GUEST HOUSE INVESTMENTS
Providing the Perfect
Guest House Experience
BY JONATHAN S SMITH
Establishing and maintaining a truly appealing guest house requires offering your guests a combination of large and small benefits which work together to create an experience which visitors will want to repeat as often as possible and tell their friends and associates about .
The following ideas may be helpful in positioning your guest house amongst the most desirable venues :
• In profiling your guest as staying on business , ensure that your Wi-Fi is of an exceptional standard , that he or she is offered breakfast in his or her room and offered a wake-up call . Point out the news- and business- channels upon arrival but never show a corporate traveller how the honesty bar works or where the bathroom is
• In profiling your guest as a holiday-maker , provide a holiday hamper of sunscreen , a cap with your venue ’ s logo thereon and an exemplary set of tourist information and guidelines . Remember that the best marketing which you can obtain is via word-of-mouth
• Telephone ( but do not disturb them at their door ) your guests fifteen minutes after their arrival to ask if there is any improvement that you can make to their room
• If some guests create a noise after , say , 10 pm , respond immediately by asking them to be as quiet as possible in consideration of your other guests : do this before your other guests complain as this show professional concern
• Never place carpet-mats in your bathroom as guests may suspect that you seldom change these mats and that they could transmit germs and disease : always provide clean floor towels every day
• Attempt , where possible , to provide a strong water-supply in your showers and install shower-heads which pulsate water to provide an in-shower massage
• Provide at least one free bottled-water each day so that your guests do not feel exploited : once housed in your bedroom , they might find it inconvenient to leave your hotel to source bottled-water and a small item such as one
bottled-water per day will make guests feel spoilt
• Never use extension leads to connect lamps and other electrical equipment : besides being against our law ( in South Africa ), this creates the opportunity for accidents and casualties
• Train your staff to respond to emergencies : these may include a fire or electrical fault as well as a guest suffering a medical condition such as an heart attack or stroke
ADMINISTRATION TIPS
• Draft a three-year budget for your venue and ensure that you monitor seasonal booking trends , income from extras ( such as your honesty fridge and meals ) and expenses accurately . This will help you to value your business
• Ensure that your venue is well-marketed locally and overseas through the use of electronic media , frequent write-ups in the press and word-ofmouth referrals . Develop a marketing-strategy that embraces the entire promotional mix spectrum in order to secure as much business as possible
• Always take a deposit or place a hold on your guest ’ s credit card to the total value of his or her stay together with a budget for extras
• Monitor your guests ’ return frequency and ( with their permission ) send them an occasional reminder of your services and special returnguest rates
• Invite your guests to use your venue for their special occasions at a reduced party-rate
RESOURCES
Courtwell Consulting
32 MAY 2016 SA Real Estate Investor www . reimag . co . za