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I suppose the only other thing I would include, to add to your guests experience is a few quarterly magazines, newspapers or your personal subscriptions. It always nice to have up-to-date reading material available for guests to help themselves to.
We leave it in the hallway as sometimes the magazines will disappear but maybe some of the older editions you can leave in the rooms. Personally, we have National Geographic, Time, TimeOut, The Week as well as a few quarterly’s - food, travel, house and home etc
I also have a issue with heating. my home is cool in winter- about 60 f and i make sure to emphasize to people it will be cold in winter in my town.they need sweat pants, warm socks, jackets etc in winter in my town… i tell them i provide blankets and slippers, but that it will NOT be hotel room warm and they will not be able to wear shorts and have bare feet… sometimes people dont book because of this but thats ok with me…
as for my top tips- for me its more a matter of finding guests who are the right fit for my home… i am pretty specific- veggie home, no shoes/no smoking/i have a cat/no tv so i actually DONT try to change my house or cater to their needs but find people who fit what the house is like…
one other thing is my room rental is on the lower end- about $50 a night, so i am not trying to compete with hotel rooms or b and b’s. they save about $100 a night by not getting a hotel in my town but there is no way i am going to try to provide the amenities of a hotel.
I totally get my style isnt for everyone… i dont even post a lot of great photos… my house is nice but i would rather than be happily surprised than expecting more.
Tara - good thought about not over-selling your place. My new bathroom (added so guests don’t have to come upstairs to shower, which is much more convenient for us as well) is about ready and I thought I would have professional photos done then. However, I can always tell when photos are professional and they look fake, almost to dreamy. ; ) I started with an airbed and old spare bedding, and people were very happy. Now I’ve upgraded in many ways, with nice bedding, a real bed, etc - and now I have to worry that people will misuse and ruin my things. People are still happy, but I’m more stressed.
i think it depends a lot on your pricing and who you want to attract. i want to attract low maintenence expereinced travelers who dont require many amenities and who appreciate a good deal.
I’m not one to be overly anxious about a stay at an Airbnb or when someone is staying with us. I won’t go OUT OF MY way for many things, but I will make sure my house is VERY clean and that the Airbnb guests do not have to ask many questions. Why? I think of my stays or needs during a stay, I simple do what a basic hotel would. I’m not going out of my way to pick up the guests or cooking breakfast, but I am ensuring cleanliness and all questions answered up front, IE I provide a Keurig in their room with a setup of creamers, cups, etc; fresh linens, towels, etc and I have a booklet that explains everything, WIFI, How to use the remotes!, tid bits about the animals and how to reach us (plus our names bc im bad at names). I don’t expect a hotel when I book an Airbnb, I expect somewhere nice to be over my time in a new location, but I also expect the hosts to have jobs, a life, outside their Airbnb hosting. I would hope guests would expect the same of me.
So many great tips! I used to provide a bottle of wine for each guest and then fell out of the habit. I still agree it is a great thing to do, however I realized the degree of positive comments didn’t change at all between guests that received a bottle of wine and those that didn’t. Now I leave a bottle of champagne for guests celebrating a milestone (wedding, anniversary, birthday, etc).
There are many great must-haves for providing a great experience; like a spotless, safe and comfortable space along with a detailed house & neighborhood guide. Looking back at guest comments, I think what has also mattered is responsiveness. I make it a priority to have my phone with me at all times and respond back promptly when guests have an issue. This may dismay my dinner partner at times, yet I think it is important. When someone is staying in an unfamiliar place, having a resource nearby to help answer questions or solve problems is appreciated.
Looking forward to learning more tips from you all!
I am expecting some strange Airbnb guests, not my mother-in-law or fiancee. So I will certainly not provide chocolate on the pillow, let alone flowers or champagne. I am not promising chocolate, flowers or champagne in my listing, so who would expect me to do this?
