What is a thank you note – and why should you send one?

A thank you note for vacation rental guests is a simple, quick way of showing your appreciation to your guests for their stay. These digital thank you notes are short email templates that can be customized to each guest.

Thank you notes are used to close the loop on the guest communication journey and kick off the post-stay marketing cycle. They also let guests know that you value them as customers, and include prompts to leave reviews to help you drive future bookings. After all, few people want to book a vacation rental property with only one or two reviews!

Plus, you’ll also gain feedback on what you do well as a vacation rental property manager and which aspects of the property and communication process could be improved, which ultimately helps you enhance all future guest experiences.

When should you send a thank you note to your vacation rentals guests?

Thank you notes are a form of post-stay communication, but exactly when you send them depends on each guest. Timing matters—and this level of personalization helps enhance the impact of “thank you for renting with us” letters.

For instance, throughout the rest of your guest communication cycle, you’ll likely learn a lot of other information about each guest, such as where they’re from, and if they have any further traveling plans once they leave your property.

So, if you know that they’ve got a long journey ahead of them and are unlikely to have the time to respond to the prompts in your thank you note, schedule the thank you note to be sent at the optimum time. You can do this, as well as send up a follow-up reminder using RueBaRue’s automated message scheduler.

Thank you notes should be the next thing you send after guests receive the check-out list for vacation rentals on the morning of departure. As a rule of thumb, and if you don’t know any more details about your guest’s post-departure plans, the day after checkout is a great time to send thank you notes since their stay is still fresh in their minds.

What should a thank you for renting with us letter contain?

Thank you notes for vacation rental guests are meant to be brief, to-the-point emails. Here’s what you should include in your own thank you note:

• A personalized message: Refer back to previous communication you’ve had with your guests (emails and guest SMS messages) to help customize the thank you note. Did they enjoy the restaurant, trip, or activity you recommended? Did their dog enjoy the getaway, too?
• A request for the guest to leave a review: A key function of the thank you note is to encourage guests to leave a review of your property to entice further guests to hit the “book now” button.
• Details of any discounts or offers: Tempt guests to make a return booking by offering discounts or special deals.
• A request for direct feedback: Ask guests to provide you with feedback directly. If they had any issues or ideas for improvement, this gives you the chance to remedy and/or apologize for the problem. This way, guests are likely to reflect on your cooperation and attempt to fix things in their reviews.

How to write, schedule, and send a thank you note

With RueBaRue, writing, scheduling, and sending a thank you note to vacation rental guests couldn’t be easier.

RueBaRue offers a variety of vacation rental email templates to help vacation property managers automate guest communication. Creating and scheduling vacation guest thank you notes is simple:

• Log in to your RueBaRue account
• Hover over Automate at the top of the page
• In the drop-down menu, click on Message Templates
• Tap on the red +Add A Message Template button
• You’ll see the built-in template and the options to add a template name, subject, folder, and message (this will be the body of the thank you note)
• Click Save to save the thank you note template

Example of RueBaRue thank you note for vacation rental guests template.

Credit: RueBaRue.com

To request reviews and guest feedback, you can also create a RueBaRue survey and add a link to the survey within the thank you note. You can also ask guests to leave a Facebook or Google review to help increase direct bookings.

And, to add that extra level of personalization we talked about, you can use RueBaRue’s Macros to easily add guest names and other information to let guests know that this isn’t just another faceless marketing email!

Example of RueBaRue thank you note for vacation rental guests template with macros for personalization.

Credit: RueBaRue.com

Vacation rental thank you note template

If you’re not sure how to write a thank you note, we’ve made it even easier for you to hit the ground running. Below is our thank you note template that you can copy and paste, and fill in with information relevant to your guests:

Template name: [Post-check-out thank you note]

Subject line: [Include guest name, “thank you”, and the name of the property, e.g. “Graham, thank you for staying at Pine Lodge!”]

Message/Body: [Here’s where you put to use everything you’ve learned so far in this guide. While you’ll want to personalize each thank you note, the template should have the basics:

1. Greeting (“Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!”)
2. Thank you for staying at the property (and be sure to use your property’s name)
3. Hope they enjoyed their stay (“Hope you had a wonderful time!”)
4. Request for feedback
5. Request for a review
6. Details of any discounts or offers
7. Another thank you, and a farewell message]

Don’t skip the post-stay communication opportunities: Get started with thank you notes for vacation rental guests today

Thank-you notes for vacation rental guests are a great way to initiate post-stay communication.

With RueBaRue’s automated message scheduling feature and editable templates, thank you notes are easy to create and quick to send. For property managers who want to keep delighting guests even after they leave while also bolstering their chances of getting better reviews and more bookings, thank you notes are the perfect send-off with a great payoff.

Frequently asked questions about thank you notes for vacation rental guests

How can you make your thank you note memorable/unique?

Thank you notes shouldn’t be just another marketing gimmick. Looking at previous guest communication is a great way of asking guests whether they liked a certain cafe you recommended, or asking them how their trip back to their specific hometown was. Guests will remember the effort you went to send them personalized communication.

What are the benefits of digital thank you notes for vacation rental guests?

Digital thank you notes are personal touches that are also a great way to make the review and feedback process easier for guests by sending them a simple, warm, and personalized reminder. They’ll also be reminded of the wonderful memories made at your property, and be able to reflect on the little things that contributed to such an amazing time. Since the note is so personalized, they’ll also feel like you’re truly sending your best regards!

How much time does it take to send a thank you for renting with us letter?

Writing and sending thank you for renting with us letters doesn’t need to be an arduous process. With RueBaRue’s automated message scheduling feature and editable templates, you have all you need at your fingerprints to quickly send the perfect thank you note every time.