Crash Course in Being a GREAT Vacation Rental Guest
As always, we love that you’ve chosen to stay with us!
We are so pleased and even excited that you have chosen our Florida home for your trip, and we want you to have a great experience. We have worked very hard to ensure this happens.
Over the years, we’ve learned that there is a lot of behind the scenes stuff that usually never gets addressed with vacation rental guests… unless there’s a problem! And we really don’t want there to be any! It leaves us wishing that we could pre-emptively share all of this information with guests before they arrive to stay with us. But, I’ve been accused of ‘over’ communicating (whatever that is) and with all of the information that we must provide to guests, anything else on top of it, especially when it is information that we think should just be common-sense, becomes just too much!
Why would I want to share this stuff with guests anyway? It’s simple. We really want all of our guests to have a great stay with us.
It is our intention that you have a 5-Star experience when staying in our property
What does that mean exactly?
An important part of the vacation rental industry is Reviews from previous guests. Future guests rely on them in choosing where they will stay. You likely read a few about us prior to deciding to book with us.
We’re probably the biggest accommodations and service provider that never asks for tips! And we’re not doing that here either! A great tip for us is an enthusiastic review of your experience. In fact, just like for everyone else who relies on tips… for us, a great review is kind of expected. And very disappointing if it doesn’t happen.
After your stay is over, please complete our Guest Exit Survey, and then later, please leave us a 5-Star review. We really need it and hope you won’t let us down!
A 5-Star review for a vacation rental property is not an indication of the quality of the property. It has nothing to do with the old restaurant or hotel rating system used in travel guides. It is a reflection of whether or not we provided what we advertise; reasonably clean, safe, and comfortable accommodations in our vacation home!
Every vacation rental guest should be able to leave a 5-Star Review for any property! If you would like to learn more, you can find out why here!
Introduction to being A Great Vacation Rental Guest
The biggest factor in whether or not you will leave us a 5-Star review is actually something we have very little control over! (We’re about to get deep now!)
If you don’t like to read, or think we send out too much information regarding your stay, don’t go any further! Stop here and get back to enjoying your life! What follows is is all extra-credit stuff for the extra keen kids only!
Not everyone is up for what follows! In fact, I probably prefer that our guests not read any of it! Go ahead and stop right now! (You’ve been warned!)
Frankly, I’m uncomfortable even posting this information… Truthfully, it’s a bit of an experiment on my part, so any feedback you would care to share about it would be greatly appreciated.
Interestingly enough, it could easily be the difference between you having an okay stay with us, or a great stay with us!
Why?
Because below I’m going to reveal some insider secrets about Orlando Vacation Rentals… the kind of things you just won’t find out anywhere else.
In fact, they just might even frighten you a little bit!
But I’m willing to do this because my absolute number one priority is ensuring that you have the best stay with us you possibly can!
After many years of hosting hundreds of guest groups in our properties, we have learned that one of the greatest factors in the level of satisfaction and enjoyment a guest gets from their stay with us is what their expectations are, prior to their arrival.
So, I want to provide you with some detailed special information about your accommodations so you will know what to expect before and during your stay. Call it a ‘crash course’ in being an expert-level vacation rental guest!
If you do read through all of this, why… your spouse and family will be amazed at just how incredibly smart and prepared you are for your arrival in Orlando!
So… get ready to wow them all! And read on!
Part I of Crash Course on Being A Great Vacation Rental Guest
First of all… Prepare to be disappointed when you arrive at the villa!
Am I actually telling you this? Yes… and for a very good reason!
There is a very good chance you’ll be disappointed. (Don’t cancel your trip yet! Hah hah!)
Of course, not everyone is… but unless you’re a highly experienced vacation rental guest, with the mentality of a host, what follows has very likely never occurred to you:
1) With lots of planning, excitement and expectation ahead of your trip, you’ve been set up to be disappointed! So be prepared to feel let down on arrival. After lots of exhausting travel, you need some time to decompress and adapt to your new surroundings.
2) If you are feeling disappointed or let down when you arrive, you’ll find lots of reasons to feel that way. But this is only because people tend to find what they’re looking for. Will you be looking for reasons to be happy, or something else?
3) You have probably never thought of the Biggest Cause of Guest Disappointment, but when explained it is just so obvious! You’ll say “Of course!” when you find out what it is!
4) One other factor for some guests only is expecting that the villa will be the equivalent of, or even better than, their own home.
(Usually only an issue if the guest is well-to-do and lives someplace really nice. If that’s not you, feel free to skip this one.)
Okay! If you read through any of those articles (bless you!) then we’re ready to move on.
The purpose of the rest of this course is to give you a better idea of what to expect from your vacation rental, and help you be prepared for your stay.
