Vacation rental management firms: Check-in practices and online rating

Abstract

In-person interactions between a vacation rental management firm and its customers mainly happen during check-ins, converting this process in a decisive touchpoint. Nevertheless, there is scant evidence on which are the best check-in practices that vacation rental management companies can apply. Accordingly, this study examines the relationship between three check-in practices and the online rating these companies obtain on their properties. To this end, data from three experimental studies in a real vacation rental management company in Barcelona is examined. The first experiment inspects the effects of asking for a good review to guests during the check-in. The second experiment examines the influence of assigning a check-in agent who can proficiently speak the same language as the guests’ mother tongue. Finally, the third experiment evaluates the impact of doing check-ins on the remote. The results establish three managerial implications: (1) asking for good ratings during check-ins do not have any effect, (2) guests derive a positive satisfaction when the check-in agent masters their first language, and (3) guests prefer in-person check-ins rather than remote ones.