Welcome books: Your guests will feel like they are at Four Seasons

For this article on welcome books (also called guest books), we have collaborated with another start-up that is also closely related to the world of holiday rentals. This article has been prepared by Jorge Melo, CMO of Cohosting, a platform that automates and maximises everything related to communication and booking of complementary services for guests' stays in tourist accommodations.

Nobody is unaware of how much tourism has changed in recent years. Although most of us still remember how we used to travel just a decade ago.

That era when you had to go to the travel agency, sit with someone who put several huge books and brochures with many photos in front of you and, basically, listen to what each package consisted of until you chose one.

If, probably on one of those visits to the agency, I had told the agent in charge that in just 5 years their job would practically disappear or, not only that, that tourism itself was close to undergoing a change like never before, that people would stop staying in hotels and start staying in locals' homes, or that the largest accommodation company in the world would not own a single accommodation…

They probably would have thought I was crazy.

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Not everything related to tourism has changed in these years

However, it doesn't matter what the travel agent would have thought because the reality is what it is, and today Airbnb alone offers a greater supply of accommodations than the five main hotel chains worldwide, more than four million different possibilities to spend the night. It's easy to say, and it means a lot.

But it's not just the number of accommodations that is impressive.

In just ten years, hosts listing their accommodations through the platform have hosted more than 300 million people, an even more incredible figure if we consider that Airbnb has really taken off in the last five years.

In short, the way and the place where we stay has changed, but has everything changed for the tourist?

No.

Despite now staying at José Manuel's house when we travel to Seville, we expect José Manuel to treat us as a hotel would.

And it turns out that José Manuel doesn't have the resources a hotel has, nor did he initially imagine that he would have to become a hospitality machine when he first listed his property on the platform a few years ago.

In fact, getting owners and managers who list their properties to learn how important good service and hospitality are has been, is, and will be a cornerstone of Airbnb's strategy.

Not in vain, José Manuel is an Airbnb Plus. A category that Airbnb implemented some time ago to distinguish in some way those hosts who do care about good service and hospitality, with the aim of increasing their bookings and standing out from the rest.

As you can see, the trend clearly favours those who offer good service (like José Manuel), those who are concerned with offering a set of ideas or possibilities of things to do during guests' stays (hence adding experiences and restaurants to Airbnb's offering).

It favours those hosts who truly strive to respond to all guest requests and offer a completely personalised experience.

Ultimately, they care about hospitality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnltyNbgSu0

What it actually means to be hospitable when you have a tourist apartment

Since so far we have only referred to Airbnb as the driver of change in tourism, we will continue along the same lines and examine what factors the digital giant considers key to being a hospitality machine.

To earn the superhost category, ruling out that you would have had to host at least 10 people, you must primarily respond to practically everything you are asked. In fact, you are asked to respond to at least 90% of the messages you receive.

Besides responding to everything, the reviews left by your guests are also a key factor. Not in vain are you asked to receive a 5-star rating at least 80% of the times you receive a review, provided that at least half of your guests have left their review.

Quite a lot.

And lastly, never cancel an already confirmed booking.

What Airbnb is trying to convey is quite simple if you look at it in perspective.

Your guest deserves the best and you are responsible for providing them with an experience they won't easily forget.

Work hard. Nothing more, nothing less.

Fortunately for apartment managers and owners, an entire ecosystem of start-ups and companies has grown around Airbnb that thrive on offering solutions to needs that did not exist before and have been generated as a result of all the changes that have occurred in recent years.

One of these tools, and the one we are going to highlight in this article, are Welcome Books or guest books.

What is a Welcome Book and how is it used

Are you familiar with the jumble of flyers with activities or recommendations, city or metro maps, and documents with apartment rules that the host leaves in the apartment for the guest to read?

We all know what we're talking about.

Sometimes these flyers are simply that, a set of brochures from various local businesses without any apparent criteria, and other times we are talking about much more elaborate content such as printed city guides specifically prepared by the host.

A Welcome Book, also known as a Guestbook, is nothing more and nothing less than a digital version of that set of documents with personal recommendations you offer your guests.

Here you can see an example of a Guest Book for a random apartment in Madrid created by Cohosting.

However, being digital, you can take advantage of all the possibilities that the internet offers: instantaneity, autonomy, and ubiquity.

Basically, it does not require the guest's physical presence in the accommodation to be able to view it, as you can send it by email or any online means for them to enjoy it from home.

With a Welcome Book, your guests can organise their stay completely even before arriving at their destination, with days, weeks, or even months still to go before their arrival.

Furthermore, depending on the company you use to create your Welcome Book, you will obtain different advantages.

For example, at Cohosting, among other things, we are responsible for closing commercial agreements with different local providers of the most demanded and cumbersome services.

