Rather than having an additional fee to pay...(how would they do it? Opt in or out??) Is there a way to just charge more on the room rate for one night bookings or add a 'one night supplement charge' to the reservation...Single night turnovers are obviously more labour intensive than longer stays so yes, worth putting an additional charge on it but I would imagine most people regard the cleaning side of it to be incorporated in the price...by making it a single night supplement people then have the choice on whether to book or not....hope this helps!
After watching a programme about the behind the scenes look at the world's top hotels I picked up a great tip which I use....
Using an essential oil (I use lavender) and spotting it on say a small damp cloth or fragrance free face wipe I then wipe along the inside of the top drawers, behind the headboards, under the shelves in the en-suites and along the inside of the door frames so when the guests enter the room there is a lovely scent and equally when they open the drawers it wafts up...I've had many a guest comment on how lovely the rooms smell....
I always send a text message the day before asking what time guests expect to arrive...if by the next morning I have had no response I re-iterate the message through the BDC messaging. Even if guests have provided a time I ask if they are still on course for that time arrival. If their rooms are already ready I also add their rooms will be ready by 12pm hoping to prompt an earlier arrival!
I say ' We look forward to welcoming you tomorrow, do you know what time you may arrive please as I have some errands to run and need to be here to welcome you...' this kind of creates a bit of (false) urgency and guests are more likely to reply if they think you won't be there otherwise.
Our latest check in is 7pm...and this is quite often overlooked by guests who let me know they'll arrive say 9-10pm...I message back saying that being a small family run guesthouse our latest check-in is 7pm but am happy to welcome them so long as it's no later....again gently saying you dance to my tune and I'm not leaving it to you to rock up when you please!
I have had a couple of bookings in the past that have put 11-12(midnight) arrival at which point I contact BDC and tell them the booking is outside our 7pm policy and have never had an issue with BDC contacting the guests and then cancelling the booking with no come back to me.
It is hard as I was once advised by a couple they'd be here about 2pm...so sat around all afternoon waiting....eventually they arrived at about 7.30pm and I gently asked what kept them...'Oh' they said...'we did get to town at 2pm and have had a lovely afternoon exploring the town' !!! Ho hum, what can you say....?
I get this sometimes and it puzzles me too! And I am here to let people in!!
It's frustrating when you've maybe had a good rapport with people and they still leave this rating....it's hard not to but you can't take it personally.
Your English is very good so I wouldn't worry about being lost in translation! And yes guests don't always offer a response or thanks for instructions, sometimes it can be because they are 'on the road' and not necessarily being in places that offer Wifi/transmitter connectivity, othertimes it can be construed as being rude by you whereas they may think you are just giving them the relevant information they need.
As far as your not being there to greet people is concerned many hosts use this system without issue so maybe in your initial welcoming of guests by email/text or whatever means of communication you use you could say that you use the self check-in system due to the distance between where you are based and the property but you are around most days and will be sure to greet them if you see them...that way you are not committing to be there if it's not convenient to you but you have graciously given a reason why.
Then maybe follow up after they have left with a message hoping they enjoyed their visit and apologise for not seeing them as they didn't seem to be around when you were (again this way you've kind of fibbed you were there even if you were not)
I have a similar problem but get round it by having my family room bookable as a basic price for 4 people, 3 people, 2 people. Unfortunately BDC don't seem to factor in my child prices (4-14 years £20) so I'm sure I lose out on family bookings because these aren't explained...but it's the only way I've got round it. Any families with one or two children that do book I explain to them when they arrive and adjust the price on BDC, which they always appreciate.
In the calendar my family room is therefore divisible by 4 people, 3 people and 2...I think this was initially set up by request so write and ask the powers that be!
Bed bugs are a real pest and very hard to get rid of.....they are persistent little blighters with the young so tiny you would never see them. I have not had personal experience of this but have helped neighbours who have...so...I pay for a pest control agent to come to the property at the end of every season when I can close all the rooms down. All bedding is removed and furniture tipped on their sides with the drawers out of units and he sprays each room covering all items. The rooms are then left for a couple of days to dry out then put back together. Like cockroaches, bed bugs will rear their heads time and time again unless got rid of properly. The chemicals that are used don't smell and have no risk to humans.
