Digital Guestbooks
In these times of automated telephone menus and outsourced call centres, the struggle to find a contact telephone number is real. Even if you locate one, the chances of actually getting through to a human being who is in a position to help you, or has the authority to make a decision are vanishingly small. It was therefore an absolute treat when I recently made contact with a company called Hostfully. Also, it was pretty cool.
So this blog is about guestbooks. The kind of thing you would see in a B&B, guesthouse, or hotel. Maybe a ring binder with some laminated sheets of information about the property and local area.
I haven’t got one.
In the past I have been quite resistant to the idea of making manual or digital guestbooks, just because I like to be there in person to greet my guests and show them around the properties. I love to see their reactions, the “Wow!” I hear when they come into the shepherd’s hut and when they first step into the master bedroom in the cottage. It’s a chance to get to know them a little, to explain how everything works, and to give general advice and recommendations,
People do like guestbooks
And I do like a bit of tech, so back in 2020 I researched and found an online digital guidebook, it was pretty cool. The host enters all the information into it under different categories, such as places to eat or useful telephone numbers, and the guests can access it via their phones. You couldn’t put a physical folder into accommodation at that time because of Covid, so a digital guide seemed ideal.
Then it got busy, really busy, the shepherd’s hut was booked solid. Changeovers were happening every two days, I don’t know how we did it, to be honest. It was crazy and fun and I forgot about a guest book. Instead, I recorded some pretty amateurish videos, which I sent to my guests before they arrived.
People like guestbooks!
It makes sense though to have a guestbook, what if I can’t be there to greet guests? What about the people who like to check everything out before they arrive? Some people want to look around, plan where they will shop, choose restaurants, and create an itinerary. Some like the planning so much that they use a spreadsheet! but that’s a story for another day.
How did I find Hostfully?
In one of those strange coincidences, I saw a few mentions online of a company called Hostfully. So I signed up and started creating the guestbook. As is often the case I received an email thanking me for signing up etc. The difference though was that the person sending the email was the co-founder of the company and, unusually, he was writing from his personal email address.
So I wrote back.
I told him about my business and the impact of the current economic climate in the UK. I should say that I signed up for the free version of the software, so can you imagine my surprise when the co-founder of this big American company wrote back to me?
He is also a host and sent a link to his property in San Francisco, which looked rather nice by the way. I replied to his reply and now we have a dialogue.
What am I getting at here?
Firstly, digital guestbooks are COOL. You can include videos and photos and links to local attractions. They can be instantly translated into several different languages. You can create your own bespoke categories for recommendations and of course, the starting point is to include everything a guest would need/like to know about your property.
So I’m in, but why choose Hostfully?
It will take a while to fully populate it because there are so many fantastic places to visit and things to do in North Wales. The great thing is though that much of this content about local attractions and places to eat can be shared into the shepherd’s hut digital guestbook, saving me from having to do the work twice.
People buy from People, it’s true! I have had first-class service from this company. Not just from David but from the support staff who are instantly available, and have answered every query I have had to date and I am keeping them busy!
Hostfully also has a property management platform. I’m a bit too small fry for that, but if you are interested, head over to their website: https://www.hostfully.com/. It’s a big thumbs up from me, helpful, accessible, and a great product. It’s a winning combination.
I’m off to make one for the Shepherd’s hut now. Take care until next time.