Latest / Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights / How to Achieve 5-Star Reviews – with Hostfully’s Frank Bosi

Transcript

How to Achieve 5-Star Reviews – with Hostfully’s Frank Bosi · Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome to Houseplanet Bite Size, the podcast brought
• 0:03
  to you by Hostplanet and Housefully.
• 0:05
  My name's James Farley, the founder of Houseplanet, and our
• 0:08
  goal is to share everything you need to know about buying and
• 0:11
  managing short term rentals. Today's guest is Frank Bosey
• 0:14
  from Hostfully and he's got 5 tips to share on how to secure
• 0:18
  more five star reviews. OK, real talk now for all you
• 0:22
  hosts out there, you know that moment when you guest messages
• 0:25
  you again with, hey, what's the Wi-Fi code?
• 0:28
  Or you're staring at 5:00 save different calendars wondering if
• 0:31
  you've accidentally double booked the cottage.
• 0:34
  Yes, we've all been there. That's why here at Houseplanner,
• 0:38
  we recommend Housefully. It's basically your rentals
• 0:41
  Control Center. It handles bookings across all
• 0:44
  the big platforms, syncs your calendars to ensure there are no
• 0:48
  double bookings, automates guest messages, and even creates these
• 0:52
  really slick digital guidebooks that stop all the repeat
• 0:55
  questions. Honestly, it just makes your
• 0:58
  life easier and keeps your your guests happier, helping you
• 1:01
  achieve those all important five star reviews.
• 1:05
  And here is a little bonus. If you're a House Planet
• 1:07
  listener, you can get $500 off onboarding for House Phillies
• 1:11
  property management software and 30% off digital guidebooks for
• 1:16
  life. Just hit the link in the show
• 1:18
  notes and use the codes Planet 500 for the PMS and House Planet
• 1:23
  GB for the guidebooks. And if you'd like a proper
• 1:27
  walkthrough, there's also a link to book a demo with Frank Bosey
• 1:30
  from Post Philly. He will show you how it's all
• 1:33
  works. Less stress, more bookings
• 1:36
  sorted with Post Philly. Frank, thank you for joining us
• 1:46
  on host Planet Bite Size. Today we're talking about
• 1:48
  reviews and how to get 5 stars every single time.
• 1:53
  You've got 5 tips to share, so take it away with tip #1.
• 1:56
  Yeah, you know, everyone dreams about those Glorious five star
• 2:00
  reviews, but we all know that, you know, reviews are the
• 2:04
  lifeblood of a short term rental and they're not just feedback.
• 2:08
  They're they're your marketing reviews and they're the ones
• 2:12
  that build trust. They boost your rankings on
• 2:14
  Verbo and Airbnb, but they also make future guests feel
• 2:18
  confident clicking that book now button and really move forward
• 2:22
  with payment. And really, here's the kickers
• 2:25
  that five star reviews just don't happen by chance.
• 2:29
  They're the true result of intentional systems before,
• 2:34
  during and after the stay. So as you mentioned today, we're
• 2:39
  going to really just dig into five ways to increase your five
• 2:41
  star reviews, but also how you can actually capture them once
• 2:45
  your guest checks out. So you always want to nail the
• 2:49
  first impression. You've got one shot at that wow
• 2:52
  moment. And guests decide in the 1st 5
• 2:54
  minutes if they're going to lean positive or negative in their
• 2:59
  review. So just make sure your property
• 3:01
  is spotless. It's obvious cleaning is a non
• 3:04
  negotiable check your lighting, your temperature, even the
• 3:07
  smells like no guest is going to want to walk into like this
• 3:11
  dark, coldy musty house. So once that is done, you also
• 3:15
  just add like a nice welcome touch as well.
• 3:18
  First impressions matter, right? So a bottle of wine, snacks, or
• 3:22
  even like a handwritten note goes a long way.
• 3:25
  That first impression just sets the tone for the whole stay.