We’re going to turn you into a vacation rental guest ninja!
And one more warning: I truly hope you don’t mind my sharing this ‘insider’ information with you. Again, you certainly don’t have to read it!
This is optional stuff for extra credit, based on a decade of experience, both running and staying in vacation rentals.
You certainly don’t need any of this to have a great stay with us. Unless, of course, you’re an unreasonable crazy person. You’re not of course. But the next guest… they may be! It’s really for them!
And yes… I know, a lot of this stuff some will just call common sense… something increasingly rare these days! So I’ll try to keep it light and inject a little humour as we go along. Let’s continue on with our:
Part II of Crash Course on Being A Great Vacation Rental Guest
A Vacation Rental is Not a hotel! (Wha??? Really?) Yup! So don’t expect it to be like a hotel. It’s a completely different form of travel accommodations, and that may mean you need to adjust.
So here are some things to keep in mind about our properties:
1) You’re on your own. Our villas are self-catering. Here’s what that means…
2) Vacation rentals do not provide hotel-style personal amenities. Dealing with supplies: “What NO toilet paper?” (Worth TEN extra bonus points!)
3) Things will be different than in your own home, so expect to be lost in the kitchen.
4) You need to take care of normal home routines, such as Dealing with Trash
5) Expect a learning curve with electronics and appliances, because Home Electronics drive everyone crazy
6) BBQ’s are outdoor cooking appliances, which makes them naturally messy. Here’s some great advice if you rented the BBQ
7) People (or their kids) do weird things with Dishes and Utensils. We would appreciate it if you avoid these common mistakes.
8) Unless you’re an expert chef, please read about Care while Cooking. If nothing else, you can be entertained by the crazy things that happen in our kitchens!
9) Accidents happen, and we’re all human! (Well almost…) Here’s what to do in the event of Breakage.
10) Let’s talk about Villa Cleaning, the greatest challenge for vacation rental hosts, usually because we’re the most fussy about it. We want everything to be perfect for our guests, but most of all, both we and our guests simply want the villa to be clean! It is the number one factor for guest satisfaction.
The villa should be suitably clean and ready for your arrival. What if it’s not?
(Let us know! We’ll make sure it is. Lickety split!)
That’s most of the stuff to know about inside the villa. Now, let’s talk about the Amazing Florida Outdoors:
1) One of the toughest things to deal with in Florida are Landscaping, Grounds and Pool Decks because the environment is so hard on everything! Trust me, it’s way easier to keep things nice in other locations. We’re cleaning and maintaining the outside of the villa constantly. Here’s why. (Not important unless you’re bothered by dirt outside.)
2) Please don’t be mad at us for this! You would be shocked at how often we get blamed for The Weather!
3) Rather than shut down our pools and lock you out of them if it get’s too cold outside to swim, we heat them up as best we can. But some folks forget that Pool Heating has Limitations.
4) There is no article about this, and it isn’t ever a source of guest disappointment, but while thinking about the outdoors, it’s a good idea to read the information on Florida Creatures in the Online GuideBook and App. We want you to be safe outside, and Florida does have an assortment of nasty creatures that could potentially really ruin your day! So it’s good to be aware.
Well, if you’ve made it this far:
Congratulations! You’re an A-1 Certified Expert Vacation Rental Guest Ninja!
You can review many of the articles linked to above with this link here.
Vacation Rental Guest Ninja’s know that everything you get (or don’t, as the case may be) when staying in our properties is all part of the great value equation and degree of privacy that a quality vacation rental provides.
Guest Ninja’s remember to keep things in perspective, and are ready to ‘go with the flow’.
You’re on vacation! And in one of the truly great places on earth! Relax, and enjoy your time staying with us.
As our guest you are appreciated, and you are valued. We care about the quality of your experience with us. So don’t hesitate to let us know if we can help make anything better. And never be afraid to bother us.
Check out the blog posts on our website for some other great tips on making the best of your Orlando vacation.
Thanks for your understanding, and for choosing our home for your stay!
A question for you…
Did you actually read this thing this far? What do you think? Please send me an email and let me know! You can reach me at robert s at breezy oak villas dot com. Thanks!
One Last Thing…
Having passed the A-1 Certified Expert Vacation Rental Guest Ninja Course… don’t be THAT guest. That guest is the one that experiences something disappointing while at our property, but doesn’t let us know about it. And then complains about it after departing, or worse… in an online review. Good communication only happens in two directions. You’re expected to let us know of any issues, so we can address them immediately for you. And we will. We will always do everything we can to ensure you have an enjoyable stay with us… the best it can possibly be.
The other way to be THAT guest is to complain about the one thing that a vacation rental guest should never complain about. But you won’t do that!