Artificial intelligence is the buzz phrase of 2024. With the introduction of ChatGPT, AI is now part of the mainstream consumer knowledge, and it seems that everywhere you look, a different industry is looking to capitalise on Artificial Intelligence.
That’s also true within the hospitality industry and our own short-term rental business.
Whilst AI can be used as a fantastic tool, it’s a long way from being fully automatic. It still needs a human touch to provide expert hospitality, 100% of the time. That’s why City Superhost uses AI to complement years of hosting experience to provide guests, homeowners and contractors with the best possible experience.
For a property manager, communication between guests, staff, cleaners, and maintenance is one of, if not the most important aspect of successful hosting. It is important to get it right 100% of the time, and to achieve that, a property manager or homeowner still needs the expert hospitality skills of City Superhost.
Guest communication covers a wide range of tasks within a short-term rental business, and the use of AI alone falls short in all aspects:
Sales and Bookings
Property owners need to maximise their returns and with them being the point of contact for potential guests, communication plays a key role in this. Every enquiry is a chance to make or lose a sale. Answering correctly can secure a lucrative booking.
Where AI falls short:
- Negotiating a price
- Extending a stay with the correct pricing
- Searching for and recommending other suitable properties
- Taking bookings direct, to avoid OTA fees.
With a human touch, additional revenue streams such as late check out fees can be effectively managed by coordinating with the cleaning team and taking payment. City Superhost can also use our hospitality experience to know when to offer complimentary late check out.
Guest Vetting
A property owner's biggest fear is not knowing who will be staying in their home. Will they look after it? Will they respect their neighbours? A strict guest vetting process needs to be in place to ensure no unwanted guests can stay.
Where AI falls short:
- Unable to assess each booking that comes in to ensure they meet your criteria
- Unable to pre-approve or decline inquiries based on an individual property requirement
- Unable to read check in forms or special requests
- Unable to read an ID to ensure the guest is old enough to stay at the property
- Unable to assess last minute reservations for risk
Maintenance Coordinator
Maintaining a property to the highest standard is key to consistent guest experiences. When items fail, there is often a time pressure to fix the issue immediately. This is why quick and effective communication with owners or contractors is imperative.
Where AI falls short:
- Unable to correctly distinguish actual maintenance issues and distribute the jobs to a varied list of contractors
- Unable to make guests aware of on-going issues
- Unable to ensure jobs are completed to a professional standard
Guest Support and Emergency Handling
It is very likely your guest is visiting your property for the first time, and there’s also a high possibility it's their first time in your neighbourhood or even the listing’s country. For this reason, City Superhost is available to assist guests 24/7.
Even better than responding to queries is to make it easy for the guests to find the information themselves. This is why we provide all our guests with digital guidebooks to cover all our frequently asked questions. This can include:
- Wi-Fi Details (a number one asked for item – we recommend putting the details in a picture frame and placing in a prominent position)
- Check in and out times
- Late check out charges
- Check out instructions
- Directions to major attractions in the area
- Recommendations on where to eat, drink, and things to do
- Parking
- House rules
- Luggage storage
- How to book again with us directly
- How to review us
- How the heating, hot water, sofa bed, cooker, washing machine etc all work
We go the extra mile and create how-to videos for each item in the house, so guests can easily get to know our properties.
Where AI falls short:
- When basic help does not fix the issue, AI will come unstuck, and offering bad advice will only exacerbate the situation.
- Many situations are better managed over the phone to offer a genuine apology. On other occasions, a problem can best be resolved with a WhatsApp video call.
Review Management
Great reviews bring great guests, who are willing to pay more and book more frequently. Frustratingly, guests who have had a 5-star experience are far less likely to leave any review than guests who’ve had a negative experience.
That is why it’s important to chase reviews from guests who’ve had a smooth stay and cancel any review reminders from guests who’ve had issues. Even better than that, City Superhost is initiative-taking in offering complimentary late check out as well as giving guests an opportunity to discuss their issues and apply a refund if necessary.
AI falls short in this expert level of hospitality!
Why Choose City Superhost?
City Superhost, with our decade of hosting experience, is your trusted partner to combine the usefulness of AI with the hospitality & hosting experience of our expert team.
Here, you can see our consistent and excellent level of communication. The data spans a whole year, and covers 7,284 nights booked:
In fact, we provide consistent 5 star experiences across all aspects of hosting!
24/7 Guest Support & Communication
City Superhost can handle all aspects of your guest communication for a fixed monthly fee of £60 plus VAT per listing.
Online Airbnb Property Management: 10% plus VAT
City Superhost will handle all online aspects involved in hosting your home. This includes listing creation, advertising on multiple channels including Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO & our direct booking site. You’ll benefit from expert calendar management, dynamic pricing, advanced guest vetting, damage claim and review management.
Complete Airbnb Property Management: 15% plus VAT
For a complete, hands off approach, our complete property management package is for you. This includes on-site property onboarding, photography, a cleaning and laundry service, and replenishment of all consumables.
Get in touch now to enhance your offering by partnering with City Superhost!
