The Biggest Contributor to Guest Disappointment

Want to know what the Biggest Contributor to guest disappointment when they arrive at a villa is?

It will sound really obvious when I explain it, but it is practically guaranteed that most guests will never think of this.

It’s just not on their mind at the start of their vacation!

And when you think about it, this is practically unavoidable unless we’re not doing our job right.

Photos of our villa show it brighly lit during the day, with lights on and blinds open, during the summer with lots of green foiliage and sunny, blue skies outside.

Arrive in January with the lights off, the blinds closed, trees gray and the sun low in the sky, or *horrors* in the middle of the night when it’s dark (What! We don’t have night time sun in Florida? But I saw all those sunny photos in the brochure!) and it won’t match those pictures!

But some folks forget that when arriving after a long, tiring trip.

Let’s be honest… everyone forgets that!

But some actually think “this place is darker and smaller than I thought it was…” Of course it is! It never occurs to these guests that the villa is actually exactly as it is shown in photos (if you think about it, it has to be).

They’re just experiencing it differently because of factors that have nothing to do with the villa itself.

If they truly want to be unreasonable, they’ll even blame us because they’ll say the photos of the villa make it look too good!

Seriously? Would anyone truly expect us to photograph the property to show it to prospective guests, and not have it look its best? If an owner or manager is so incompetent as to not show their property at its best, they would be lousy at their job and wouldn’t be capable of providing their guests with a great stay either!

Do you expect to walk into McDonalds and see photos of the way the food really looks on the menu? Or do you expect the photos to look great, and appealing? That’s what we all want!

Our photos are way more honest than that!

You can fake a hamburger far more than you can fake an actual room with furniture in it. Even if we could, we simply don’t have the budget for that. Nor would we want the grief from guests we would deserve if our photos weren’t honest.

Yes, our photos look good. They are an accurate presentation of the way the villa looked when the picture was taken. But your experience, especially your first one, may vary. That’s perfectly normal.

Don’t believe me?

Take a picture of yourself tomorrow morning immediately after you crawl out of bed.

And compare it to the last photos taken of you at a wedding.

‘Nuff said.

Part of The Crash Course in being a Great Vacation Rental Guest!

Want to know what the next biggest contributor to Guest Disappointment on Arrival is? Find out here!