Creating a Full Sensory Experience for Your Vacation Rental Guests!

Hello hosts!

Take a moment to think about some of the most memorable places you’ve visited in your life. Perhaps you’re thinking of a hike you went on that ended with an amazing view… or maybe a luxurious hotel room you stayed at with a comfortable bed and great amenities. It could be that you’re thinking of that awesome restaurant you went to while on vacation or going to see one of your favourite bands of all time, live, in concert. Maybe just reading these suggestions conjured up some thoughts of great experiences you’ve had.

While, of course, the memories we hold are very personal, there is something in common among all these recollections: the most memorable experiences we had were thanks to our senses coming to life and leaving strong impressions in our mind. The five ‘main’ ways we experience the world – through sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell – are all pieces that we want to consider when building our vacation rentals and delivering a memorable experience to our guests.

So… what are some things we can do to get all the senses to come to life in our vacation rental? Let’s dive into the five senses a bit more and see how, exactly, we can elevate our guest’s experience and create a memorable product that they’ll want to keep coming back to.

Sight

When people are considering your vacation rental, the sense of sight is the first sense that your prospective guest is using with your vacation rental, since the overwhelming majority of your guests search vacation rentals on the Internet. Therefore, it is the most important sense to consider when building your Airbnb as it is the sense that has the most influence over the initial impression of your unit. 

First off, how do the pictures on your listing look? Are they a truly accurate representation of what’s on offer? If you are not using professional photos, you are most likely underselling yourself and not accurately showcasing your unit. You spent your hard-earned money on buying and furnishing your STR, and whether you think using your own photos is acceptable, I am sure that your neighbours, using professionally taken photos, are winning. This is not something you should cheap-out on.

Next, take a hard look at what’s on offer in your unit. How does it look in its current state? Does it match what the photos look like? To be clear, I don’t think you need to re-take your photos every time you make a minor cosmetic change, like changing your dining room chairs or adding a new piece of artwork. But if you haven’t taken professional photos in a few years and have made quite a few upgrades, it might be time to book another photoshoot.

Ensuring a clean stay, every time, keeps your guests happy. An unclean room is the number one complaint of guests and is the most easily avoidable issue if you take the time to ensure your cleaning is done to a high standard. 

Walls dinged up and need a paint job? Furniture starting to slump a little? Lacking attractants like wall art? Don’t fail to decorate your unit because you are afraid of theft! These are all visual pieces that add to the experience that your guest has when staying in your unit. 

Your guests expect the unit to look like the photos that they booked, and, increasingly, they are expecting an ‘experience’ rather than just a place to sleep. If you start thinking about your place more like an empty canvas for you to be creative, you will be able to charge higher rates with better quality products that look great. Your booking conversion rate will also increase which means more money in your pocket at the end of the day.

Hearing

Let’s turn the page a little bit to the sense of hearing. What do guests expect to hear when coming to stay in your vacation rental? This one might seem tricky, but it is a bit more straightforward than you might think.

Everyone has different sound tolerances. This seems to be especially true when it comes to sleep. Some people can sleep through anything. Others wake up at the sound of a pin drop. What does this mean for your vacation rental? 

First off, if you’re in a noisy location, even if you mention it in your listing, it makes sense to get products that will suppress outside noise. Products like white noise machines can go a long way for a low cost and are a nice touch in places where you might experience noisy neighbours or streets.

Other things you may want to consider when it comes to the sense of hearing are the stereo and sound system you carry in your unit. If you have a place made for entertaining, your guests will appreciate the extra thought you’ve put into having speakers that they can easily connect to and play music from with a high-quality sound. Have a big TV that’s great for watching movies or sporting events? Completing the set-up with a surround sound system will really boost your guest’s experience.

Smell

Smell might also feel like it’s a tough sense to touch upon in your unit, but this one is also straightforward. It’s not so much about adding a signature scent of some sort to your unit – after all, some people are allergic to strong scents, and you don’t want to activate some sort of reaction. 

The sense of smell is important because it can help reinforce so many other pieces of their experience. When you walk into a freshly cleaned room, you can smell it in the air. The smell helps reinforce that the place has been properly sanitized. Conversely, you want to avoid using too strong of a chemical smell. We’ve all been somewhere where the cleaning product was just a little too strong, and that smell gets stuck in your nose. Something like a quick Febreze of your Airbnb prior to your guests arriving can help support your guests believing that your unit is clean and properly sanitized. 

Did your previous guest leave a strong scent of food in the air? Certain foods, like curries, are notoriously difficult to remove the odour from the air in a short amount of time. In these cases, having stronger neutralizers is an important step to take, along with opening the windows & quickly airing out the unit.

Touch

When it comes to the sense of touch in a vacation rental, I think of comfort & luxury. How is the current state of your linens and towels? If they’re starting to age, are getting firm, or have lost their quality, it’s probably time to repurchase them. Linen and towel replacement is very common in hospitality environments and you should budget to do this semi-regularly. Upgrading your unit with luxurious bathrobes and slippers is another great way to hit on the sense of touch with your guests.

Another need for your guests when it comes to this sense is temperature and pressure. How is the shower pressure and overall quality of your showerhead? Is the water reliably hot? What about the heating & cooling system in your unit? I know of an owner who keeps the heat off until guests have arrived – even in winter – just to save a few dollars on their heating. But this is overall poor hospitality! It sets a bad first impression and it takes time to get the unit to temperature. Fair enough if your unit is not booked for a few days – turn off or lower the temperature – but if you are thinking about all of the five primary senses, ensuring a warm temperature is definitely something you want to think about.

You also want to think about the quality of the furniture you put into the unit as it plays straight into the sense of touch. Luxurious, high-quality fabric has a completely different feel to the cheap stuff. Do not cheap out and go with IKEA-quality furniture. You’re asking for it to eventually be broken. Go with quality products that will deal with the wear-and-tear that you will undoubtedly face. A little secret: guests won’t treat your furniture with the same respect that you expect them to. It’s part of the business. Get something that will be able to withstand it.

Taste

Lastly, a little note about taste. I am a big fan of welcome gifts, especially for guests who are staying for a long term stay or have booked at a very high price. People differ on what an appropriate welcome gift is, and if you are leaning into the sense of taste, food might be the right option for you. Here are a few guidelines I would recommend for the sense of taste:

1. If your unit has a kitchen, you should stock essentials like salt, pepper, and olive oil free of charge. A selection of spices is a nice addition, but not required.

2. Do not leave leftover consumable items that expire in your fridge for guests. Throw them out. It detracts from the cleanliness.

3. If you do a welcome gift, avoid items that have tree nuts & peanuts at all costs! 

4. A welcome gift does not need to be alcoholic. In my opinion, something from the local area that showcases the cuisine or a really good spot nearby is a fantastic way to add some connection to the area and make the guest feel welcome. A bottle of wine is fine, but it’s also been done a million times before. Really think about what will set you apart and create something memorable.

5. If you have a kitchen, don’t cheap out on appliances, smallwares, or crockery. Make sure there is enough for your guests to cook, serve, and enjoy the meals that they need.

Final Thoughts

When you’re thinking of upgrading your guest’s experience, thinking about the five senses is an excellent place to start. Go from there, create a list of your current state, and come up with some ideas on how to improve from there. 

If you are always thinking of ways to improve your STR, you can be sure that you’ll stay a step ahead of your competition! As always, happy hosting, and thanks for reading.