The window closes when the car leaves Emerald Isle
A guest's goodwill toward your rental or your restaurant is highest in the last hour before they pack up — sunburned, relaxed, already a little nostalgic about the week. The moment they cross back over the bridge toward Cape Carteret, that feeling starts competing with traffic, unpacking, and the drive home, and by the time they're back in Charlotte or Raleigh, writing a review is not on their mind at all. That means the physical prompt has to live inside the window, not after it: a card on the kitchen counter next to the checkout instructions, a placard at the table as the check comes, something that catches them while they're still standing on the island. Anything mailed or emailed after they've left competes with a full inbox and loses almost every time.