• 3:29
  I can't stress it enough because it's going to lead to your
• 3:34
  review. But yes, there's that first
• 3:36
  impression. Things can go wrong towards the
• 3:39
  end or during the the the stay, especially at the check in.
• 3:43
  So just ensure a smooth check in and also choose technology and
• 3:47
  software that works. So a confusing check in their
• 3:53
  review killers guests should not feel like they're cracking a
• 3:57
  safe just to get inside. Smartlocks is an easy way to do
• 4:03
  this. Unique entry codes that sync
• 4:05
  with your property management software like Host Fully Devices
• 4:09
  are a huge game changer and a huge upgrade.
• 4:13
  You also want to send arrival instructions with photos so they
• 4:18
  know exactly what to do and where to go.
• 4:21
  If, for lack of a better phrase, you kind of want to dumb it down
• 4:23
  a bit, but then you also want to make sure to double check your
• 4:28
  Wi-Fi, the remote controls, make sure there's batteries in them
• 4:32
  and that the batteries work. You want to make sure that the
• 4:34
  appliances are working. Tech hiccups are they're small
• 4:39
  in your eyes as a property manager, but they're huge in the
• 4:43
  guest's eyes because that's already, you know, impacting
• 4:47
  their experience. You also want to communicate and
• 4:52
  sometimes over communicate, but don't annoy.
• 4:55
  So there's this fine line like guests know and guests love to
• 4:59
  know you care, but they don't want you blowing up their phone.
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  It really is all about timing and your tone.
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  And with that you can easily automate pre arrival and check
• 5:11
  in messages through your property management software,
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  even sending a quick midstate check in like hey James, hope
• 5:18
  everything's going great. I'm frank.
• 5:21
  Let me know if you need anything super simple but really
• 5:24
  effective. But also in your tone.
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  Be friendly, warm, but also human in your messages.
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  This makes it harder for a guest to leave a negative review when
• 5:36
  you don't sound like a robot and that the messages aren't
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  automated, but it's actually a human in or at least a human
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  tone in your messages. And there's a lot of software
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  out there that are able to do that for you, hopefully
• 5:49
  included. But with all that, you want to
• 5:53
  end the stay on a high note and you really want to set up for
• 5:57
  success at checkout and at the end of the stay, that's your
• 6:00
  last chance. Last chance, last chance to
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  leave them smiling. Really a bad checkout experience
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  can erase all the hard work that you've done and all of the
• 6:12
  vibes, the good vibes that the guest has had during their stay.
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  So with the with the check out, just keep those instructions
• 6:19
  short and reasonable. Maybe like 3 or 4 items Max.
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  Send a reminder the night before with the time of check out, the
• 6:28
  steps as well as your expectations.
• 6:31
  You think that loading the dishwasher could be an
• 6:34
  inconvenience to the guest? It's not, it's just an
• 6:38
  expectation that you have and something that you expect and
• 6:41
  more, more times than any they're they're happy to do
• 6:44
  that. But then don't forget to thank
• 6:46
  them for saying that's a huge thing.
• 6:49
  Thank your guests for their business and remind them that
• 6:52
  you love to host them again in the future.
• 6:55
  And then the yeah. And then the 5th is don't be
• 6:58
  shy. Ask for a review.
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  Timing is everything. And The thing is, most guests
• 7:05
  want to leave a review. They just get busy.
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  So a simple gentle nudge really makes all the difference.
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  And what you can do really is simple.
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  It's just send a personalized thank you message right after
• 7:19
  check out, kind of like, you know, along the lines of it was
• 7:21
  a pleasure hosting. You would love if you could
• 7:24
  share your experience and review.
• 7:26
  But then the hint here is include the link so it's easy
• 7:30
  for them to click and submit that review all in one message.
• 7:34
  If you're using host fully, you can automate a post review
• 7:37
  requests so no guests slip through the cracks.
