How can you make sure guests leave contented after their stay in your bed and breakfast? By offering a pleasant ambiance and an excellent service of course. But most of all – something you might not always think of – with unexpected extras.
Often it’s the little surprises that B&B guests remember. Such as a bowl of fresh strawberries at breakfast, sweets in the room, or a present when they leave. It’s always nice to get more than you’d expected. Thus as a host or hostess you can make a big difference with a small gesture.
At B&B Castello Di Ripa D’orcia in Castiglione D’orcia in Italy a welcoming drink is waiting for you.
You can also positively surprise your guests in other ways. A few tips:
- When your B&B room is even more beautiful in real life than it is in the pictures you will exceed expectations. Guests will be pleasantly surprised when they enter. Of course your pictures must be attractive enough, that goes without saying.
- Do you have a more beautiful room available, then offer your guests an upgrade. This really makes every guest very happy.
- Create a corner with delicious coffee (preferably made from real beans) and tea, free for guests.
- Guests that book again, deserve something extra!
- Make sure to provide something nice when your guests leave. We will go further into this below.
Small surprise at Bed en Breakfast D&G Villas Nusa Dua in Nusa Dua in Indonesia.
Surprise upon departure
Research shows that there are two things guests remember most about their stay in your bed & breakfast:
- The peak experience (the high and the low)
- The last moment (the check-out)
This psychological mechanism is known as the peak end rule: thus the check-out is very important. If you turn this into a nice moment, your guests will be even more satisfied with their stay in your B&B. Give them a jar of homemade jam for example, a card, or a personal, handwritten list of appropriate tips in the area.
Unforgettable experience
Did you exceed your guests’ expectations? Then they will surely want to share their unforgettable experience with everyone, in the form of positive reviews and on social media. And that is the best publicity you could wish for.
Retweet the tweets that guests post about your B&B on Twitter, or share their Facebook posts on your own timeline. This is not the time to be modest. It’s okay to show that your guests are happy!
