guests come back when they remember a detail that wasn't in the listing. That could be the tip for the quiet swimming spot, the bread from the local bakery or a note with the child's name on it.

After every departure, write down two sentences about what this guest liked: brought a dog, early riser, hiker. Next time you get in touch, use exactly that. Then your message feels like it comes from a host, not like a mass mailing.

How do you get guests to book directly?

Offer repeat guests their preferred dates before you release them on the platform. That's a real advantage for them, and depending on the platform, there's no fee for that booking (check your terms). Make the offer clear and include a date.

Give guests an easy way to enquire: a link or a reply to your message. The fewer steps, the more likely someone gets in touch.

When is the best time for the next message?

Send the first message shortly after check-out, and the next one before the time the guest would normally book. That's my recommendation from experience, not a fixed rule. With every message, ask yourself: does the guest get something out of this right now?

Good reasons are free weeks in their preferred period, new equipment in the apartment or an event in the area the guest likes. A message without a reason quickly feels like an ad.

How does this work with SmartChat automatically?

Up to here, everything was done by hand: remembering, writing, following up. That works with a few guests. With SmartChat it runs via WhatsApp, the channel guests already have on their phone. Follow-ups in SmartChat keep sending automatically after confirmation, without any phone calls.

Guests sign up via a landing page or a QR code in the apartment and confirm once in WhatsApp. Only then do follow-ups and the WhatsApp newsletter go to the guest. To unsubscribe, they write STOP. All details in the example below are made up; you adapt them. You can find more for your industry under holiday rentals.