BnbAmenity Blog
August 1, 2021
Paid Premium Guest Amenities - Better Than Freebies for Hosts and Guests
Increase Guest Satisfaction and Hosting Income
The majority of Guests on shared housing platforms such as Airbnb or VRBO state that they enjoy using these platforms because the listings are comparatively less expensive than a hotel and the listings offer a greater level of amenities as compared to hotels. In fact, the superior amenities that Hosts offer are critical to the success and popularity of platforms like Airbnb. However, while some amenities, such as a kitchen, a private garden, a view, are intrinsic to the Listing and do not cost the Host anything to provide, some amenities are actually quite costly over time. The dilemma is - how can they be combined to both increase the income for the Host and the Guest’s enjoyment of the experience.
The Hidden Costs of Hosting Can Add Up
Many Hosts feel pressured to offer amenities like a bottle of wine and chocolates on check-in, flowers, firewood, charcoal, fresh produce, and many, many others. The rating systems on these platforms put a great deal of pressure on Hosts to offer a premium experience at a discount price. As a result, many Hosts provide costly amenities to each Guest, biting into their real return from Hosting Guests, even as they charge far less for the Stay than a hotel would.
I realized this as a Host myself, I would rent my family’s cabin for $120 a night, which is roughly equivalent to AirBNB’s average rate as it turns out. I would leave Guests a bottle of wine, candles, premium soaps, cooking essentials such as olive oil and spices, and wood for the fireplace. I thought it was great and enjoyed Hosting so I never really thought about it.
My husband is an accountant though and he did not take long to point out, it turns out each Guest was costing me a good deal in amenities:
Wine: $15
Chocolate: $3
Firewood: $10
Firestarter: $2
It turns out each Guest Stay was costing me $30 a night to Host, almost 25% of my Hosting income, not even accounting for my time, the utilities they use, the wear and tear on the house, and other such hidden costs of Hosting, So while I thought I was getting an additional $1200 or so a month for my efforts, in reality, I was making much less. While I would not dream of charging for amenities that I view as standard, such as cooking essentials, soaps, and toiletries, and my welcoming wine and chocolates – I felt that the amenity of using the wood and firestarters was something that if the Guests wanted to use, they should either bring their own or contribute towards the cost of what they use. But there was no good way to do this through Airbnb – I could raise the price, but that would be unfair to the people who had no intention of using the fireplace and also would have made my listing less competitive with listings that did not happen to have a fireplace. While the loss of income from our Airbnb through the offering of these amenities was not especially impactful for us, an Airbnb survey indicated that half of their Hosts use the supplemental income they generate through Hosting to help them afford to Stay in their homes. For many Hosts, these costs are a real burden.
BnbAmenity is Here to Help
Luckily a good friend at my Airbnb Hosting community meeting had already been using BnbAmenity, to offer a premium amenities such as a stocked refrigerator on check-in to Guests and she mentioned BnbAmenity to me.
As it turns out, it could easily be used to offer firewood or the charcoal for using a BBQ, for that matter. Since then, I have been offering Firewood and BBQ propane to Guests as an added amenity. I even added a few additional paid amenities - most successfully, a half dozen of our local fresh oysters and shucking equipment. If you are a Host, you too should join BnbAmenity and offer paid amenities to enhance your Guest’s Stay while not detracting from your ability to generate much needed cash flow from sharing your home with Guests.
Easy to Use with Powerful Results for Host's Bottom Line
If you are a Host, you too should join BnbAmenity and offer paid amenities to enhance your Guest’s Stay while not detracting from your ability to generate cash flow from sharing your home with Guests.