All products, services, or links mentioned on my website are for products and services that I have personally used and/or recommend. Some of the links are affiliate links. This means if you click on an affiliate link and purchase an item, I may receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
Would you spend 75 cents and 2 minutes of your time for a repeat booking? I sure would!
That’s about how much it costs and how long it takes to send a thank you card. Remember those? The old-fashioned kind that you get in your mailbox (that metal thing outside where your bills show up)? Gosh, how long has it been since you’ve received one?
Guests appreciate being appreciated.
When guests feel appreciated, they are more likely to remember you. And the next time they return to your area for a vacation, it’s very likely they will book with you.
Fact: It’s cheaper to retain a guest than to acquire a new one!
So, sending a thank you card is a simple way to show your appreciation to your guest.
To the naysayers: Yes, it’s true – not all destinations are known for repeat bookings. This guest may never have any intentions of returning to your destination area. However, they may tell their friends about what a pleasant experience they had with you. Then, maybe the friend will book your property.
Now that I’ve twisted your arm, let’s step it up a notch. Before you break out an ink pen and buy some cheap Thank You cards at the Dollar Store, think about branding.
Consider having some custom designed cards made through Vistaprint or some other online design/print service. Your logo would take your thank you cards to the next level of professional. Afterall, this is a vacation rental BUSINESS, right?
Vistaprint has been my choice for printed marketing materials for years.
Here’s why I’ve stuck with them for all my printed marketing materials:
Take a look on their website and see how easy it is to customize your marketing products. Choose a design, upload your logo, add some personalized text and wa-lah, done!
After you have completed designing your customized card, Vistaprint provides an on-screen version of how it will look when printed. This is a nice feature to look over your design and decide if it meets your approval prior to purchasing.
Customize your Thank You cards on Vistaprint’s super-easy to use online product designer.
Make it clear that you are thanking your guest for their stay. “Thank You” should be front and center.
Leave space to write a personal note. Use the guest’s name and mention anything special you recall from conversations about their trip.
At a minimum, include your vacation rental business/property name and the website as part of the pre-printed card. I also include our social media accounts, phone number and email address, but that’s certainly optional.
The back side of the card is a nice place to add a photo and a summary about yourself. Or you may wish to include your vacation rental business information on the back side of the card, instead.
I have had different versions of our cards, but these are the ones I am currently using.
Our vacation rentals are in the Smoky Mountains, so Vistaprint’s design, with the bear and trees, is perfect.
I customized the background and used one of my photos of the mountains (taken at Clingmans Dome, Great Smoky Mountains National Park) and I added our logo for Asbury Cottage(s). (Read my post about how this name was a mistake.)
The back side is a little hard to read on the image of the card, so I’m including the text below. Use it as inspiration for writing your “About the Owner” summary.
We are honored you chose our Asbury Cottage vacation home for your stay. We have vacationed in Pigeon Forge for years and we know you love the area as much as we do. Our home is in West Virginia, but we leave pieces of our hearts in Tennessee every time we visit.
We enjoy the adventure of riding the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Smoky Mountains on our Goldwing trike every summer. We love to camp, kayak, and go to bluegrass festivals and car shows. Ernie has built several classic cars and street rods throughout the years. We have three children and two grandchildren and we both work for a large healthcare organization. We would love to hear from you!
We hope you’ll keep us in mind for your next Smoky Mountain vacation and will share our contact information with your friends and family.
Now it’s your turn to design the perfect card to send to your special guests. They will certainly appreciate the added touch.
Once you have your card designed, send me a copy. Email it or message me through social media. I’d love to see what kind of card you designed!
OH! And don’t forget to use Ebates for your Vistaprint purchase! You’ll get some cash back.
You don’t want to miss any of my weekly vacation rental management and marketing tips! You’ll also get my FREE Download – 9 Steps to Preparing Your Vacation Rental Business to #BookDirect!
Would you like to take Direct Bookings for your vacation rental, but you don’t know where to start? Evaluate where you are and what steps you need to take to gain back control of your vacation rental business. It’s not as hard as you might think.
Learn what Trendy Hospitality is all about. And learn more about me and why I have such a passion for vacation rental management and marketing.
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All products, services or links mentioned on my website are for products and services that I have personally used. Some of the links are affiliate links. This means if you click on an affiliate link and purchase an item, I may receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
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