We know that in the end, and returning to our friend José Manuel, the host doesn't have the time or resources to find providers for all the possible services guests might request.

Therefore, we close agreements with service providers such as transfers, nannies, tours, activities and experiences, restaurant reservations, and much more, and make them fully available to you, not only to offer to your guests but also for you to earn money with each booking.

Benefits of a digital guest book

As with practically anything that is digitised, the Welcome Book offers a series of clear advantages when it stops being a pile of flyers and becomes completely online.

Communicate before arrival

One of the main advantages of a digital Welcome Book is the possibility of communicating your entire offer of complementary services, as well as the cultural offer, long before arriving at the accommodation.

It must be taken into account that historically, guests are not aware of the complementary offer to the accommodation until they are already at the destination.

It is usually during check-in that the team responsible for receiving tourists communicates the various things they can do, if they do, or if the host has bothered to leave flyers, maps, or similar things inside the accommodation, then the tourist will also find information about that complementary service offer.

With a digital Welcome Book, communicating your additional offer begins immediately after booking.

Comply with the law

It's no secret that one of the biggest concerns for many managers and hosts is complying with the law at all times.

Although it may often go unnoticed, it is mandatory for all hosts to provide a series of telephone numbers and specific information to all their guests. Many times, collecting this information is not easy, not to mention the times when it is not even known that this information must be provided mandatorily.

In this sense, a guest book will help you comply with the law by bringing together all this necessary information, and in some cases, the mandatory content will be generated by default, saving the host from having to search for, find, and upload it.

Open a new revenue stream

Traditionally, in the hotel industry, between 10 and 15% of their revenue comes from commissions for service sales.

Let's set the scene.

Imagine the typical image of a guest going to the hotel reception and requesting a restaurant table reservation or a taxi to the airport.

Every time the hotel sells any of these services, the hotel earns a commission.

This is possible because the hotel has previously closed commercial agreements with various service providers. It sends them clients and the providers give a portion of the price in gratitude.

Hotels have been able to close this type of agreement thanks to their significant commercial capacity, however, it is not as simple for an Airbnb owner, who does not have as much time or commercial power.

Con un Welcome Book, obtendrá acceso a un conjunto de acuerdos comerciales con proveedores locales que le ayudarán a abrir una nueva fuente de ingresos, al tiempo que mejora la experiencia de sus huéspedes.

Improve guest experience and autonomy

And one of the things that is paramount today is personalisation. Every guest who stays in your accommodation expects their stay to be unique and special.

In fact, not just their stay, but the entire trip.

And although it may not always seem fair, the host has a great responsibility in all of this.

With a guest book, the host gives autonomy to the guest, allowing them, knowing everything they can do, see, and book, to decide freely and without pressure what they really fancy and how they want to do it. It is undoubtedly a very powerful tool to improve and maximise each guest's personalised experience.

Your information, sustainably

As we have already mentioned several times throughout this article, tourists have changed quite a lot in recent years.

One of the most important changes is related to their awareness of the destination.

It seems that little by little the world is becoming aware of how important it is to take care of the planet, and however small the actions, your guests will appreciate you adapting your offer sustainably.

If instead of giving them a mountain of flyers and maps, you give them a website, that's what you save the Earth and what you gain as a responsible and conscious host.

All in all, what is clear to us is that times have changed and with them many things related to tourism in general, and to tourists in particular.

Although we may now have forgotten traditional travel agencies and all-inclusive packages and have gone from staying in hotels to locals' homes, it is clear that guests continue to demand, if not expect, that the host lives up to the hotel's standards.

The hospitality business has arrived at your home to stay.

Tools and software for guest books

Hostfully

Hostfully offers its clients very well-designed online guest books. You can customise and edit your own guest book using only your browser. Once finished, you share a single link with your guests, who can open it on their phones. They can also print it.

Hostfully guest book software is free unless you need the Pro version, which costs $9.99 a month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxSOKvlAbwI

Touchstay

Touchstay works similarly to the previous guest book or guide book software. All content is stored and accessible to your guests at a single address. Its mobile application packages all content with a very careful design. This way you can share your guest book with a simple link. Guests do not need to download the app.

Finally, with Touchstay, you can add Tripadvisor reviews to your personal tips and recommendations, in addition to Google Places ones. The subscription starts at $6.99 monthly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acUNXBlDSTc

Cohosting

Cohosting is our favourite recommendation for creating digital guide books. This platform automates and maximises everything related to communication and booking of complementary services for guests' stays in tourist accommodations.

In addition to being software made in Spain, they have a free plan. Paid plans include a percentage in which hosts earn 10% of the RRP of bookings made on the platform. What more could you ask for?

https://youtu.be/OnLREo-AorE