Autonomous arrival in a short-term rental is acclaimed by travelers, Airbnb announces bluntly. Empowering travelers to access their home, independently, without human presence is the solution that meets social distance rules today. And the hotel industry, led by Marriott and Hilton, was right. How to meet both a need for profitability, a demand for barrier management and an expectation of irreproachable quality of service, all at the same time? Lately,Kayak opened a hotel in Miami with autonomous arrival, thanks to an application that integrates check-in, door opening and in-room food deliveries. According to the group, the current health context has pushed towards this type of empowerment in order to respect social distance rules. We then talk about self-care. However, long before the pandemic, the question of empowering access to services arose time and again. Indeed, let's look at the banks, post offices, etc. that push customers to be actors in the delivery of the service. And no longer passive, waiting for a third party to serve them. Why? Because services, just like products, need to be profitable. Otherwise, they will not be able to be maintained over time. However, the mission of any business creation is to last. In short-term rentals, if we calculate the expenses caused by travelers' entries, are we really profitable? Because getting around comes at a cost. And ignoring that cost is a mistake. So, to be profitable in short-term rentals, can we do without autonomous arrival? OIQIA explains to you how self-care guarantees the Wow effect! for the traveller and the profitability of the host/concierge.
If you realize right now that you will have neither the time nor the energy to take care of your short-term rental property, OIQIA offers you to manage it from A to Z, for you.
From the writing of your announcement to the autonomous entry of your guests to cleaning your home, we take care of everything!
To find out more or to contact us simply click here: I discover OIQIA
In an excellent article in the online magazine Comarketing, It is said “an autonomous customer is a happy customer”. How do you do that? Would a customer no longer need us as a service provider? Adulators of customer satisfaction? An assumption was quickly put forward: “customers have changed. (...) with current self-care solutions, they could well find their ultimate happiness; autonomy in responding to their simple requests.” What's the fault? To connected objects of course. Therefore, would digitalization have transformed our passive customers into actors in the delivery of the expected service?
Self-care, or in other words, the ability of the customer to be autonomous, would build customer loyalty. In concrete terms, it is a question of going alone through a website, a mobile application or a terminal to obtain a result. That is, the answer to his problem. The customer wants an immediate answer to his questions and needs. The term “immediate” is important. Indeed, it is all a matter of time. The customer no longer has time to wait in line, no more time trying to explain their need. Tutorials, guides and other FAQs are there to allow him to meet his needs himself, independently. Dr. Montessori would clap with both hands. So, if the customer finds the tool to respond quickly to their needs, why would they change it? Loyalty to the tool that allows him to respond as quickly as possible to what he is looking for is what will create his loyalty. Why change when you are happy?
Wouldn't this ultimately answer the adage “you are never better served than by yourself”. According to The Comarketing article, citing a Forrester study, 72% of consumers prefer to find the answer to their question without going through customer service. Does this mean that the customer now wants to do without any human intervention? No But if he can solve his basic problem himself, he enjoys doing it. In an autonomous way. On the other hand, if he encounters a problem, he wants to be able to talk to a person who will provide an appropriate response and fill in his gaps. Finally, customer service is there to respond to dissatisfaction. Otherwise, he doesn't need it. In the context of short-term rentals, OIQIA fully shares this point of view. The idea is to make travelers autonomous in what they are capable of doing. And above all, to be there and to support him in solving problems when he does not have the skills to do so. Customer satisfaction involves resolving their dissatisfactions. A customer service that listens, is present for its customer, active and persevering in the relationship is a key success factor. And OIQIA intends to take up this great challenge!
The implementation of self-care creates a reduction in management costs for the service provider. This is what OIQIA recommends for short-term rentals in order to make the activity profitable. It is not interesting to devote human resources to answering questions that have no added value. A human interlocutor is especially essential when problem solving requires dexterity, diplomacy and experience. Setting up a digitized service makes it possible to deal with recurring questions in an automated and rapid manner. The time savings for everyone, service providers and customers, is far from being negligible. But then the Wow effect!? Enchanting the customer in a service such as short-term rentals means finding the right balance between digital and physical. As the Comarketing article says,it is “creating an optimal customer experience, based on adapted, sustainable, simple, fast and effective tools”.Allow the customer to have a unique, seamless experience throughout the service delivery.
The autonomous arrival of the traveller In short-term rentals, it is not for OIQIA, only to provide access to housing independently. This definition is too simplistic. Here, self-care includes a set of traveller needs that OIQIA wishes to meet. More specifically, this concerns the following points:
The traveller will be explained the procedure for accessing the accommodation: entry codes, geolocation, parking access, etc. He will be able to plan and organize himself independently beforehand.
As for car rental companies, the traveller will check in independently. The main thing for him? Indicate any problems with the apartment to avoid liability. Communicate in case of major concern with customer service in order to find a solution to the problem.
OIQIA's virtual assistant, called Qboy, will answer her simple questions about the apartment. Even in the middle of the night.
That is, welcome booklets, house rules and various instructions for use. It's all in one place. He can consult them online. Or look for the information he wants when he wants.
Here the same procedure applies as for the check-in.
Thus, the very concept of self-care is respected. The vision of OIQIA empowers travelers by empowering them in taking ownership of the accommodation and during their stay. And the Wow effect! ? The traveller will learn how to use the OIQIA Traveler & Free Access mobile application. In addition, once in hand, he will no longer want to change it.The customer experience is optimal because his basic needs are answered immediately. The tool is adapted, durable, simple and fast. And each time the traveller books accommodation with a user of the OIQIA tool, he will find the application he is familiar with. With which he is familiar. Which brings him satisfaction because it meets all his expectations and beyond.
Let's not be fooled, the implementation of self-care is also motivated by the need to make an activity profitable in an increasingly competitive environment. Whether digital or physical. Surviving for a business is key. And it is impossible to achieve this without making your business profitable and making it more and more attractive in the eyes of customers by reinventing yourself.
Of course, the activity is especially profitable for the rental platform, which takes its commission. While letting his client, the “host”, manage the rental of his property independently using his tools. Let us note the concept of self-care here as well. In the end, for a janitor, making his business profitable is as essential as making his investment profitable for the owner. In order to be able to meet these two objectives, it is essential to place yourself in a win-win relationship.
Logistics is a significant expense for the concierge or the host. Do not choose the time of your trips, adapt constantly to the vagaries of delays or advances of travelers, use your vehicle, etc. Here are expense items that should not be overlooked. Therefore, choosing to travel only when you decide, at the right time, is a more than profitable decision. Of course, the issue of profitability is a vast subject, which we will be sure to cover in a future post.
Thus, self-care and the Wow effect! are among the values adopted by OIQIA from the start in order to optimize the profitability of the concierge business. And of course, to offer its services at the best price for its customer. Enchanting the traveller is essential in short-term rentals because he is the one who creates the demand. The more satisfied he is, the more he stays true to his favorite apartments and to short-term rentals. Autonomous arrival Of the traveller is therefore essential according to OIQIA, an opinion widely shared today. Therefore, we must not forget that the traveller is also an informed, independent customer who will prefer any solution that allows him to meet his needs quickly. A challenge that OIQIA intends to take up brilliantly!
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