How to Use Email Marketing to Personalize the Guest Experience
08/31/20 • 33 min
If your Airbnb listing is a treehouse or a castle, the property itself creates a unique guest experience. But what if your space is a typical, two-bedroom condo? How do you curate a personalized experience that exceeds each of your guest’s expectations?
Colin Holowaychuk is the Founder of Vamonosco, a done-for-you solution that generates new bookings and increases revenue for short-term rental (STR) managers. He also hosts his own portfolio of 200-plus Airbnb listings in Tulum, Mexico, and serves as an active participant in our STR Legends Mastermind. With 15 years of experience as a FinTech, marketing and eCommerce entrepreneur, Colin has developed an expertise in helping businesses accelerate their growth.
On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Colin joins me to share his process for collecting the information he needs to personalize the guest experience before, during and after their stay. He explains how he uses the guest’s priorities and preferences to curate a custom itinerary and what he does when a guest is hesitant to share their information. Listen in for Colin’s insight on leveraging dynamic content to give yourself a competitive advantage and learn what technology you need to set up an individualized email marketing campaign for each guest!
Topics Covered
Colin’s process for getting the info he needs to personalize the guest experience
- Ask group to register ALL guests who will be staying
- Email survey re: purpose, priorities and preferences
How Colin thinks about the potential for violating Airbnb’s terms of service
- Hosts may ask questions, just need legitimate reason for doing so
- Be up front with guests re: purpose and make answering optional
How Colin uses the survey information to curate a unique guest experience
- Welcome email highlights local attractions + activities relevant to guest
- Share additional offerings based on preferences (e.g.: grocery delivery)
How Colin follows up with his guests after their stay
- Remind about experience to spark emotional response
- Invitation to return also catered to guest’s interests
What technology a host needs to set up this kind of email marketing campaign
- Typeform survey platform
- Zapier to connect software
- Any email marketing service (i.e.: ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, etc.)
Colin’s insight on leveraging dynamic content to do custom email marketing
- Takes time up front to configure autoresponder
- Sends automated, personalized emails from then on
Connect with Colin
Resources
‘Airbnb Suspends Domio’s Host Accounts and Listings for Allegedly Violating Its Standards’ in Skift
If your Airbnb listing is a treehouse or a castle, the property itself creates a unique guest experience. But what if your space is a typical, two-bedroom condo? How do you curate a personalized experience that exceeds each of your guest’s expectations?
Colin Holowaychuk is the Founder of Vamonosco, a done-for-you solution that generates new bookings and increases revenue for short-term rental (STR) managers. He also hosts his own portfolio of 200-plus Airbnb listings in Tulum, Mexico, and serves as an active participant in our STR Legends Mastermind. With 15 years of experience as a FinTech, marketing and eCommerce entrepreneur, Colin has developed an expertise in helping businesses accelerate their growth.
On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Colin joins me to share his process for collecting the information he needs to personalize the guest experience before, during and after their stay. He explains how he uses the guest’s priorities and preferences to curate a custom itinerary and what he does when a guest is hesitant to share their information. Listen in for Colin’s insight on leveraging dynamic content to give yourself a competitive advantage and learn what technology you need to set up an individualized email marketing campaign for each guest!
Topics Covered
Colin’s process for getting the info he needs to personalize the guest experience
- Ask group to register ALL guests who will be staying
- Email survey re: purpose, priorities and preferences
How Colin thinks about the potential for violating Airbnb’s terms of service
- Hosts may ask questions, just need legitimate reason for doing so
- Be up front with guests re: purpose and make answering optional
How Colin uses the survey information to curate a unique guest experience
- Welcome email highlights local attractions + activities relevant to guest
- Share additional offerings based on preferences (e.g.: grocery delivery)
How Colin follows up with his guests after their stay
- Remind about experience to spark emotional response
- Invitation to return also catered to guest’s interests
What technology a host needs to set up this kind of email marketing campaign
- Typeform survey platform
- Zapier to connect software
- Any email marketing service (i.e.: ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, etc.)
