8 guest welcome book hacks for busy hosts

As a host in the fast-paced world of hospitality, you already know every moment counts. Both yours and your guests’ time is precious, and every second saved can make a significant difference in providing an exceptional guest experience. That’s where Touch Stay’s digital guest welcome book steps in: offering a range of handy time-saving features that delight your guests, stop repeat questions and streamline your operations.

Let’s dive into our 8 favourite time-saving hacks to discover how Touch Stay can help free up both yours and your guests’ time.

• Hack #1: instant access to local recommendations
• Hack #2: automate your check-in/out processes
• Hack #3: automate guest communication
• Hack #4: provide real-time updates and notifications
• Hack #5: offer personalised recommendations
• Hack #6: use QR codes
• Hack #7: get instant feedback
• Hack #8: nurture guest relationships the easy way

Time-saving hack #1: instant access to local recommendations

A Touch Stay digital guest welcome book’s most valuable asset is its ability to offer instant access to local recommendations. Let guests plan their best trip by discovering nearby attractions, restaurants, and activities all in one place. Plus, Touch Stay’s seamless Google Places integration makes pulling local information into your guidebook a piece of cake!

This feature not only saves your guests the time they would have spent researching and navigating the local area, but also frees up your time by not having to answer repeat questions and requests for recommendations.

Hack #2: automate your check-in/out processes

Say goodbye to lengthy check-in and check-out procedures. With Touch Stay, guests can complete these processes quickly and conveniently because they already have your instructions in their pocket!

The easiest way to request check-in confirmation or check-out completion from guests is to embed a form in your guidebook (e.g. Jotform) and use Memo to send a text message to the guest prompting them to complete the form.

If you don't require confirmation of guest check-in, you might be more interested in seeking confirmation from the guest that everything is ok or as expected upon arrival. For that, use the First Impressions topic and again use Memo to send a text message to the guest that includes a Deep Link direct to that part of your guidebook. From there, guests can leave a star rating, a comment and contact details. 

In a scenario where things are not quite right, this is the ideal way to unobtrusively request early feedback and to act upon it quickly. The data collected from these forms is downloadable from the account pages of your logged in area.

The simplest way to handle check-out is to send reminder texts (at no extra cost) as part of your check-out procedure. Use Memo to schedule one to drop the evening before check-out, pointing directly to that part of your guidebook.

These time-saving hacks ensure your guests can start enjoying their stay straight away and allows your cleaning team in without delay too. 

Moreover, it frees up your time to focus on more personalised interactions with guests.

Hack #3: automate guest communication

Efficient communication is vital in the hospitality industry. Memo, Touch Stay’s free guest messaging tool, allows you to save time and reduce guest questions by automating your guest communication flow. Schedule text and email messages auto-filled with your guests’ details to hit their inboxes at any point of their booking experience.

Touch Stay recently carried out a large-scale Guest Communication Study, interviewing 2,024 vacation rental guests about the communication they received from their hosts before, during and after their trip. One of the questions we asked was:

“How well looked after did the communication from your host - or lack thereof - make you feel?”

It discovered that the sweet spot for the greatest guest satisfaction (at 60% of respondents) is amongst those contacted 3-5 times.

In addition to our Guest Communication Study, we created a Guest Communication Toolkit that’s free to download and is packed with tips, tricks and message templates to help hosts nail their guest correspondence and create happy, loyal guests. 

Hack #4: provide real-time updates and notifications

Keeping guests informed about any changes or important information during their stay is crucial.
In further response to our Guest Communication Study, 44% of respondents indicated they prefer mid-stay communication via text message. Download our free Guest Communication Study here.

Memo offers the ability to send guests real-time updates and notifications for free via SMS or email at any point of their stay - this includes quick one-time sends. Learn how to send these one-time messages with our simple video explainer.

Whether it's a sudden change in the weather, an upcoming event, or essential tasks you need guests to do, such as putting out the rubbish for collection or replacing the pool cover when they’re not using it, they’ll always be in the loop. This not only saves time spent answering guest questions but also adds an extra layer of convenience. Check out our blog with 13 other helpful notifications you can send to guests via Memo to show you truly care about their stay. 

Hack #5: offer personalised recommendations

Personalisation can be transformative for guest satisfaction, and Touch Stay's features help you achieve this. Easily embed customised Google Forms into your digital guest welcome book to collect details like dietary restrictions, interests, preferences and more - before your guests arrive. This data can then be used to offer tailored services, products or experiences. Learn more about using Google Forms with Touch Stay.

Not only does this help guests make the most of their stay by ensuring no time is wasted on suggestions that don’t resonate with them, but it provides hosts the opportunity to boost their revenue through effortless upsells. 

Speaking of upsells… Touch Stay’s seamless integration with Jotform lets you centralise your upsell offerings in one place while providing flexibility over the type of upsells you want to present to guests:

• Pre-arrival: don't wait for check-in to impress! Offer exclusive upgrades like grocery deliveries or meal vouchers to your favourite local restaurant before their arrival, creating a foundation for a truly pampered getaway.
• On-site: let guests upgrade their stay with options available after check-in, such as food and drink packages of local wine and cheese/charcuterie boards, pampering with in-room massages and beauty treatments, or Wi-Fi upgrades.
• Off-site: partner with local businesses to offer discounts while encouraging guests to explore the local area. Recommend customised itineraries, equipment rentals, adventure outings, and childcare options.
• Merchandise: offer your own branded keepsakes (t-shirts, tote bags, mugs, etc.) and/or a selection of unique local souvenirs to make their stay even more memorable.

Hack #6: use QR codes 

Have an air conditioning unit with complicated controls? Is there a knack to opening your garage door? Make things easy for your guests by generating QR codes (there’s one available for every content section in your guidebook) and applying them to any appliance or feature in or around your property that needs instructions.

Once scanned, the QR code will take guests straight to the relevant section of your guidebook where you can provide simple instructions on how to use the feature corresponding to that QR code. Guests get to help themselves without having to contact you at all! It’s a win-win!

You could also add one to your welcome note (if you mount one on the wall or stick one to your fridge, for example) reminding guests that everything they need is in the guidebook.

Hack #7: get instant feedback

As a host, gathering guest feedback is essential for the continuous improvement of your business. Touch Stay digital guidebooks include handy features, such as our First Impressions and Ratings Topics, to effortlessly collect feedback at any stage of a guest’s stay. 

These help hosts improve their services in real-time, getting ahead of any potential issues and securing those coveted 5* reviews at check-out. They save time in the long run and help maintain a positive reputation by boosting your reviews.

Hack #8: nurture guest relationships the easy way

With platforms like Airbnb no longer sharing guest email addresses with hosts, how does anyone looking to build a direct booking channel manage to step away from reliance on OTAs?

Enter Touch Stay’s Email Capture feature - the perfect tool for collecting guest emails in a friendly, non-intrusive way.

Simply use our sign-up form template (or customise it to your own brand voice) and embed it anywhere in your guidebook where your guests will see it. Access to guest emails lets hosts stay top of mind when guests come to book their next trip - often turning one-time stays into lifelong customers.

Touch Stay is a game-changer for hosts who want to reclaim their time. In fact, 92% of customers have reduced the time they spend managing guests since using Touch Stay! The  digital guest welcome book helps hosts outrank the competition by offering myriad hospitality hacks that not only save time by streamlining operations, but improve overall guest satisfaction by delivering unforgettable guest experiences and ensuring guests have more time to enjoy their stay.

Discover how much time you can reclaim with a 14-day free trial