Guest experience is an owner topic, not a hospitality nicety. Reviews decide where a villa ranks on Airbnb and Vrbo and what rate it can hold; repeat guests are the cheapest bookings a villa will ever get; and across 1,153 licensed Ibiza villas, professionally run villas earn about 24% more than comparable villas that are not, with the guest journey a large part of the difference. This article sets out how we run that journey, from the first enquiry to the boat we book on day three, and what it is worth to the owner.
From first enquiry to arrival
A good villa stay starts well before a guest steps through the gate. In our view, the experience begins with how a villa is presented, how an enquiry is handled, and how supported guests feel in the days leading up to their arrival.
That is why we try to keep every step clear and well considered. The villa itself should be shown honestly and attractively, with enough detail to help guests understand whether it is the right fit. When an enquiry comes in, we aim to respond in a way that is personal, helpful and easy to follow. Guests should feel that someone is paying attention, not that they have entered a generic booking process.
As the stay gets closer, the type of information guests need begins to change. Early on, they want to understand the villa, the location and whether it suits their plans. Later, they need practical details: arrival instructions, access, house information, and clear answers to the small questions that often come up around check-in.
That is where the guest journey software from HolidayHero fits in particularly well. It allows us to keep the experience organised without making it feel impersonal. Guests can find detailed villa information, practical instructions and useful local guidance in one place, at the moment they actually need it. It means we do not have to overload them with too much information too early, while still making sure the important details are easy to access.
We still remain available throughout, of course. Some guests prefer to find things themselves, while others would rather send us a message, and both are absolutely fine. For us, the goal is simply to guide guests well from the first enquiry onwards, so that by the time they arrive, everything already feels settled.
This is often what makes a stay feel easy. Not one big gesture, but a series of well-handled moments that give guests confidence throughout the journey.
Information that shows up when it is needed
It is often the small practical things that shape a guest’s first impression. Through HolidayHero, guests can open the electric gate directly from the web application, which means no searching for remotes and no unnecessary calls on arrival. After a long journey, being able to enter the property smoothly makes a real difference.
The same applies inside the villa. WiFi details, house information and other practical notes are easy to find in one place, rather than buried in earlier messages. Guests can look things up when they need them, while still knowing that we are available if they prefer to contact us directly.
During the stay: extra services are part of the product
Running a villa isn’t just about handing over the keys. The best villa managers act as a concierge, a trusted local contact, and a one-stop shop for everything a guest might need during their stay. Extra services, and the affiliate partnerships that sit behind them, are central to how that works in practice.
Guests booking a luxury villa expect more than a clean property and a welcome pack. They want a boat for the afternoon, a private chef for their anniversary dinner, airport transfers that actually show up on time, or a last-minute activity for the kids when it rains. The villa manager who can provide all of that, reliably and without fuss, is the one guests remember, recommend, and return to.
This is where affiliate partnerships come in. By working with vetted local suppliers across transfers, water sports, yacht charters, excursions, and more, a good manager builds an ecosystem around the villa. Guests get convenience and peace of mind. You get a trusted product to offer.
The commercial reality
It’s also worth being transparent about the economics. Most local partners offer a referral fee or kickback for bookings made through a management company. This is entirely standard practice across the hospitality industry, and it’s fair. Coordinating bookings, fielding guest questions, troubleshooting problems, and managing expectations takes real time and effort. The referral income helps cover that work without pushing costs onto the guest. In most cases, guests pay a competitive market rate for the service anyway, so everyone comes out ahead.
For the owner there is no cost in any of this: the referral fee is paid by the supplier, the guest pays the normal market rate, and the coordination time is ours. What the owner gets is a guest who was looked after all week, which is the raw material of the next review.
Why it comes back as bookings
There’s a strategic dimension to this beyond the immediate revenue. Every time you help a guest plan a sea day or arrange a birthday dinner, you’re deepening the relationship. You become part of their holiday experience, not just the person who checked them in. That kind of trust is hard to manufacture and easy to lose, which is why the quality of your partners matters enormously. A bad experience with a supplier you recommended reflects directly on you.
Done well, extra services are one of the most powerful tools a villa manager has for turning a one-time booking into a long-term guest relationship. A guest who has a brilliant week, partly because everything you arranged ran smoothly, is a guest who books again next year.
That loop is measurable. Review volume and recency feed the platforms’ ranking, ranking feeds enquiries, and enquiries let us hold rate in the weeks that matter. How reviews are generated and answered is in Marketing and renting your villa; the check-ins, cleaning and maintenance that sit underneath a good review are in How villa management works.
Our partner on the water: Balearic Waves
Strong relationships with local partners and suppliers are at the heart of how we operate. When we recommend a service, we’re putting our reputation behind it, so we only work with people we trust.
For boat charters and water experiences, we partner with Balearic Waves, a local charter company in Santa Eularia that knows Ibiza’s waters well and delivers a consistently high standard of service at a fair price. They’re reliable, professional, and flexible enough to cater to everything from a family day trip to a sunset cruise for a group of friends.
For our guests, it means access to a quality experience without the uncertainty of booking blind. For us, it means knowing that when we make a recommendation, it’s going to land well. That’s the basis of any partnership worth having.