Quality control of holiday rentals: most important aspects to check
Realise how important control is in your holiday home
December 2024
When you’re a holiday rental landlord, it’s important to keep quality up. Each new guest can only make one first impression, so your property should be consistently good for every new arrival. Here are the most critical things to look out for to ensure a great guest experience — and to keep those customers coming back.
Cleanliness
Let’s start with the big one. Cleanliness should always be at the top of your checklist for seasonal rental quality control because it’s absolutely a make-or-break factor. When guests rent holiday flats, they expect to see a clean, tidy property. If they don’t get that, they’ll be disappointed at best and truly disgusted at worst. Have a look at bad reviews online from guests at different holiday rentals — you’ll see that poor cleanliness almost always features.
Luckily, cleanliness is also one of the easiest things to take care of. Hiring a professional is a perfect idea. Not only will it save you time, but it will also mean that you can be confident that the property is cleaned well. If you’ve just hired a new cleaner, then it’s wise to check manually a few times to be sure that they’re meeting your standards.
General maintenance
It’s really important to pay attention to the maintenance of seasonal rentals. A well-maintained property means that your guests can stay in comfort. Every so often, take a walkthrough of your property, checking for maintenance issues. You want to be sure that everything works. The fridge door must seal properly, the sinks mustn’t leak, and the doors mustn’t be too stiff.
For better quality control, inspect your property’s maintenance a few times a year during different seasons. In winter, doors may swell and stick. In summer, you’ll want to test that the aircon works properly. As a landlord, you need to know that your rental remains in good, consistent condition, no matter what the weather is like.
Physical appearance, inside and out
Wear and tear is a common issue in a quality seasonal rental. Stay on top of things by checking regularly to see that your property still looks good. On the inside, that includes things like the paint on the walls and the state of the soft furnishings. On the outside, check that the garden is neat and well-maintained.
As well as making sure things are in good condition, check that your decor is suitable. Fashions change over time, and guests may be unimpressed by tired, dated-looking paint and furnishings. Even if something hasn’t physically worn out yet, it may still need to be changed.
Customer service
You may deal with all customer interactions yourself, or you might delegate and let someone else manage your seasonal rentals for you. Either way, you want to be sure that your guests have a positive customer service experience when they rent your house for holidays.
Anyone who comes into contact with your guests should be polite and helpful. Good customer service can paper over cracks in your property, but bad customer service is unforgivable and will leave a bitter taste in your guests’ mouths. Think about everyone your guests may come into contact with —you, your manager, your cleaning, and maintenance staff, a driver who collects them from the airport, a tour guide you recommended— and ensure that customer service is good across the board.
Quality of services
You may offer a number of extras to guests who rent your holiday flat. These services could be included in the price, or they might be upselling or cross-selling deals. Think about airport transfers, breakfast and other meals or snacks, guided tours and activities, sports equipment rentals, and so on.
If you’re charging extra for these services, then you need to be absolutely sure they meet your standards for quality control in seasonal rentals. Guests will be annoyed at paying a premium for breakfast only to receive sliced supermarket bread and cheap margarine. Sports equipment should be safe and of a high standard, and any experiences you offer should also be high quality.
Your online presence
There are a few things to consider here. Firstly, what is your holiday rental website like? Is it modern or dated? Is it user-friendly? Do you provide all the information guests need? Is your online presence professional —good branding, no spelling mistakes, and so on?
Secondly, look at the way you advertise your holiday home. Check that the photos you use accurately reflect what guests will see. Deceptive photos are a major reason for negative reviews —and in the worst-case scenario, they could go viral as people compare expectations with reality.
Finally, make sure that your online presence is consistent across your own website, social media and all the holiday rental portals you use. It’s easier to maintain high standards if you have a single, clearly defined vision.
How to improve seasonal rental quality control
The easiest way to carry out ongoing quality control is by asking for guest feedback. This could be a paper form that you leave in the rental for guests to complete, or it could be a QR code that will guide them to an online survey. In the latter case, your QR code should lead to a private website where guests can complete a feedback form. It should not head straight to a review page.
You can also ask guests face to face for their opinions. This will require some tact, but it’s a good way to develop efficient management of holiday rentals. There are two things to keep in mind here: firstly, some guests will feel uncomfortable discussing problems with you and may tell white lies. On the other hand, there are guests who will relish the chance to air their views. It’s essential that you remain calm and non-confrontational. Be prepared for guests to criticise things, even things you’re very proud of. Stay polite and professional throughout, or you risk giving them another thing to complain about!
Finally, check things for yourself. Don’t wait for guests to tell you about a concern —be proactive. Regularly check the standards of the cleaning, maintenance and decor, especially during high season. Consider using a smart lock, which allows you to see how long your cleaner spends taking care of your property.
Quality control is one of the most important factors to ongoing success in a holiday rental. If you can stay on top of it, your business should go from strength to strength. However, if you take your eye off the ball, you risk bad reviews and fewer bookings.