Dear YallaSa7el Host,

These are some helpful tips we gathered to help you maintain good hosting standards leading to earning great reviews for providing excellent and dependable hospitality.

 

Make sure your calendar is up to date:

Keeping your calendar and listing information updated increases the likelihood of receiving reservation requests you can accommodate.

• Update your calendar to reflect your availability so that you don’t receive reservation requests for dates when you’re unavailable.
• Adjust the checkout and check-in timing so that you can get the time needed for preparing your property to welcome your next guest.
• If you set a minimum night per stay, you’ll only receive requests for reservations that match your preferences.
• Uncertain dates of availability as well as far future dates should be blocked, and you can at any time make them available again when you feel confident that you will be able to host.

Maintain good and quick communication with your guests:

Every time a guest reaches out whether you have a reservation with them or not—responding quickly shows that you’re an attentive and considerate host.

• Respond to booking inquiries and reservation requests within 24 hours to maintain your response rate(How frequently and quickly you respond to reservation requests and booking inquiries is measured by response rate).
• If a traveller can’t comply with the House Rules you set, be sure to decline the reservation request promptly.
• If you confirm a reservation and something about your rental changes, tell your guest promptly.
• Let your guests know if you’ll be available for the check in or if they should plan on getting the key from a neighbour, security office or pick it up on the way to their accomodation.
• Make sure your guests know how to contact you if they have a travel delay or last-minute question

Make it a top priority to commit to reservations:

When you confirm you’ll host someone, they trust you to take care of their needs. An unexpected change in accommodations can be very disruptive for a planned vacation trip.

If the unexpected happens and you can’t avoid cancelling a confirmed booking, here are some things to keep in mind:

• As soon as you know that you have to cancel, let your guest know right away. This will give them as much time as possible to find new accommodations.
• Cancel the reservation on YallaSa7el to initiate the refund process. You may be subject to penalties—including financial penalties.
• If you know other hosts in your area, consider asking them if they can accommodate the guest’s trip and offer to make an introduction.
• When there is an extenuating circumstance or a safety concern, YallaSa7el may make an exception to host cancellation penalties.

 Be accurate in describing your property:

Clear expectations before a trip can contribute to a better experience for everyone. As a host, you can help travellers decide if your space is a good fit for their needs by providing detailed information about what your listing has to offer.

Your guests will have the opportunity to rate the accuracy of the information you provide. Creating a detailed profile and listing page will attract guests who match your hosting style and help you earn great ratings.

• Write detailed description about your property.
• Use as much photos as you can, use high quality photos and add accurate captions.
• Write all your House Rules clearly. If you don’t want them smoking in your listing, say so. If you are willing to host just families, make it clear. If you don’t allow pets, say it. Etc…
• Let guests know if they have to pay extra money to use the compound facilities as beach and pool or if they invite visitors to the compound.
• Be honest about unexpected factors that will impact your guests’ stay. If you don’t have reliable water pressure or expecting power cuts at that time of the year, say so.
• If your neighbours just started a noisy construction project, your guests deserve to know.
• List just the amenities you offer and are sure they are operational.
• Reasonably price your property. A very high price may lead to higher expectation of your rental, which can be easily disappointed if not reasonable. You have control over how you price your listing, but it’s important to set a price that balances expectations with what your listing has to offer.
• If you’re a first-time host, consider lowering your rate so that you can get your first few bookings and gain some reviews and ratings.

Cleanliness:

A clean and tidy listing will always look its best. Your guests can rate the cleanliness of your listing and the average of your ratings appears on your listing page.

It’s important to give yourself enough time to clean, particularly when you have back-to-back bookings.

• Clean all rooms your guests will use during their stay, especially the bathroom, kitchen and kitchen utilities.
• If you provide towels and sheets they should be very clean.
• You can charge a cleaning fee and use the extra money to pay for cleaning supplies or hire a professional cleaning service
• You should leave cleaning supplies in your space, so your guests can take care of spills and accidental messes on the spot.

 Stocking your vacation rental kitchen:

Many guests choose a vacation rental over a hotel for the purpose of preparing meals, so providing a well-stocked kitchen is key to guest satisfaction. Whether preparing a gourmet meal or just a quick on-the-go snack, opening the cupboard to find exactly what they need will let guests know you’ve put careful consideration into creating an excellent experience.

• Mismatched mugs and plates might be charming in a family beach house, but your guests may not want a reminder that they’re staying in someone else’s home. They want to open up the cabinets to neat rows of glasses and high quality, unchipped dishes.
• White dish sets are the common choice for hotels and restaurants, and work well for vacation rentals, too. They look clean, are easy to replace, and never go out of style.
• Souvenir mugs and novelty cups might remind you of some great memories, but the same can’t be said for the guest staying in your home. Mugs and glassware should be matching, as they would be in a restaurant.
• A good rule of thumb is to stock the kitchen with one and a half  dishes and glasses of the total number of  guests, up to the maximum occupancy of your home. Two dishes per guest is ideal though, so they won’t have to do dishes as often. This is particularly true for cups, which guests go through faster than other items.
• Include disposable things like paper towels, garbage bags, etc. It might seem like a long list, but trust us – this will help maintain your space clean as well as helping culinary-inclined guests in their  stay.
• Stocking your kitchen with essentials like salt, pepper and oil as well as tea, coffee and sugar can be appreciated from your guests.
• Don’t forget the main kitchen utilities like pans, sauce pans, pots, bowls, colander, teapot, coffee pot and cutlery for sure with some ladles and spatulas.

 Overall Experience:

Your guests will have the opportunity to rate their overall experience staying at your listing. The average of the overall experience ratings you receive will appear on your listing page. It also appears when a travellers search for a place to stay and see the listings that match their search criteria. So having a high overall rating is a great way to stand out in search results.

• Remember that many of your guests will be far from home, so try to anticipate what they’ll want, what they’ll find confusing, and how you can offer help and guidance.
• Personalize each guest’s experience to suit their travel needs and personality—small gestures can leave big, lasting impressions.
• Ask for feedback from your guests so they can help you find areas where you can improve. They can tell you face to face, or leave private feedback for you when they submit their ratings.

 Keep In Mind

• If you decline an excess number of reservation requests, your listing may be temporarily deactivated, because travellers looking for a place to stay can be discouraged when getting rejected.
• If you cancel a confirmed booking you can be subject to penalties; including financial penalties.
• If your response rate gets too low, your search placement may be impacted and you may face certain penalties, including having your listing temporarily deactivated. This ensures that travellers aren’t at risk of contacting you and being ignored.
• If you frequently receive low ratings on the accuracy of the information you provide, you may face penalties. This helps travellers to trust that the property they book is the property they will find when they arrive.
• If you consistently receive low cleanliness ratings, you may be subject to penalties. A clean space is something we expect.
• If you consistently receive low overall experience ratings, you may be subject to penalties. If your ratings continue to reflect that you’re struggling to meet guest expectations, your listing may be removed from the platform.