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  But you can also do this X amount of days after the guest
• 7:44
  checks out. Normally it's about one or two
• 7:46
  days after check out. But also a small change with big
• 7:51
  impact is leave them a positive review quickly because if you
• 7:57
  review them first, guests are much more inclined to
• 8:01
  reciprocate. So really, the bottom line for
• 8:04
  five Star Reviews aren't just luck.
• 8:07
  Sometimes they are. Mostly they're not.
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  They're really the product of clean homes, smooth systems,
• 8:14
  thoughtful touches, and again, that follow up.
• 8:17
  So when you set up a process, wow them upon their arrival.
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  Keep the communication going, keep the communication clear.
• 8:25
  Make check out painless and seamless.
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  But also at the right time. You're going to consistently see
• 8:32
  those five star reviews roll in and and remember, reviews aren't
• 8:35
  just feedback, they're your best marketing tool.
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  A strong profile with great reviews makes your listing that
• 8:46
  much more visible. It makes it trustworthy.
• 8:50
  It makes you trustworthy, but ultimately where we're all
• 8:53
  getting at really, it makes you more profitable.
• 8:55
  And at the end of the day, happy guests equal happy hosts and and
• 8:59
  those little gold stars that everyone sees, they're nice.
• 9:03
  They're not just nice, they're imperative and and they're your
• 9:07
  ticket to long term success in the STR game.
• 9:10
  Especially if your market is saturated with short term
• 9:14
  rentals. It definitely sets you apart
• 9:15
  from your competition. We live or die by reviews in
• 9:20
  this business and, and I love your point there about asking
• 9:23
  for a review and a lot of this really revolves around excellent
• 9:28
  communication. So how can a platform like
• 9:32
  Housefully assist in that communication and really help
• 9:36
  you to get a five star review pretty much every time?
• 9:39
  Yeah, I mean, as I mentioned with with your automated
• 9:42
  messages, we have a text message WhatsApp as well as e-mail.
• 9:47
  And you can also, we have a unified inbox where you can
• 9:50
  communicate with the guest immediately.
• 9:52
  And we we call them complex conditions.
• 9:55
  And with the complex conditions, what you're able to do is you
• 9:58
  can create a template, customized template with a bunch
• 10:01
  of variables. Again, you want to make sure
• 10:03
  that it comes across as human and not just automated.
• 10:06
  So you can have the guest name as a variable, the location and
• 10:10
  I'll, you know, I'll talk about this at a later date, but also
• 10:15
  the lock codes and stuff like that.
• 10:16
  You just want to make it as seamless as possible.
• 10:19
  But then where it it really takes the cake is the
• 10:22
  automation. So with that, you can send
• 10:26
  emails, text message, WhatsApp, hours or days after the guest
• 10:31
  checks in, before the guest checks in, after the stay ends,
• 10:35
  even before the stay ends. So you can automate, you can
• 10:39
  actually visualize how you want your perfect stay to go.
• 10:44
  And then you just create automation directly from there.
• 10:48
  And I mean, I, I, I'm kind of biased, but I think our
• 10:52
  automation is all you need in terms of communication and
• 10:57
  getting more star reviews or, or better star reviews, but we also
• 11:02
  integrate with a bunch of communication partners as well
• 11:07
  that can really enhance your scalability and the guest
• 11:11
  experience overall. Yeah, the automated messages
• 11:16
  really help. And I use these as well with,
• 11:19
  with my guests. And one thing I've noticed the
• 11:22
  the the message that does probably the best is the one
• 11:25
  that you send the day after people check in just saying,
• 11:29
  hey, I hope you're OK. And I notice that often some,
• 11:33
  some guests that they won't reply, you know, everything's
• 11:35
  fine, no problem, but they need to.
• 11:37
  Reply How to feel it? Yeah.
• 11:38
  Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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  But others will reply and say thank you so much for checking
• 11:42
  in. Everything's great.
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  And when you hear that, it's like, great, fantastic.
