Are you thinking of starting a homestay business in Sabah? Here are some tips on how you can succeed

Set a theme for your Sabah Homestay 

While creating a theme or style might not cross the mind of many homestay owners, it is a fairly important aspect to catch the attention of potential customers. Looking at the homestay industry in Sabah, many homestay owners might neglect this aspect so, having a theme can help increase your competitive advantage. Putting in the extra effort to beautify and style up your homestay can be a huge game-changer. It helps to make the stay at your homestay more than just a place to stay while on a trip and makes it a whole experience on its own.

 Some examples of design themes are galaxy, nature, and movie characters, etc. This tip is highly useful especially for homestay owners whose property is further from town and targets tenants who are looking for a getaway experience. Instead of depending on nearby tourist attractions, you can turn your own homestay into an attraction. 

 Cleanliness and Maintenance

Keeping the space clean and tidy for the tenants is a very basic feature of the business, but some homestay owners still fail to deliver in this aspect. Although the design is important, the base requirement that most tenants are looking for is a clean and well-maintained accommodation to stay on their trip. Failing to deliver such a primary condition will result in major dissatisfaction.

Ensure that the bedsheets are washed after each stay, make sure that the taps are working, make sure the aircon is working fine. All these details play a huge part in ensuring a comfortable stay and increasing the chance of the tenants coming back during their next trip. 

Provide necessary amenities

A very huge plus point that homestay owners can add to their service is to provide basic amenities. Nowadays, a lot of homestays have been living up to the standards of hotels, and preparing basic amenities for guests makes a huge difference. Such detailed preparation can help make your homestay stand out among the many listings because it makes the trip much more convenient for guests and also helps create a ‘home-away-from-home experience. 

Some examples of basic amenities to prepare in your homestay are toiletries, iron board, hairdryer, fridge, and if you have a kitchen, you might want to get some cooking equipment prepared. And not to forget, the top amenity that customers are looking for is a WiFi connection.

Promote your homestay on social media

After getting your homestay ready, it’s time to start promoting your listing on social media platforms to reach out to more potential customers. Having an active social media account for example Facebook or Instagram can help build your customer base and makes it much easier for potential customers to find your homestay online. 

Getting a social media page for your homestay is pretty much free of charge, hence, it is one of the cheapest ways to promote your homestay online. The messaging feature provided by social media platforms makes it so much easier to get in touch with potential customers to build trust. Moreover, you would also be able to frequently share pictures or updates of your homestay on your social media page. 

Create engaging promotions

Next, you need to create more engaging offers or promotions to catch the eyes of potential guests and get them hooked. One way to do that? Create attractive promotions! Especially during peak traveling seasons such as school holidays or festive seasons when the amount of potential guests is at the highest, you need to make good use of the traffic by having inciting offers. However, many homestay owners make the mistake of focusing only on peak seasons. Promoting during off-peak season is equally important to ensure a steady flow of customers throughout the year. 

Privacy matters

One very important rule to go by when managing a homestay is to respect the privacy of your guests. Although it’s your house, the privacy of your guests should be protected at all times. You wouldn’t want to stay at a homestay and find the owner barging in suddenly, would you? Hence, it is a basic courtesy to always keep your guests informed if you need to drop by at the homestay. 

Now that you’ve got some idea on how to manage your homestay in Sabah, it’s time to get things started!

You can also get in touch with us to know more about how you can expand your homestay business. Our team at Pinstay is experienced in the homestay industry in Sabah and we offer management services for both long and short-term rentals.

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Visit our website for homestay management services in sabah https://pinstay.my/