Impressing Vacation Rental Guests with the Fragrance of Welcome

The Vacation Rental Guest is a unique guest seeking privacy, space, and a kitchen. These are their initial motivations for choosing to book a vacation rental over hotels, resorts, or staying with friends and family.

To stop complaints before they start, it is critical to make your guest’s arrival a positive experience. Three fragrances to make a great first impression the second your guest enters your vacation home are as follows: 

1. The Fragrance of Clean. What does you vacation rental smell like prior to you guests arrival? What does “clean” smell like? Does it smell of bleach, pine sol, or Murphy soap?  Some people are allergic to bleach, and Pine Sol can be overwhelming, while Murphy Soap has a bit of a chemical smell. These smells are preferable to the lingering smells of the prior guests-- whether they are cooking smells, lotions and potions, or unpleasant pet odors. Use an ionizer to kill strong lingering smells such as smoke (even though non-smoking); and use dryer (anti-static cling) sheets to neutralize orders in cloth furniture and drapes. The least offensive, most pleasant smell for cleaning floors is Red Fabuloso. It smells clean and fresh without a strong chemical smell, and emits a soft welcoming fragrance.
2. The Fragrance of Hospitality. Before your guests arrive, and after all the cleaning is done, spray rose water in every room. This is a light, fresh, floral smell that has a universal recognition, and is least offensive to everyone. Additionally, buy Atomizers, or other air fresheners with a Rose fragrance scent and freshen the air. Avoid plug-ins; they can be a fire hazard.
3. The Fragrance of the First Impression. The vacation rental has an “organic feel” to guests. But like stone-washed jeans or one of kind handmade items, there are variations in the product or service. Vacation Rentals are not “one size fits all” and subject to a wide array of standards. Hotels overcome guests differing standards by creating a cohesive, predictable, toned down corporate look. What was initially appealing can turn into a source of negativity for guests traveling out of their comfort zone. Fresh, cut flowers to be seen when the guest enters the home, can go a long way to prevent a string of fearful judgments. Cut flowers purchased at the local grocery store, and can sooth anxiousness about the “ensuing unknowns” of a Vacation Rental Home.  

Lastly, have your cleaning people turn on some soft music. If the home is a private B & B style, classical music will fit the bill, if it’s a CONDO, a little soft jazz will do the trick, or if it’s a cabin try a little easy listening country. Using music to enhance the mood of the home will set the first impression as positive. With all these tips and tricks added together; if a spider happens to build a web in the corner of the living room right before your guests arrival, you won’t get that dreaded phone call saying that “this house is defective”!