…and How to Use Great Airbnb Reviews in Your Marketing
This week, I sent out an email to my Tokyo Family Stays list asking them to review us on Google My Business. This is on top of the messages I send on Airbnb and our other OTA booking platforms asking for a great Airbnb review. Why do we do this – for social proof. Social proof isn’t just a sales trick. It is a social reality that human beings are significantly influenced by the decisions of others. We see what our peers are doing and make our decisions based largely on what we see. Their actions validate our decision to take action.
To put it in a sales context for Short Term Rentals, your potential guest is considering their options and evaluating the different choices from their search results. Their mind is full of doubts. They are looking for reasons not to trust you or book with you. Social proof of past reviews helps them understand what your listing offers from the point of view of another guest just like them. It’s part of any rational decision-making process.
Notice how you do this for yourself when you are making your buying decisions. You read the Airbnb reviews right?
Social Proof in the Digital Age
Social proof has always been essential in sales, but in the digital age it has become more important than ever. All of us are glued to screens all day long and bombarded with marketing messages. We’re so used to getting spammed and shouted at by businesses that we largely tune it out.
As a result, people rely more than ever on what their friends, connections, and peers say. When considering booking a stay, any savvy guest will not only check the Airbnb reviews, but also check online reviews and see what people are saying on social media or a direct booking site. Therefore, itís more important than ever for you to work social proof into your brand and marketing.
How to Use Social Proof in Your STR Marketing
Show potential guests what other users think about your listing, your hospitality and your amenities. A great way to do this is through reviews. When you get a great review, telling you how happy they are with their stay, ask if you can use it in your social media.
Screen shot some great reviews and add to your listing photos or put into your instagram feed.
Tracey’s top tip
How to Ask for Reviews
Setting yourself up for a great review is something that can start right from the beginning of your relationship with your guests. We do this systematically and using automation. It isn’t an outright ask – this is a bit icky and it isn’t a quid pro quo. We have language saying we are proud of our 5 star reputation and if there is anything that the guest feels isn’t up to this standard, they feel welcome to discuss with us.
Having a great communication system is key for getting those great reviews – as Airbnb Reviews or on your direct booking site. It allows you to solve problems on-the-fly but as well, it will give you a good indication if you have earned the 5 star review from the guest in advance.
I love knowing that I have a 5 star review coming rather than waiting nervously for the review to come out.
If you want some tried and tested language for asking for great Airbnb reviews I have all of it in my Ultimate Superhost Communication Templates. This is all of my guest communications that I use in automation and answering the frequently asked questions from guests. These are completely DONE-FOR-YOU text that you can simply copy and paste as is OR swipe them and adapt for your own hosting business.
Guest book reviews
We get amazing handwritten comments in our guest book. We leave coloured pencils and other fun scrapbooking tools and let guests go wild with their creativity. So many cool memories of people enjoying our space and our city. It is wonderful to read these messages to remind ourselves of the good job we are doing in our business. It is even better to take photos and post them on our instagram feed to show the world how happy we have made guests.
Customer Referrals
Another highly effective form of social media is referrals. Word of mouth is more powerful than any other marketing message. Encourage your past guests to tell others about your listing and offer them a reward for doing so. For example, if you get a new booking, give the referrer a discount or a free breakfast basket. Set up a reward system for customer referrals.
Hashtags
Got a cool Instagram feed? Set up a spot inside your property that is Instagram worthy – think great view, quirky furniture, awesome coffee bar. Tell your guests your fave hashtags and ask them to use them when they post their holiday snaps. This is really a great way for your guests to become your sales team.
Tokyo Family Stays Instagram @tokyofamilystays
Tracey Northcott Consulting @traceynorthcottconsulting
Bloggers and Influencers
If you have an active social media presence and a good direct booking strategy, you may get requests from bloggers or influencers. Often they are asking for a free stay in exchange for a blog write up or instagram publicity. Yes this is flattering to be singled out but also remember that they are asking for something from you so make sure you get something out of it. This is really up to you to decide if they are a good fit for you.
Look at their profiles, their following, their past posts. Are they speaking to YOUR ideal guest? Put them into a contract – x number of post, stories, reels, emails. You could even put them on a conversion bonus scheme. If they convert real bookings that bring real money to you, then they get a bonus.
It is your business so don’t let some vague promises of “exposure” influence your decisions.
Do you want to learn more about using social proof to great great reviews? Check out my Ultimate Superhost Communication Templates or Ultimate STR Communication Pack. These are DONE-FOR-YOU guest message templates that cover all areas guest messages. Save them as copy and paste messages so you can quickly use to answer guest messages on the fly. OR save them as automated messages saving so much time and stress.
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