The message often arrives before the guest does. “Is there parking nearby?” The answer is already in the listing, and probably in the confirmation message too, yet someone is asking again. For years, we treated this as a problem of information. We revised property descriptions, moved practical details closer to the top and produced increasingly thorough arrival guides. If everything was explained clearly enough, we assumed, the questions would stop. They never did. After more than a decade of managing holiday properties in Kavala and welcoming over 3,000 guests through Planbnb, we began to understand that the guest was not simply asking about parking. They were imagining themselves at the end of a journey, driving through an unfamiliar place with luggage in the boot and perhaps a tired family in the car. Would they find the building? Would there be somewhere to stop? Would the holiday begin easily or with an argument over directions? Beneath the practical question was a more personal one: is everything going to be all right?
Once we recognised that, the repetition stopped bothering us. We no longer saw these messages as evidence that guests had failed to read the listing. They were an opportunity to establish trust before the stay had even begun. A brief answer might confirm that parking existed; a thoughtful one could explain where to turn, what landmark to look for and what to do if the nearest spaces were occupied. No listing, however carefully written, can offer quite the same reassurance as another person responding at the moment uncertainty appears. Guests do not always need more information. Often, they need to know that somebody is paying attention.
That need becomes even more visible at arrival. Guests tend to enter a holiday property with a picture of it already formed in their minds, assembled from photographs, reviews and weeks of anticipation. During the first few minutes, they quietly compare that picture with reality. They look into the bathroom, step onto the balcony, inspect the bedrooms and search for the Wi-Fi password. In summer, somebody usually reaches for the air-conditioning remote before the suitcases have been opened. It is an informal inspection, although few guests would describe it that way. They are simply looking for confirmation that the property has kept its promise. When the photographs were accurate, the key worked and the apartment feels clean and familiar, the tension of travelling begins to disappear. The holiday can finally start.
Small difficulties carry unusual weight during this moment. A lock that requires a particular movement may be second nature to an owner but baffling to someone encountering it after dark. An entrance that looks obvious in daylight can vanish into an unfamiliar street at night. Instructions written at a desk may seem perfectly clear until a guest tries to follow them while carrying two suitcases and keeping an eye on a child. None of these situations is serious, but together they have taught us that guests do not experience a property only through its furniture, its view or the size of its rooms. They experience it through the amount of effort it demands from them.
Owners understandably devote considerable attention to appearance. Design helps a property stand out, photographs well and can support a higher nightly rate. Yet the features that attract a booking are not always the ones that determine how the stay will be remembered. A designer kitchen cannot compensate for unreliable internet, just as an expensive sofa will not make a confusing check-in feel any easier. Guests may admire a striking interior, but they are more likely to remember whether they slept comfortably, found a convenient place to park and received a useful answer when they needed help. Over time, this has made us less interested in luxury for its own sake and more interested in how smoothly a property functions. The best accommodation does not merely provide everything a guest might want; it removes as many unnecessary complications as possible.
Familiarity makes those complications difficult for an owner to see. Someone who knows a property well also knows that the front door needs a slight push before the key will turn, that one switch controls a light in another room or that the hot water takes a little longer than expected. These details gradually become part of the background. A guest, however, encounters everything for the first time. A loose handle, a missing battery or a cupboard that will not close may be insignificant on its own, but several small faults begin to create an impression. They suggest that nobody has looked closely at the property for a while. This is particularly important during the Greek summer, when reservations follow one another quickly, air conditioners work continuously and there may be only a few hours between one departure and the next arrival. Good management depends on noticing problems before a guest has to report them.
Much of this work remains invisible. Nobody writes a review praising the batteries that were replaced before they ran out or the air conditioner that was inspected before a heatwave. Guests rarely mention the lock that was repaired before it failed or the router that was restarted before they arrived. They simply experience a property in which everything works, and that absence of difficulty can easily be mistaken for luck. In reality, it is usually the result of preparation, routine inspections and people paying attention to details that may never be noticed unless something goes wrong.
One of the most memorable experiences we’ve had perfectly illustrates why this profession continues to surprise us.
Back in 2019, a guest contacted us a few days before arriving with a request that had nothing to do with Wi-Fi, parking or check-in times. He planned to propose to his girlfriend during their holiday and wondered if we could help prepare the apartment for the occasion.
We immediately said yes. We arranged everything before their arrival, making sure the apartment felt special without becoming overcomplicated. When they arrived, everything was ready exactly as planned. The proposal was successful, and a few days later they left with one of the happiest reviews we’ve ever received.
Most businesses would consider that booking complete. For us, it was only the beginning.
Since then, they’ve returned regularly to celebrate their anniversary in the very same apartment. Every visit reminds us that what started as an ordinary reservation became part of one of the most important moments in their lives. Experiences like this are impossible to measure on a spreadsheet, yet they represent the real value of hospitality. Sometimes the role of a host extends far beyond providing a place to sleep.
Reviews revealed another part of guest behaviour that took us longer to understand. Almost every experienced host has welcomed someone who appeared delighted with the stay, sent a warm message after leaving and perhaps even said they hoped to return, only to award the property four stars a few days later. Our first reaction was always the same: if something was wrong, why did they not tell us? Most problems in a holiday rental are easier to solve than they appear. A missing kitchen item can be delivered, a weak internet connection can be investigated and unclear instructions can be rewritten. From the host’s perspective, silence removes the chance to help.
From the guest’s perspective, however, silence may feel like the more comfortable choice. Many people would rather accept a minor inconvenience than begin what they imagine could become an awkward conversation during their holiday. They do not want to complain or appear demanding, and they may decide that the issue is too small to mention. Later, when a review form asks them to evaluate each aspect of the stay, the same issue returns to mind. We eventually learned that asking whether “everything is okay” was not enough, because it made “yes” the easiest answer. A more open invitation—asking whether there is anything we can improve or help with—makes honesty feel less confrontational. The purpose is not to protect a rating. It is to solve a problem while the solution can still make somebody’s holiday better.
After ten years, the most useful lessons have had surprisingly little to do with platforms, algorithms or pricing tools. Those change constantly; people change much less. Travellers want the property they booked to resemble the one they imagined. They want arrival to be straightforward, the essentials to work and help to be available without becoming another source of stress. The less visible side of hospitality lies in the directions rewritten after one guest became lost, the maintenance check completed before the next arrival and the patient reply to a question already answered many times.
A memorable stay is not always created by giving guests more. Very often, it comes from removing something: uncertainty, confusion, inconvenience or the feeling that nobody is listening. At Planbnb, more than 3,000 guests have taught us that hospitality rarely depends on a grand gesture. More often, it begins with an ordinary question—“Is there parking nearby?”—and the care taken in answering it.
John (Giannis) Tekeridis
Co-Founder Planbnb
Ready to turn your Kavala property into a successful rental?
Partner with Planbnb, your expert Airbnb manager in Kavala. Expert Airbnb manager in Kavala .