• 11:47
  Another thing you mentioned there, which which I want to
• 11:49
  kind of discuss a bit further is the keyless entry, because I had
• 11:54
  an experience actually this week with a guest, because I've got a
• 11:58
  keyless entry. You just pop in the code and he
• 12:00
  said to me, oh, this is brilliant.
• 12:02
  I've stayed in about 50 different properties and they've
• 12:05
  never had anything like this. So how important is it to
• 12:08
  consider using something like like that for five star reviews
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  and and how can that be implemented through through a
• 12:14
  system like House fully? Yeah, it's, it's, it's a
• 12:17
  seamless check in you, you don't think about it as much,
• 12:21
  especially if you don't have automation, you don't realize
• 12:25
  how much it can enhance the guest experience, but also give
• 12:29
  you so much time back. And similar to you, we went up
• 12:34
  to New York City and we had a lock code for the lock box,
• 12:39
  which was a pain to use because it obviously it's stuck and I
• 12:44
  couldn't open it. And I was there at like 4:00 in
• 12:46
  the morning trying to open up everything.
• 12:49
  And then in it were three additional keys which I had to
• 12:52
  bring with me everywhere, which again, it's 3 keys.
• 12:55
  It's not the worst thing, but once you get a home automated
• 12:59
  like a, a, a device and an automated device at that and a
• 13:03
  smart lock, that inconvenience, I'd say inconvenience of me
• 13:08
  having to add and remember 3 keys like what happened if I
• 13:13
  closed the door behind me and it locks and the keys are inside.
• 13:16
  Now I have to talk to the property manager and meet up
• 13:21
  with the property manager and schedule a time to get
• 13:23
  additional locks. Like it's just, it's an it's an
• 13:26
  unnecessary headache because the automation and the software is
• 13:29
  out there. It's not a lot of money and it's
• 13:32
  seamless to integrate. And even with Hostfully devices,
• 13:35
  we integrate with all the big locks out there, the slage, the
• 13:39
  the I, I can't even keep track of all of them.
• 13:41
  But we have integrations with all of them.
• 13:44
  And The thing is there is you just have to buy the lock, you
• 13:48
  have to install the lock. And then directly on Host
• 13:51
  Fully's platform, you add that device and that device will
• 13:55
  automate or the software behind it will automate the lock code.
• 14:00
  The code via host Feliz messaging will communicate to
• 14:05
  the guest and the guest will have that code, I don't know,
• 14:08
  2934. And that's the code for the
• 14:11
  entire stay. They don't have to carry keys.
• 14:13
  They don't have to worry about losing them.
• 14:15
  They don't have to worry about forgetting them in the unit and
• 14:18
  locking themselves out. And you know, the last thing you
• 14:21
  want, especially as a property manager, is at 1:00 AM, the
• 14:24
  guest calling you saying they're locked out of their unit because
• 14:27
  they lost their keys, that all of those headaches, all of those
• 14:31
  worries go out the window the second you have that trusted
• 14:36
  device and a software behind it to execute it properly.
• 14:41
  It's all these things you don't think about because you're used
• 14:43
  to it. Yeah, and I, I love the the
• 14:45
  safety angle as well, the fact that each guest gets a unique
• 14:49
  code because I think guests prefer that as well.
• 14:54
  They don't want to think that everybody's just had the same
• 14:56
  key and somebody might have copied it and and all this kind
• 14:59
  of thing. So I think there's there's
• 15:00
  definitely a safety aspect as well.
• 15:03
  Fantastic. And I think, you know, final
• 15:05
  thing to end on then with reviews and it's one of the
• 15:07
  things that you highlighted. Make sure you ask for it because
• 15:11
  that. Don't be shy the difference.
• 15:12
  Ask for it. Yeah, the worst thing they can
• 15:14
  do is not leave one. Well, leave a bad one, but you
• 15:17
  want to ensure that they're not going to have a bad one.
• 15:19
  But the last thing is they don't leave you a review.