They love unvarnished wood and hide in any tiny cracks or crevices in bed bases as well as behind pictures, under wall paper and any tiny gaps anywhere.
You can buy over the counter sprays if you are trying to keep on top of them on a day to day basis but it's hard to control. Bedding ideally needs to be either frozen or boil washed to kill them off..eggs can also be among pillows and duvets.
It's a major task and if a major infestation has taken can cost thousands to treat everything within a guesthouse....so while it costs me a couple of hundred pounds a year to get things sprayed..touch wood it's kept the bugs at bay!
No amount of 'rules' will stop them coming in if they are arriving in new guests luggage!
Just catch a couple and stick them on a piece of clear tape and make sure any staff know what they are looking for and tell you if they come across them.
I would say it very much depends on your price point to be honest .If you are more of a budget end (like myself) then having a robe per bed space (12) PLUS spares in laundry to replace any that get dirty at probably £15 per robe is just not feasible for me (Never mind if any get taken, by mistake or otherwise) However if your property has a max of 2 people then I think robes would be lovely for your guests as they are more likely to mooch about in a studio apartment than in just a room at a B&B! As for slippers many commercial suppliers of linen/towels/robes etc have the one use ones that can be disposed otherwise a quick glance on eBay....20 pairs for £11.....so I guess it just comes down to budget.....hope this helps, S
As our good friend Kibokoafrica suggests it is about being consistent throughout all your marketing but you do need to start each word of your name with a capital letter as it's your business name as it's a title so paTerrace Lodges, Grayston, Zimbabwe...(what does the pa stand for btw??).. using all capitals comes across as being a bit 'SHOUTY' and is pretty hard to read and using all lower case looks like it's been written by a 5 year old!! I hope this information helps you out, S
Greetings!
Rather than having an additional fee to pay...(how would they do it? Opt in or out??) Is there a way to just charge more on the room rate for one night bookings or add a 'one night supplement charge' to the reservation...Single night turnovers are obviously more labour intensive than longer stays so yes, worth putting an additional charge on it but I would imagine most people regard the cleaning side of it to be incorporated in the price...by making it a single night supplement people then have the choice on whether to book or not....hope this helps!
S
After watching a programme about the behind the scenes look at the world's top hotels I picked up a great tip which I use....
Using an essential oil (I use lavender) and spotting it on say a small damp cloth or fragrance free face wipe I then wipe along the inside of the top drawers, behind the headboards, under the shelves in the en-suites and along the inside of the door frames so when the guests enter the room there is a lovely scent and equally when they open the drawers it wafts up...I've had many a guest comment on how lovely the rooms smell....
I always send a text message the day before asking what time guests expect to arrive...if by the next morning I have had no response I re-iterate the message through the BDC messaging. Even if guests have provided a time I ask if they are still on course for that time arrival. If their rooms are already ready I also add their rooms will be ready by 12pm hoping to prompt an earlier arrival!
I say ' We look forward to welcoming you tomorrow, do you know what time you may arrive please as I have some errands to run and need to be here to welcome you...' this kind of creates a bit of (false) urgency and guests are more likely to reply if they think you won't be there otherwise.
Our latest check in is 7pm...and this is quite often overlooked by guests who let me know they'll arrive say 9-10pm...I message back saying that being a small family run guesthouse our latest check-in is 7pm but am happy to welcome them so long as it's no later....again gently saying you dance to my tune and I'm not leaving it to you to rock up when you please!
I have had a couple of bookings in the past that have put 11-12(midnight) arrival at which point I contact BDC and tell them the booking is outside our 7pm policy and have never had an issue with BDC contacting the guests and then cancelling the booking with no come back to me.
It is hard as I was once advised by a couple they'd be here about 2pm...so sat around all afternoon waiting....eventually they arrived at about 7.30pm and I gently asked what kept them...'Oh' they said...'we did get to town at 2pm and have had a lovely afternoon exploring the town' !!! Ho hum, what can you say....?
