Raising the Bar: Guest Experience, Payments & Revenue in Vacation Rentals
Four industry leaders break down the guest journey, payment experience, and upsell strategies that close the gap between hotels and vacation rentals, and what a real operator did to prove it works.
date
Language
English
Price
Free
SPEAKERS
Francois Gouelo
CEO & Co-Founder, Enso Connect
Megan Kenny
Customer Success Manager, Avantio
Pablo Macías
Sales Executive, Travel & Hospitality, Stripe
Frank de la Fuente
Deputy Director of Operations, Waou Rentals
Reserve your free spot
Webinar + full replay included
About the Webinar
The vacation rental industry is maturing, providing solid competition to hotels. Guests expect more. That means every part of the guest journey matters, including payments.
Join Francois Gouelo, Cofounder and CEO of Enso Connect, Pablo Macias, travel & hospitality specialist from Stripe, and Frank De La Fuente from Waou Rentals - a property manager that built a digital guest journey, driving new revenue and 5-star reviews. They will break down how to deliver a hotel-calibre guest experience, reduce friction at every payment touchpoint, and unlock new revenue through upsells and services, all without losing what makes short-term rentals special.
What You'll Learn:
Where STRs are losing guests to hotels
Identify the specific friction points that cost you 5-star reviews and revenue.
How to make payments feel effortless
Design a payment flow guests barely notice, because it just works.
Ways to monetize your guest experience
Real upsell and service strategies that generate income before, during, and after the stay.
What hotel-level standards actually look like in STRs
Practical steps scaled for operators with 20+ listings, without losing what makes rentals special.
Lessons from a property manager who's done it
How Waou Rentals built a digital guest journey that delivers real results.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do short-term rental operators compete with hotels on guest experience?
STR operators close the gap on hotels by building a digital guest journey - seamless digital check-in, frictionless payment flows, automated upsells and add-on services, and AI-powered communication. The key is reducing friction at every touchpoint while preserving the personal character that makes short-term rentals unique. Operators like Waou Rentals have generated over €160,000 in additional annual revenue by implementing this approach with Enso Connect.
How can vacation rental operators improve their payment experience?
According to Stripe's hospitality data, 35% of transactions globally are now non-card. Vacation rental operators can improve their payment experience by offering localized payment methods in guests' own currencies, enabling one-click options like Apple Pay and Google Pay, and offering installment payment options, which Stripe data shows can increase average booking values by up to 14%. Operators with localized payment experiences see 17% more international cross-border bookings on average.
What upsells generate the most revenue for short-term rental operators?
The highest-converting upsells for STR operators are early check-in and late checkout (offered before arrival when guests are planning their trip), damage waivers as a frictionless alternative to security deposits, and local experiences and services. Waou Rentals, a 250-property operator in Spain, generates over 80% of its upsell revenue from damage waivers, with a conversion rate above 80% of eligible guests.
What will I learn in this webinar?
You'll leave with a clear picture of where your guest journey is losing revenue and reviews, a payment flow framework from Stripe's hospitality team that removes friction at every touchpoint, upsell and service strategies that generate ancillary income before, during, and after the stay, and a first-person breakdown from Waou Rentals of what they built and the numbers it delivered.
Do I need to be an Enso Connect or Avantio customer to attend?
Not at all. The strategies and frameworks covered apply to any STR operator, regardless of which tools you use. The session is designed to be immediately useful whether you're evaluating new software or just looking to improve what you already have in place.
Is this webinar free? Will I get the recording?
Yes, completely free to attend. All registrants receive the full replay automatically within 24 hours of the live session. We recommend attending live since there's a Q&A segment where you can put questions directly to the panelists.
Your panelists
Four voices who have built what they're talking about
Each speaker brings a specific expertise, guest tech, payments infrastructure, PMS integration, and real-world operations.
Francois Gouelo
CEO & Co-Founder, Enso Connect
Megan Kenny
Customer Success Manager, Avantio
Pablo Macías
Sales Executive, Travel & Hospitality, Stripe
Frank de la Fuente
Deputy Director of Operations, Waou Rentals
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