Colin’s insight on leveraging dynamic content to do custom email marketing
- Takes time up front to configure autoresponder
- Sends automated, personalized emails from then on
Connect with Colin
Resources
‘Airbnb Suspends Domio’s Host Accounts and Listings for Allegedly Violating Its Standards’ in Skift
Previous Episode
How to Market to the Work-From-Home Traveler
Travel has changed in the season of COVID-19. Short-term rental (STR) guests are looking for a ‘home instead of home’ that they can drive to. Most are looking to escape the city and enjoy nature. And many plan to stay for an extended period and work from the property. So, how can we capitalize on this new guest persona and market specifically to the work-from-home traveler?
Eric Moeller is my partner in crime at STR Profit Academy, a educational platform for vacation rental hosts, and the STR Legends Mastermind, a community of the leaders, visionaries and innovators in the STR industry. He is also the founder and host of the Airbnb Mastery Summit, an exclusive virtual event featuring premiere STR hosts and real estate experts from around the world.
On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Eric joins me to explain what he is looking for in a STR as a work-from-home traveler and share what he learned from looking through 100+ listings on Airbnb. He walks us through his process for finding world-class properties for business travel, challenging hosts to do regular internet speed tests and offer discounts for extended stays. Listen in for Eric’s insight on upgrading your STR to a proper coworking space and learn how to market your listing to attract the work-from-home traveler.
Topics Covered
What Eric learned from looking at 100+ Airbnb listings
- Decision-making different for work-from-home traveler
- Lack of marketing to attract this new persona
The elements of a listing most important to work-from-home travelers
- Strong internet (25 Mbps minimum)
- Space set up for coworking
What STR hosts can do to market to the work-from-home traveler
- Add screen shot of internet speed test to photos
- Get approved as workplace on Airbnb
- Advertise parking space or explain where to park
- Offer discounts for extended stays
- Be hands-on to address guest’s individual needs
How to leave clues in your Airbnb listing re: how to contact directly
- Copy and paste guest review that mentions brand name
- Promote social media, e.g.: check us out on Instagram
Eric’s process for finding world-class properties for business travel
- Search filters for Wi-Fi, 2BR and traveling for work
- Narrow down with parameters for location and price
- Imagine working from property through photos
How to turn your Airbnb listing into a proper coworking space
- Provide smartphone and computer chargers
- Consider adding printer to workstation
Connect with Eric
Resources
Phillipe Thibodeau on GPFYP EP344
Get Paid for Your Pad on YouTube
Email [email protected] or [email protected]
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Next Episode
What I learned from 350 GPFYP podcasts
Top three learning lessons from 350 podcast episodes.
- We’re not selling a space, we’re selling an experience
- The size, #rooms and location don’t drive the price as much as with LTRs and real estate prices
- Two completely similar units can make very different amounts of money
- Google “most popular Airbnbs,” they are all unique experiences.
- Before you start an Airbnb, figure out what the experience is that you’re going to provide and the avatar that you’re going to target
- A traveler who stays 3 nights just wants to have a stressfree, comfortable experience. Communication, amenities, and providing the right information.
2. It’s a lot of work, but you can take yourself out of the business for 95%
- There is so much you can automate (Messaging, pricing, task management, self-checkins etc.) Go to https://getpaidforyourpad.com/airbnb-tools/ to find the best ones.
- The power of a VA (one of our Legends Rebecca runs 100+ units and only spends a few hours a week working in her business
3. You can drive a lot of bookings through your own marketing channels
- Collecting emails
- Social media
- Direct booking website
- It’s a long-term investment, but you’re building an asset
- No dependence on Airbnb and other platforms
Must Listen episodes
Combination of Most Downloads & my personal favorites
Ep263: How to use Social Media to Market your Airbnb
Ep260: How to Rank Higher and Drive More Bookings
Ep024: With Chip Conley
Ep034: How an Airbnb experience can create a bond between people
Ep047: How Airbnb empowered this host to keep his home from being foreclosed
Go to Get Paid For Your Pad, click on podcast, you’ll find the show notes with links to all these episodes.
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