We all know that running a successful short-term rental business comes with its own set of challenges. This is especially true when learning to manage multiple properties, cleaning schedules, and pricing strategies. We’re here to remind you how Host Tools simplifies property management and helps hosts earn as much as possible by keeping their booking calendar full.
By offering customizable automation and marketing tools, we empower hosts to easily manage their listings and encourage repeat bookings. Below, we’ll explore specific features, including two powerful message rules, that help short-term rental hosts fill their calendars and increase profits.
Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!
Encouraging Repeat Bookings with Post-Stay Marketing Messages
One important element of building a sustainable business is fostering a strong relationship with guests. This type of relationship-building encourages them to think of your property next time they’re in town. Host Tools enables users to set up automated marketing messages targeted at previous guests, inviting them to book another stay. This feature sends personalized messages to past guests nine months after their stay, presenting them with the perfect opportunity to plan another visit.
How to set up the rule
To create a post-stay marketing rule on Host Tools, first head to the Message section on your dashboard. From there:
- Select the option to create a message rule.
- Specify the timing for the message—set it as nine months after a guest’s previous departure. This is about 270 days.
- Personalize the message to make it engaging. For example:
- Use a tag to greet the guest by name
- Offer a discount or special promotion for returning guests.
- Include a clear call to action, such as a direct link to book their next stay.
- Target these messages to all previous guests, or tailor messages to specific groups based on how many nights they stayed.
Learn more about how to send marketing messages via our help article.
Why it works
This strategy appeals to past guests who are already familiar with your property and service, reducing the friction of booking. Nine months is a great timeframe. It gives guests enough time to want a getaway but is still recent enough for them to remember their positive experience.
Offering exclusive discounts or other incentives sweetens the deal and makes returning more likely. Plus, automation ensures that messages go out consistently without requiring manual effort from the host. With consistent efforts to encourage repeat stays, short-term rental hosts can build a loyal customer base, thereby reducing their reliance on securing new bookings.
How to Fill Gaps with Extra Nights Offers
Another way to fill your calendar is by offering guests additional nights before or after their existing reservation. Host Tools makes this easy with automated messages designed to encourage guests to extend their stays. This feature is particularly useful for filling otherwise vacant nights between bookings.
How to set up the rule
This automation can also be set up within the Messages section of your Host Tools account:
- Create a message rule tailored to offering extra nights to current guests.
- Set the timing for the message. A great time to send this message is a few days before the guest’s scheduled check-in or check-out.
- Customize the message to align with your pricing and availability. For example:
- Clearly mention the discounted price or special deal for additional nights.
- Highlight the convenience of extending their stay without having to move to another property or re-book elsewhere.
- Add a sense of urgency, like mentioning limited availability or a deadline for accepting the offer.
- Automate the rule so it is only sent to guests who have reservations with room for extension on either side of their booking.
Read more about how to set up this messaging rule in our help guide here.
Why It Works
Offering extra nights caters to travelers who want flexibility in their plans. Some might find your property so cozy that extending their stay becomes an attractive option, especially if faced with unexpected schedule changes like flight delays.
Additionally, discounted rates or package deals provide value for the guest while ensuring you secure income for nights that might otherwise remain unbooked. With Host Tools automation, there’s no need to manually track available gaps in the calendar; the system does the hard work for you!
The Power of Automation
Host Tool’s superpower is automation. By taking advantage of advanced features like customizable message rules, hosts can focus on their guests rather than mundane administrative tasks. Both strategies, targeting former guests and offering additional nights, reduce the time and effort hosts need to invest.
Automation also ensures consistency. Short-term rental hosts often juggle multiple properties, channels, and responsibilities. Forgetting to send timely emails or respond to guests promptly can lead to missed opportunities. With Host Tools, every guest interaction can be pre-planned so no potential booking slips through the cracks.
Other Benefits of Host Tools
Beyond these specific features, Host Tools provides a suite of tools designed to optimize your operations and profit potential. These include a branded direct booking website, AI auto-replies, automated reviews, and unified inboxes to streamline communication across multiple booking platforms. Together, these features create an ecosystem that enables hosts to achieve operational excellence and maximize profitability.
Final Thoughts
Host Tools is more than just a property management tool. It’s a powerful ally in the competitive world of short-term rentals. By leveraging automation to send marketing messages to past guests and offering tailored extensions to current guests, hosts can effectively fill their calendars and boost profits.
These strategies ensure that no income opportunity is overlooked, while keeping guests satisfied and engaged. For short-term rental hosts looking to streamline operations, improve guest retention, and take the guesswork out of calendar management, Host Tools is an invaluable resource.
Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!
