What’s for breakfast? Hosts share tips, plus an important update from Airbnb

[Airbnb]

Homemade muffins, eggs, coffee and tea—we love that hosts go the extra mile to welcome guests. So many Airbnb hosts enhance their stays by offering breakfast items, ranging from grab-and-go cereal bars, to continental breakfast, to homemade buffets with local ingredients. It’s not required, of course; but, adding breakfast details to your amenities and listing description can help show off your hosting style, improve the guest experience, and make your property stand out in search.

Starting this week, adding breakfast details will be even more important because Airbnb has new criteria for classifying property types such as bed and breakfasts. Many hosts have asked us to help them distinguish their listings from professional listings such as hotels and traditional B&Bs—as those businesses require specific licenses and have different tax implications, depending on where you live—and we’re responding. If you’re a host who has selected “Bed & Breakfast” as your property type, we’re asking you to confirm your business license or adjust your listing in the next 30 days to help us clearly separate your listing and set expectations for guests.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to adjust your listing and make the most of Airbnb’s breakfast amenity, as well as some tips from hosts like you.

3 easy steps to add breakfast details

1. Update your listing

Go to Airbnb.com, and click on your listing. Next to “Rooms & guests,” click “Edit.” If you have a licensed hospitality business, you’ll see a notification to review your listing and enter your business information. If you don’t have a license, change your property type from “Bed and breakfast” to “Apartment,”“House,” or another category listed in the drop down menu. 

2. Add breakfast as an amenity

Under “Amenities,” next to “Additional,” click “Edit.” Then check “Breakfast” if you offer it. Breakfast isn’t a requirement, but some hosts find it can go a long way to help guests feel at home:

• I check off breakfast because I stock the kitchen with breakfast staples, including coffee (French press), tea, hot chocolate, organic oatmeal packets, cold cereal, an assortment of yogurts, a dozen eggs, and fresh fruit. I let guests know in my welcome message that this will be provided and also ask them to tell me which kind of milk (whole, almond, etc.) they prefer so I can stick it in the fridge for them. But the most popular thing is the homemade muffins I bake for all guests.

—Susan, Groton, Connecticut, U.S.A

• We don't have breakfast checked, but we do have ground coffee, tea, hot chocolate and instant oatmeal in the pantry.—Mark, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.A.

3. Share details

Next to “Title and description,” click “Edit” to add any information or photos of what guests can expect. When writing about what you offer, use it as an opportunity to showcase your hosting personality, tell guests what’s on the menu, specify what time breakfast is available, or, if you don’t offer breakfast, let guests know there are grocery stores or cafes nearby. These hosts offer up some great examples**:

• I provide breakfast of tea/coffee with fruit juice, cereal, fruit, toast or freshly baked croissants (from our wonderful local bakery) in the large, bright kitchen diner which opens out onto the garden, or at the table in the garden on warm days. Breakfast is available between 7.00am and 9.30am, although I can provide it a little earlier if you have a plane or train to catch, or work commitments. I can provide a gluten free breakfast plus nut or soy milk if required. Please mention any dietary requirements when booking.—Rachel, London, United Kingdom
• We provide a 24 hour "Refill Station" in the dining room where guests can get coffee, hot chocolate, tea and light snacks 24/7. In addition, we serve a "Light Continental Breakfast" of various cereals, yogurt, toast, fruit and baked goods along with beverages.—Francesca + Dave, East Burke, Vermont, U.S.A.
• Breakfast with coffee, juice, toasted bread, etc. A good start to the day!

—Yuliana, Madrid, Spain

• Our legendary breakfasts, with homegrown and homemade preserves***, are served from 6 to 9 a.m. in our dining room or on the veranda in summer

—Mary + Buster, Sandton, South Africa

When you’re ready, click “Publish.”

With the updates to property-type classifications, hosts have an opportunity to set expectations and stand out to potential guests by confirming or adjusting their listings. Plus, adding breakfast details can also help foster personal connections with guests and set the table—pun intended!—for a five-star stay.

Just take it from host Alan, of Angaston, Australia: “It’s rare to find accommodations [in the Barossa Valley in South Australia] that doesn’t supply cooked breakfast provisions. A little extra work for the host makes a happy guest—the smile on their face says it all!”

*Listing photos courtesy of hosts.

**Host tips have been edited for length and clarity.

***If you are preparing homemade food for your guests, consult your local rules around food service and safety.

[Jo620]

I am very new to hosting . My third guest has just left.2 out of my guests go without breakfast! I don't understand, I offer eggs, toast, cereals, tea, coffee, juice, I never leave the house without breakfast.