Keep smiling :-)
I get this sometimes and it puzzles me too! And I am here to let people in!!
It's frustrating when you've maybe had a good rapport with people and they still leave this rating....it's hard not to but you can't take it personally.
Your English is very good so I wouldn't worry about being lost in translation! And yes guests don't always offer a response or thanks for instructions, sometimes it can be because they are 'on the road' and not necessarily being in places that offer Wifi/transmitter connectivity, othertimes it can be construed as being rude by you whereas they may think you are just giving them the relevant information they need.
As far as your not being there to greet people is concerned many hosts use this system without issue so maybe in your initial welcoming of guests by email/text or whatever means of communication you use you could say that you use the self check-in system due to the distance between where you are based and the property but you are around most days and will be sure to greet them if you see them...that way you are not committing to be there if it's not convenient to you but you have graciously given a reason why.
Then maybe follow up after they have left with a message hoping they enjoyed their visit and apologise for not seeing them as they didn't seem to be around when you were (again this way you've kind of fibbed you were there even if you were not)
Hope this helps!
S
Hi Lincibirinci,
I have a similar problem but get round it by having my family room bookable as a basic price for 4 people, 3 people, 2 people. Unfortunately BDC don't seem to factor in my child prices (4-14 years £20) so I'm sure I lose out on family bookings because these aren't explained...but it's the only way I've got round it. Any families with one or two children that do book I explain to them when they arrive and adjust the price on BDC, which they always appreciate.
In the calendar my family room is therefore divisible by 4 people, 3 people and 2...I think this was initially set up by request so write and ask the powers that be!
Hope this helps a bit
S
Hi Darren,
Bed bugs are a real pest and very hard to get rid of.....they are persistent little blighters with the young so tiny you would never see them. I have not had personal experience of this but have helped neighbours who have...so...I pay for a pest control agent to come to the property at the end of every season when I can close all the rooms down. All bedding is removed and furniture tipped on their sides with the drawers out of units and he sprays each room covering all items. The rooms are then left for a couple of days to dry out then put back together. Like cockroaches, bed bugs will rear their heads time and time again unless got rid of properly. The chemicals that are used don't smell and have no risk to humans.
They love unvarnished wood and hide in any tiny cracks or crevices in bed bases as well as behind pictures, under wall paper and any tiny gaps anywhere.
You can buy over the counter sprays if you are trying to keep on top of them on a day to day basis but it's hard to control. Bedding ideally needs to be either frozen or boil washed to kill them off..eggs can also be among pillows and duvets.
It's a major task and if a major infestation has taken can cost thousands to treat everything within a guesthouse....so while it costs me a couple of hundred pounds a year to get things sprayed..touch wood it's kept the bugs at bay!
No amount of 'rules' will stop them coming in if they are arriving in new guests luggage!
Just catch a couple and stick them on a piece of clear tape and make sure any staff know what they are looking for and tell you if they come across them.
So good luck!
S
Hi Gayla,
I would say it very much depends on your price point to be honest .If you are more of a budget end (like myself) then having a robe per bed space (12) PLUS spares in laundry to replace any that get dirty at probably £15 per robe is just not feasible for me (Never mind if any get taken, by mistake or otherwise) However if your property has a max of 2 people then I think robes would be lovely for your guests as they are more likely to mooch about in a studio apartment than in just a room at a B&B! As for slippers many commercial suppliers of linen/towels/robes etc have the one use ones that can be disposed otherwise a quick glance on eBay....20 pairs for £11.....so I guess it just comes down to budget.....hope this helps, S
As our good friend Kibokoafrica suggests it is about being consistent throughout all your marketing but you do need to start each word of your name with a capital letter as it's your business name as it's a title so paTerrace Lodges, Grayston, Zimbabwe...(what does the pa stand for btw??).. using all capitals comes across as being a bit 'SHOUTY' and is pretty hard to read and using all lower case looks like it's been written by a 5 year old!! I hope this information helps you out, S