Almost all the guest arrive late, some of them up to three hours late, or more. If you feel like wanting to wait at the nearest station for a couple of hours for each guest, well, that’s your choice. Not mine.
I do clean the room, and the bathroom, thoroughly. If there is a little bit of dust left, that’s a sign of a healthy environment, and it’s human. I always strive to give a human touch to my apartment. Guests who prefer sterile, spotless rooms without any personal touch should probably stay at a five-star hotel, not at my Airbnb.
The name “Jörg” sounds German. Being German myself, I can assure you that most of my fellow countrymen are nice people, they are simply paranoid about giving away personal identity over the internet.
Crazy perhaps, and yes, paranoid, but quite harmless actually.
Yes I totally agree with this. Nothing worse then a guest just hanging around your house for no apparent reason… or on the flipside, being a fussy picking host.
I don’t provide wine or anything such things - in season my 10 year old will cut some flowers out of the garden - but I did learn something with a recent check-in.
The guests arrived 2.5 hours earlier than expected. Still within check-in time, but early. At the same time my contractor (finally!) showed up to add a door between the guest space and where we keep basement-type stuff including paints, cleaners, etc. So as they show up after a long journey with two kids there’s this guy making a HEC of a racket installing the door in their space.
Also, the space was cold and dark as I’d not been prepared.
Yes, they were early, but it was still in a reasonable time of day. Luckily I had a new bottle of wine upstairs - so quickly wrote a little welcome note and gave it to them and left it in their room when they left for a walk…
The rest of the visit was lovely, and now, I’ll have a bottle of wine on hand just in case something goes awry - just a little something to smooth things over. Makes me feel better, and it’s a small investment.
DC you are tooooo nice!!! I would not have liked that at all. They inconvenienced you, not the other way around! You weren’t ready and they surprised you expecting it to be ready!
I have guests trained so they wouldn’t even thinking of showing up even a half hour early! It’s the first line on my directions. “Sorry I cannot accommodate early arrivals.” And then offer ideas about things they can do to kill time.
Well, it was 3:30, and they’d driven a long way, with two little kids. I didn’t think it was to unkind - they just didn’t realize. And I mean the construction was LOUD!!!
Are there any NYC hosts that would like a welcome kit for their guests that includes local treats? We’re giving away kits for free as part of our startup pilot program. If interested, you can learn more at mooshboosh.com and email me at info@mooshboosh.com.
I’d be more inclined to focus on what makes them satisfied with their entire experience of staying with you.
As a guest, I’ve always found that my satisfaction depends on the gap between what was described and the reality of my stay. If my experience matches what you told /sold me, I’m satisfied.
Sorry it’s not really a fancy answer!
However, satisfaction can also be a factor of how well you respond to any issues that arise. We all know reality kicks in and guests will encounter issues that no host can control. Something breaks, there’s a party upstairs, the A/C developed a fault, etc. How well do you respond?
On a recent trip to New Orleans the keyless entry didn’t work when I showed up. Quick call to the local housekeeper and I was in 5 minutes later. I remembered, and valued, the rapid response. Arguably my satisfaction was higher than if the issue hadn’t arisen!
I do try my best at the basics, and risk less with guessing what the guests would like or not, such as wines, foods, etc..
The fundamentals to me are: 1-the place IS better than expected, even if thoroughly described before they arrive; 2- never, ever add charges, no nickel and diming, charge what you have to have and that’s it; 3 - nothing is a problem, especially the little silly things that take nothing to make happen; 4 - I give my guests space, they are not my friends, they are on their own sort of speak, and I am not an entertainer; #5- I always ask questions at the end, how can we improve and plug the good suggestions without delay.
I noticed when i raise my prices i get immediately 4* instead of 5*. SO, i am concluding that to make guests happy give them an incredibly low price and they will jump with joy. Suddenly my bed becomes supercomfy, and i myself is an angel that came from the sky. Those who pay higher price, still very reasonably priced, always have comments on what i need to improve
Just be open and kind. Clean of course
