'We'll definitely be back'
The couple from Leeds had a lovely weekend. They walked the coast path, loved your homemade marmalade, and said at checkout they would definitely come back next spring. You believed them. They meant it.
Next spring, they search for 'B&B near the coast path' and find a list of places on Booking.com. They cannot remember the name of yours. They book somewhere else that looks similar. Or they find yours, remember it, and book it through Booking.com because that is where they found it, and you pay commission on a guest you already had.
Multiply that by every guest who said they would be back, and you have a lot of goodwill with nowhere to go.
Why guests drift away
Keeping in touch sounds simple, but for a B&B run by one person, it rarely happens.
- Guest details are scattered across your booking system, OTA extranets, emails and the paper diary.
- Guests who booked through an OTA often have a masked email address that stops working after the stay.
- You are not sure what you are allowed to send, so you send nothing.
- Newsletters feel like a big job, and you do not have the time to write one.
- The right moment to get in touch, around the time they stayed last year, passes without you noticing.
What losing touch costs you
Returning guests are the easiest guests you will ever have. They know the house, they know what to expect, they are pleased to see you and you are pleased to see them. Every one who drifts away has to be replaced by a new guest, often found through an OTA at a commission.
Returning guests are also the ones who book the quieter dates if you ask them: a midweek stay in March, a few nights in November. Without a way to reach them, those dates stay empty.
How we build a past guest list and yearly note
- At checkout, or in the thank-you message after the stay, guests are asked whether they would like to hear from you about next year, with a clear yes or no. Their answer is recorded with the date.
- For guests who booked through an OTA, the question is asked in person or by a message through the platform, and those who say yes give you an email address they choose to share.
- Guests who said yes are kept on a simple list with the dates they stayed, the room, and anything they told you, such as the walks they did or the dog's name.
- About a year after their stay, or before the season they came in, a short note is drafted from you, mentioning something personal where you have it, and offering a way to book with you.
- You read and approve each batch of notes, then they are sent through an email service such as Mailchimp or directly from your own address.
- Guests can stop hearing from you with one click, and that is recorded straight away.
| Guest | Stayed | Note drafted |
|---|---|---|
| Couple from Leeds | April, garden room | Early March, mentions the coast path and the marmalade |
| Family with a spaniel | August, room 2 | Early June, mentions the dog-friendly beach |
| Cyclist, one night | September | July, mentions the cycle route |
How you ask for consent and what you send is your decision, and your adviser can tell you what the rules require. We build the process to follow what you decide.
Next spring, a note arrives
In March, the couple from Leeds get a short email from you. It mentions the coast path and says the marmalade is back. There is a link to book. They click it, choose the same weekend, and pay the deposit. You find out when the booking appears in your calendar.
It does not happen with everyone. It does not need to. The list quietly brings back some of the guests who would otherwise have forgotten you, and you did not have to write a newsletter.
Are past guests drifting away?
- Guests often say they will be back, and you never hear from them.
- You do not have a list of past guests you can contact.
- Returning guests book through Booking.com rather than with you.
- You are unsure what you are allowed to send to past guests.
- Quiet dates stay empty that regulars might have filled.