Expectations are everything

Have you ever seen a movie after just about everyone you know has repeatedly told you how great it is? And it turns out to not be so great? And have you ever seen a different movie where people told you it wasn’t very good, but you enjoyed it much more than you expected to? Often the movie is not the controlling factor in your reaction. It is how the movie meets your expectations for it.

Vacation Rentals can be a lot like that.

The vast majority of our guests love our homes and our service. And they have a great time staying with us. And they write glowing online reviews and testimonials that others read and think “Wow, this must be a great place to stay!”

But every once in a while, a guest comes along, who just isn’t that happy after experiencing the exact same thing!

Sure, as with everything, things can sometimes go wrong, and something unexpected can affect a guest’s stay with us, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. If that happens and the guest lets us know we go far above the norm to make it right and take care of the situation as fast as possible. We really do try to take great care of our guests, and our testimonials attest to this too. Something going wrong is actually an opportunity for us to show off how great we take care of problems! And we do!

So why are some guests left unhappy by the same experience that pleases almost all of the rest of them?

Many of our guests have saved for a very long time, and waited for a very long time for a trip to Orlando and its many special attractions. And many have searched long and hard, and looked at lots of possibilities before selecting our vacation rental property as their chosen accommodation. We’re honoured to be their choice!

But the waiting and anticipation and excitement can sometimes build up such high expectations for such a trip that the real thing actually becomes a disappointment!

For example, Walt Disney World parks are renowned for being the absolute best of their kind, anywhere – and yet people can go and have a perfectly miserable time if they expect it to be inexpensive, haven’t worn the right kind of clothes or shoes, don’t like waiting in lines and are there during the busiest time of the year… or don’t even like Disney movies and entertainment! (Yes… yes… I know… but there ARE some folks out there who feel this way!)

With such high expectations, once the real thing arrives it is not uncommon for a sense of disappointment or dashed expectations to creep into a holiday.

This can happen particularly at the beginning when people are often tired from travelling, airports, crowds and long flights.

This is precisely when they arrive at the villa for the first time!

How you are feeling is closely tied to, and can greatly affect, your expectations upon arrival! You’ll probably feel a lot different after three or four days, but first impressions are hard to get over!

There is another factor that makes it really hard for guests to deal with initial disappointment if that’s what they experience on arrival. I explain what it is here.