Vacation Rental Check-Out Messages that Boost Guest Reviews
Check-out messages can help you get great reviews from guests.
As a vacation rental host, getting great reviews from guests is the holy grail. They build trust, show off your hospitality, increase future bookings, and give guests a chance to leave constructive feedback.
But few have the time or patience to manually message every guest every time they check out. How do you even know what messages to send so guests leave when they’re supposed to, and actually write a good review? And how can you time messages exactly right without sounding pushy?
Plus, did you know that there are actually two kinds of check-out message (the check-out, and the post-check-out)?
If it’s all sounding a little stressful, we get it. That’s why in this post we’ve explained:
- The difference between check-out and post-check-out messages
- How to write check-out and post-check-out messages that get great reviews
- Ways to automate the whole process so you save time, effort, and stress
We’ve even given you templates and examples so you know exactly what to write and when.
Let’s dive in.
Check-out messages and post-check-out messages: What’s the difference?
As a host, you’ll likely get a better review response rate (and more responsive guests in general) if you send both check-out messages and post-check out messages.
Check-out message
- When: Sent just before guests are expected to check out and leave, e.g. the evening before
- What: Check-out instruction reminders, and a request to let you know once they’ve left
Post-check-out message
- When: Sent soon after guests have left, e.g. 30-60 mins after the check-out time
- What: A friendly thank you for their stay, and a request or reminder to leave a review
The messages build on each other to reiterate the important details, and increase the chance of guests leaving a review due to the repeated reminder (guests are busy when they leave, remember).
Sending a few strategically-timed messages—including a friendly thank you—also builds rapport with the guest and ends their stay on a warm, high note.
Leaving well-timed check-out messages can end guests’ stay on a high note
Credit: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels
Check-out messages
The main point of sending check-out messages is to ensure that guests:
- Leave on time
- Know what to do to check out properly
- Have a chance to ask any last-minute questions or offer constructive feedback
- Know to send you a message when they have left
- Finish their stay with a positive view of your rental (to boost the chance of a good review later)
Late check-outs can be an operational nightmare, so you need to know when guests have left so you can confirm that the cleaning and changeover can begin.
That’s why your check-out message should be friendly, and include:
- A check-out reminder, including the latest check-out time
- Instructions for check-out, such as to leave the key in the lockbox or whether to take out the trash
- An invitation for guests to ask questions or offer feedback
- A request that guests send you a message after they leave to confirm
Using templates (pre-written, saved messages, such as those below) and sending the same message to each guest can save you hours compared to manually typing it all out.
Plus, you can still personalize each one by using a guest communication tool such as RueBaRue, which uses “macros” to automatically add details such as the guest’s name and property title.
Here are some template examples you can use to craft the perfect check-out message.
Check-out time reminder template
Hi [guest name], we hope you’ve enjoyed your stay at [property name]! Just a friendly reminder that our latest check-out time is [check-out date and time]. Please ensure you have left the property by then so our housekeepers can gain access and get started without delay.
Check-out instructions template
We kindly ask that you [insert instructions here, such as: Leave the keys where you found them, place trash in a black bag and leave outside the front door, wash up any dishes, etc]. We really appreciate it.
Ask for check-out confirmation template
If you could let us know when you have left [insert instructions here, such as: Sending us a quick text when you have vacated the property], that would be extremely helpful too.
Check if there are any questions or concerns template
If you have any questions or concerns, or any feedback you would like to give us (such as anything you particularly enjoyed, or things that would have improved your stay), we’d be happy to help.
Please [instructions here, such as: Drop us a text now and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible]. Thank you so much for staying with us, it has been a pleasure to host you! We hope to welcome you again on your next trip to [location]. Safe onward journey, [Host name].
Sending great check-out messages gives you chance to wish guests a good journey and ask for any feedback
Credit: Oleksandr Pidvalnyi / Pexels
Post-check-out messages
Once you’ve sent the check-out message above, the next step is to send a post-check-out message. This is when you send that all-important review request.
Sending a single, well-timed follow-up message like this isn’t annoying. It looks professional, shows you care, and gives guests another chance to leave feedback.
The main goals here are to:
- Remind guests to confirm they have checked out
- Thank them warmly for their stay and leave a good impression
- Ask guests to leave a review now (and even include a link to the review page if applicable)
Here are some template examples you can use to craft the perfect post-check-out message. Again, we recommend tailoring each template below to your needs, and then putting them together to make one complete check-out message.
