A digital guest book is an essential part of the guest experience for your glamping business. As a glamping business owner, you know that the guest experience is very important when operating a unique vacation rental business. When a guest visits your glamping site, they should immediately feel welcomed, as they often make up their mind about your establishment within the first five minutes. What is that popular phrase? First impressions and all.
One way to make sure your guests feel welcome is to provide them with a digital guest book upon arrival or before they arrive. This digital book can include everything from a map of your property to local restaurant recommendations and nearby attractions. Glamping Hub strives to provide relevant industry and market-related information to inspire, so here are the benefits of a digital guest book for your glamping business.
What is a digital guest book?
A digital guest book is an online version of the traditional guest books that have been lingering in vacation rental corners for decades. It contains information about the property, check-in and check-out guidelines, and activities in the surrounding area. A digital guest book has lots of advantages for you as a host and, more importantly, for your guests. In fact, a large percentage of guests have said they would use in-room technology in order to check in and check out, as well as make dining and spa reservations.
What to include in a digital guest book
A digital guest book should be easily accessible on your website or emailed to your guests prior to their stay. You can include a space for glampers to write their names, as well as the option to stay in touch after their stay so that you can send them offers they might be interested in. The digital guest book often has a section where guests can leave a public review, as well as a section for them to leave private comments or feedback about their experience. As a host, considering and responding to customer feedback can help you improve your services and the guest experience. Keep it up to date with the most recent reviews, ratings, frequently asked questions and answers, and terms and conditions.
Furthermore, your guest book should be simple to use and easy to read, so avoid using complicated or difficult-to-read fonts. Making your guest book digital is ideal because it allows you to share it with your guests before their stay so they can make reservations at local entertainment venues and restaurants. For secluded glamping businesses, perhaps you can create and provide a digital guest book that can be used in areas without Wi-Fi that glampers can access with a QR code on a nightstand. For inspiration, check out the Digital Guest, a popular guest experience platform where glamping site owners can accommodate the entire guest journey from pre-stay to post-stay in one web application.
How can you enhance the overall guest experience?
Creating an excellent guest experience should be one of your top priorities, regardless of your industry. After all, if customers are dissatisfied with their experience, they will most likely take their business elsewhere. Consider your guests from every perspective when creating your digital guest book. You want them to feel at ease and welcome from the moment they book with you until they walk in the door and leave. In essence, you want them to feel like VIPs, and a great guest book can help you achieve this.
What are the benefits of a digital guest book for your glamping business?
They set the tone
A traditional welcome book can only be used when guests can physically hold it in their hands, so an unfortunate number of them end up collecting dust on a coffee table. However, your guests can access a digital guest book by simply clicking a link from the moment they book. As the glamping business owner, you’ll set the tone for a great vacation before they even arrive if you share your knowledge ahead of time.
Furthermore, your suggestions will be in your guests’ pockets throughout their stay. That means they can visit your favorite restaurants while they’re out and about, or they can find local spots without doing extensive research before they leave for the day.
They make management easier and improve the guest experience
Investing in a digital guest book is an excellent way to improve your guests’ experience while also making management easier for you. Many of the mundane and time-consuming tasks are made easier to manage with digital guest books. They not only save you time, but they also automate communication with your guests, so you don’t have to check in with them every day of their trip.
Happy guests mean repeat business
Your relationship with your guests will benefit from digital guest books. Regular communication and the right information can help elicit trust between you and your guests, and happy guests who leave great reviews result from good relationships. Digital guest books also aid in repeat business. Happy guests return and/or recommend their unique vacation rental to a friend, making digital guest books an important player in obtaining repeat business.
They are easy to maintain
Digital guest books are also easy to maintain and update—meaning you’ll never have outdated information, recommendations, or instructions. They’re far more hygienic, which is a big plus considering the recent pandemic. Lastly, one of the benefits of a digital guest book is that they are easy to design. As a glamping business owner, you can keep your business’ branding fresh and up-to-date all the time.
For glamping business owners, two values matter now more than ever — great guest experiences and networking. Glamping Hub provides a platform for hosts to stay informed about the industry and market trends and offers plenty of insight for those looking to invest or start their own glamping business.
