22 Dec A Holiday Away from Home
Our kids have never been away from home for Christmas, and we’d love it if we could have a Christmas tree at the house.” The request came from Lori, one of homeowner Amy’s upcoming rental guests. Lori further explained that since her family celebrated Christmas and Hanukkah, which were overlapping on the calendar this year, this holiday season meant a lot to them. Amy immediately knew her team at The HOST could easily incorporate the guest’s holiday traditions into her vacation experience.
In previous posts, we’ve talked about how you can optimize your short-term rental by acquiring a team to help you with special touches and travel planning options. One tool that homeowners may not consider when they think about how to make a vacation special is the calendar. What time of year is it? What’s going on in town? Is there any holiday happening while the travelers are visiting? Being considerate of the timing of a guest’s visit is an easy way to make your visitors feel special and bring more income into the booking.
Brittney Greene, founder and CEO of The HOST, had timing in mind when discussing this guest’s upcoming visit to a New Orleans area home. Brittney was acting as host ambassador for the homeowner, facilitating bookings and taking care of the special requests of travelers. When the Lori mentioned that she was bringing her children, for whom this would be the first Christmas visit away from home, Brittney knew she could make it happen.
Amy and Brittney worked out an arrangement to meet the traveler’s needs. Brittney set up the Christmas tree delivery and went to Amy’s home to make sure it arrived and was set up according to the traveler’s request.
After securing the tree, Lori and Brittney really got into the holiday spirit. Lori asked if she could have a gift waiting under the tree for each family member to make their arrival extra special. In just a few minutes Brittney had forwarded her address to Lori, so that she could mail the presents in advance. When it was time to get the house ready for Lori’s stay, Brittney handled the usual tasks of stocking supplies and getting the house clean and staged for guests. But this year, she put on her Santa hat and even delivered some gifts, so that Lori’s family would be met with a sweet surprise.
Collaborative efforts like this one exemplify The HOST’s mutual benefits for travelers, homeowners, and service providers. In this scenario, Amy, the homeowner, was able to engage in the aspects of hosting that she enjoys– decorating– while also feeling the gratitude from a happy customer. She didn’t have to worry about booking, communication with the guest, or setting up the tree itself. Brittney, the host ambassador, got more business from working with this traveler, and even paid that forward to the local Christmas tree business. The guest, of course, got the singular experience of enjoying the holiday season on vacation with her family without worrying that they might lose the warm feeling of sitting around the tree and opening presents. Anxiety-free, Lori knew her family was in good hands and would be met with a lovely home brimming with holiday spirit.
Don’t discount the significance of bringing up any holidays your guests might be missing or even in town specifically to celebrate. Of course, if your city hosts a lot of conferences and events, you can even customize their experience to go with the theme of their trip.
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