Get check-out confirmation template
Hi [guest name], we hope you enjoyed your stay at [property name]. Just a friendly reminder (if you haven’t already done so) to please let us know that you have checked out, so our housekeeping staff can get started without delay.
Thank them for their stay template
We also just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you again for your stay. We know how much choice there is, and we’re so grateful that you chose to stay with us.
Leave a kind note template
[Optional: Add a kind note here about how much you love hosting guests and an invitation for comments or questions, to leave a good impression and prompt them to leave a good review. For example:
This city is our home, and we love hosting guests here. We hope that you enjoyed it just as much as we do. If there’s anything we can do to assist with your onward journey, or any feedback you’d like to leave us, we’d be very happy to help. Just [insert instructions here, such as: Text us] and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Ask for a review template
We’d also be so grateful if you could take a few moments to leave us a review. Reviews help our business to grow and share our property with more guests just like you.
You can leave a review here [insert link to the platform they booked with, or the website where you’d like them to leave their review].
Thank you so much and have a great onward journey. We look forward to welcoming you again if and when you come back to [your city/area].
You can ask guests to leave reviews and send them the exact link you want them to use
Credit: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels
9 easy steps to send automated messages, save time, and still get great reviews
Even the best message won’t get you great reviews if it’s not sent at the right time.
But no host wants to be attached to their phone, waiting for their guest to leave so they can finally hit “send” at the exact right moment.
Not only is this time-consuming, stressful, and completely impractical (especially if you’re in a different time zone to your rentals), it also opens you up to human error and problems such as forgetting to send, not sending at the right time, and guests not receiving the message until too late.
The more problems there are at check-out, the less likely guests are to leave a good review, and not sending a post-check-out message at the right time may even mean they fail to leave a review at all.
That’s why we recommend automating your check-out and post-check-out messages so they’re sent automatically at the exact right time, using a dedicated tool such as RueBaRue.
Setting up your messages in the platform is super-easy (just copy and paste into the message box), and then set up when you want them to be sent with every new guest stay.
Here’s the step-by-step guide.
1. Go to Automate on the top menu, and click Message Templates
2. Click “+ADD A MESSAGE TEMPLATE”
3. Write your message (or copy and paste ours above)
Enter your Template Name (for your own use, the guest won’t see this) and then write the Subject (your guest will see this). We recommend something amenable and short such as “Friendly reminder: Check-out is tomorrow”.
4. Insert Macros (personalization)
Hit the View Macros link above the text box to bring up personalization options at the right.
Click on the macros you want to use to copy them (such as [First Name]), and paste into the correct place in your message. This will mean that each time the message is sent to a guest, it will automatically fill in that text with their name.
5. Put your message in the Scheduler folder.
Select Scheduler in the drop-down under “folder” to save it there so you can automate (schedule) it later.
6. Click SAVE.
This will take you back to the list of your messages, with the message you just wrote at the top.
7. Go to Automate on the top menu, and click Scheduler
8. Hit +SCHEDULE A MESSAGE and select the correct Template
Select the message you want to schedule. In this case, it will be the Check-Out Message or Post-Check-Out Message you just created as a Template.
9. Choose your settings
You can configure the scheduled message as you wish here, including whether to send by SMS ( text messaging ) or email, and when to send.
We recommend selecting the following for your settings:
- Check-out message: 1 Day, Before, Check Out - at a time guests will be most likely to see it
- Post-check-out message: Day Of, Check Out - 30 to 60 minutes after final check-out time
You can also choose whether to include the messages for last-minute bookings or not.
10. Hit SAVE. You’re now done!
You can repeat the same steps for both messages, and then will be scheduled to automatically send to your guests at the exact right time, depending on their stay.
Writing check-out messages that get reviews: The bottom line
Ultimately, check-out and post-check-out messages not only make running your rentals much easier (because guests will leave on time!), they’ll also increase the chance that guests will leave a review.
They’ll also give guests a lasting positive impression, which boosts the chance that their review will be a positive one.
Automating messages is the final step in sending guest messages that get reviews, because they can be sent promptly at the exact right time, with all the crucial information already included.
Using tools such as RueBaRue makes this a breeze, and features such as its easy-to-insert macros mean you can even tailor messages to each guest, making them feel even more personal and more likely to get those positive reviews you deserve.
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