• 15:22
  That's fine. You're just but you throughout
• 15:24
  the entire state, throughout the entire guest experience and the
• 15:27
  entire focus. Your goal as a property manager
• 15:32
  is to get a five star review. And you can automate all of
• 15:35
  those like check box things that you need to do as a property
• 15:37
  manager to get that five star review and ask for them.
• 15:40
  And then as I mentioned, I don't know if maybe if somebody missed
• 15:43
  it or what, put the link of where you want them to leave the
• 15:47
  review in your messaging. Because again, the last thing I
• 15:51
  want is, hey, Frank, it was great having you as a guest.
• 15:54
  Please leave a review and they're all right.
• 15:56
  Fine. Now I have to log into Airbnb.
• 15:57
  You have to leave a review. Just put the link right there.
• 16:00
  They'll click on it, they'll leave a review and you're good
• 16:03
  to go. You want to simplify it as much
• 16:06
  as possible. We certainly do make it as
• 16:09
  simple as possible. And also as well, I think,
• 16:11
  explain to the guest the importance of reviews.
• 16:15
  I think one thing that we include is along the lines of,
• 16:17
  look, our business runs on great reviews.
• 16:20
  We really appreciate them. If you've had a good stay,
• 16:23
  please let us know. Give us five stars.
• 16:25
  Of course, if there's an issue, let us know.
• 16:26
  We'll put it right. But yeah, impress on the guest
• 16:29
  how important it is and 9 times out of 10, maybe 99 times out of
• 16:33
  100, you'll you'll get that that crucial 5 stars.
• 16:36
  Frank, just before you go, just tell us where people can find
• 16:39
  out more about Hostfully and potentially book a demo with
• 16:42
  you. Yeah, learn more about
• 16:44
  hostfullyhostfully.com. We have a ton of webinars.
• 16:48
  It's a full explanation of what our software provides, all of
• 16:51
  the features, all of the capabilities.
• 16:53
  If you like what you see, my name is Frank and my e-mail is
• 16:56
  easyitsfrank@hostfully.com. James will share my direct
• 17:01
  calendar link with you all. So if you do want to book a
• 17:04
  demo, learn more about the software, learn more about our
• 17:07
  devices or our guidebooks, I'm your guy.
• 17:09
  I'll make sure that we cover all the features, all the
• 17:13
  capabilities, but also make sure that I answer all of your your
• 17:16
  questions. I'll be more than happy to meet
• 17:18
  with you. Superb yet.
• 17:20
  We'll put the link to Franks calendar in the show notes along
• 17:24
  with a couple of special offers. You've got $500 off onboarding
• 17:27
  for the PMS and 30% off digital guidebooks for live.
• 17:31
  All the details in the show notes.
• 17:33
  So check them out. Frank, it's been a real
• 17:35
  pleasure. As always, thank you for joining
• 17:37
  us on host Planet Bite Size. Always a pleasure being here
• 17:40
  James, thanks for having me. Great to chat to Frank Bosey
• 17:42
  there about reviews. Remember, make sure you ask your
• 17:46
  guest to leave you 5 stars. All right, that's it for today's
• 17:49
  episode. Remember, this podcast is
• 17:51
  brought to you in collaboration with House Philly, which is
• 17:54
  trusted by short term rental professionals across the globe.
• 17:58
  As a House Planet listener, you get 2 exclusive offers, $500 off
• 18:02
  onboarding for House Philly's property management software.
• 18:05
  Just use the code Planet 530% off digital guidebooks for life.
• 18:10
  Use the code Hostplanet GB To grab these deals, click the link
• 18:15
  in the show notes or head to housefully.com.
• 18:18
  For more free education tips and trends from the STR industry,
• 18:22
  visit Houseplanet dot Club where you can sign up for our
• 18:25
  newsletter, listen to our podcasts and download a suite of
• 18:28
  ebooks for hosts and property managers.
• 18:31
  That's it for today's episode. Until next time, happy hosting.