Keep guests coming back: retention for accommodations

A returning guest costs you basically nothing in acquisition. A new guest via a platform costs 15 to 25 percent commission. Yet most accommodations spend all their attention on getting new guests and almost nothing on bringing back the ones they already know.

The problem

Acquisition (bringing in new guests) is expensive. Every new booking via Booking or other OTA (online travel agency, a booking platform like Booking or Expedia) costs commission. At an average booking of 250 euros and 18 percent commission you're out roughly 45 euros before the guest even arrives. That's money you pay every time, including for someone who slept with you two times before.

That's the core of the problem. You pay full freight for a guest who didn't need the platform to find you. He knew where you were. He liked it last time. And yet he clicks Booking again, because that's the easiest path and because you gave him no reason to do otherwise.

Retention (keeping guests so they book again) flips that. Instead of always paying for new people, you get return on the guests you already had. You have their data already: name, email, stay dates, room type, sometimes even their preference for a quiet room or wine at arrival. That list sits in your booking system and probably does nothing now.

That's a waste, because it's your cheapest booking channel. An email to your old guests costs you a few euros in software and half an hour of time. A month of advertising or a season of OTA commission costs a multiple.

There's one more thing. A returning guest often books more than a new one. He knows what he gets, so hesitates less, often stays a night longer and more readily takes the fancier room or the package with breakfast. He already trusts you. That trust took work to build during his first stay and costs you nothing now. With a new guest you have to buy that trust every time, via platform reviews, ads, the commission you pay to even be visible.

Most accommodations don't see this because retention numbers don't appear in a dashboard. You see exactly what Booking costs you each month. You don't see what you're leaving on the table when a happy repeat guest books via the platform instead of directly. That loss is invisible, but it's there and it adds up.

Calculation example

Suppose you have a B&B with 6 rooms and run 60 bookings per month. Twelve of those are guests who've stayed before. Below you see what a new guest via OTA costs you compared to that same guest booking directly.

The difference is 53 euros per booking. At 12 returning guests per month booking direct instead of via platform, that's over 600 euros per month. Over a year that's more than 7,000 euros you're currently handing to commission and acquisition for guests you already knew.

Note: this is no invented profit. It's money you're already spending that you get back as soon as a returning guest books direct instead of via a platform. The only investment is that you stay in touch and give reason to book direct.

Step-by-step plan

Retention isn't a standalone trick but a rhythm you build. Three steps, in this order.

1. Collect and unlock your guest data. You already have the data, scattered in your booking system and inbox. Export all names and emails of guests from the past three years to one list. That's your starting point. This guest data (your own data about your own guests) is worth more than any outside list you could buy. How you structure and use that data, read in first-party data for accommodations.

2. Stay in touch and actively ask for reviews. Send a short, personal email after each stay. Thank the guest, ask for a review and keep the relationship warm. A review brings you new guests, the email itself keeps you in mind with the old. Build a simple newsletter on top so you hear from yourself a couple times per year. How to write that email is in post-stay email for reviews. How to set up a newsletter without eating hours is in setting up a hotel newsletter.

3. Bring back dormant guests and give a direct-booker benefit. Guests who haven't returned in a year or longer, you bring back with a targeted win-back email. Not a general newsletter, but personal reminder with a concrete reason to book again. The full approach, including example text and timing, is in win-back emails for dormant guests. And give returning guests reason to book direct instead of via a platform: a small benefit that only works if they reserve directly. That doesn't have to be a points system. How to build loyalty without admin overhead, read in loyalty without points.

Common mistakes

• Not collecting email addresses. If a guest books via Booking, you often get a masked email that stops working after the stay. Ask at arrival or breakfast for a real email for the newsletter. Without those addresses you have no retention channel.

• Emailing only when you want to sell. An email that always says "book now" gets deleted. Stay in touch without sales pitch too: a seasonal update, a bike route just opened, a photo of first snow. That way you stay welcome in the inbox.

• Treating the returning guest the same as a new one. Someone coming for the third time wants recognition, not a generic confirmation email. A line like "great to have you back" costs nothing and binds enormously.

• No reason to book direct. If price and terms on your site are identical to Booking, the guest picks the platform. They have reviews there, a guarantee program and trusted payment. Give a small direct-booker benefit so booking straight is more attractive.

• Waiting for the perfect system. Many accommodations put off retention until they have "good CRM software." A CRM (customer management system tracking guest data and contact moments) is handy but no prerequisite to start. A simple list and free email software are enough. The system comes later if volume demands it.

• Giving everyone the same discount. A direct-booker benefit only works if it tempts the guest who otherwise would go to the platform. If you give 10 percent off to everyone, you're also paying the guest who would have booked with you anyway. Keep the benefit small and targeted: free cancellation, late checkout or a welcome drink costs you less than a percentage discount and often feels more valuable to the guest.

• Not tracking whether it works. Once a quarter set your numbers side by side: how many bookings came direct, how many via platform, and of the direct, how many returning guests. Without that you don't know if your retention effort pays off and stop at the first busy month.

What you can do now

Start today with the simplest step: export your guest list from your booking system. One file with names, emails and stay dates. That's the basis of any retention channel and takes ten minutes.

Don't expect a miracle the first week. Retention isn't a campaign with a button, but a habit. The first win-back email often brings a few bookings, but the real win sits in keeping it up: contact each season, every new guest on your list, every returning guest treated just a touch more personal. After a year you have a channel that runs without you paying per booking.

Pick where you start next. Have lots of old guests who haven't returned in a long time? Start with win-back emails for dormant guests, that brings fastest bookings. Want to lock in new guests immediately? Start with post-stay email for reviews and build from there to a newsletter. Want returning guests to book direct instead of via platform? Read how to build loyalty without points.

Want us to set up the whole retention line for your accommodation, from guest list to win-back emails, we discuss that at marketing for accommodations. Calculate first what a shift to direct booking brings you with the savings calculator. That number often makes immediately clear why retention is worth the effort.