Charging for additional items

[Sue2451]

Hi. I’m waiting to offer items as additional costs. This would include homemade cake, homemade bread, snack boxes and even a prepared meal in the fridge ready for their arrival. Does anyone have any experience good or bad with this? Regards sue 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sue2451 Have you checked with your local environmental health department to see what licences/training/equipment you will need? It feels like a high risk endeavour to me.

[Sue2451]

Hi there @Mike-And-Jane0 . Yes I’ve got the relevant qualifications to level 3 and am applying the my local council to get my kitchen approved. I’ve done it before years ago so I know what I need to sort. 

[JJ--Judith0]

@Sue2451 I'd love to know if and how this turns out for you.

 When I have the time (not always), I include a canning jar of my own homemade granola, with berries , bananas & milk in their room fridge for morning guests.   Around 15-20% welcome that,  & complement it on reviews.   Mine is a recipe I've produced over decades, with our own branded label, and my husband keeps declaring it should be sold locally (or as a take along?).  I agree that often guests have less room, not more to buy when leaving, however, during their stay for their own 'On-the-Go' food needs, such as a local hike or picnic, it could be super smart. I also read within these threads another host offering a picnic basket, supplied with esssentials for their local stay, another great idea to include a loaf of your own bread or treats,  and include a room tip jar for any offered ? Or another way, such as your venmo or QR code displayed? Hmm....

[Melanie318]

@Sue2451 We offer things like Picnic lunches with a cooler so they can take it out for the day. Chocolate covered strawberries are a huge hit as well.  We found that guest appreciate the fact they can have something ordered and ready for them. 

Sounds like you have taken care of the licenses and such that you need so you would be good to go!

[JJ--Judith0]

@Melanie318 I love your picnic lunch suggestion & CC strawberries, it would work well with us. How do you collect the extra $ ?  Thanks, much respect, JJ

[Melanie318]

I do collect in advance, I invoice with PayPal to their email address. 

[Elaine701]

@Sue2451 

We have a villa accommodating 8 pax. This is different from many Airbnbs, but in general, if you want guests to feel some extraordinary hospitality, leaving some basics for them to enjoy on arrival - or if they're getting in late, and have no chance to visit the supermarket. They will really appreciate it.

We have a set package we provide for all arriving guests, with about a 50-60€ spend limit. Coffee, Tea, juices, milk, fresh fruits (bananas, apples, oranges) bottled water, sliced ham, cheese, bread, crisps, some sweets... 1-2 bottles of locally produced wine, 6-12 beers,  (depending on the size of the group) and a stocked bar with various liquors and mixers - which we rarely buy new, we just leave whatever is left from the previous guests, who rarely consume much of it anyway, and often leave their own unopened beer, wines and liquors behind because it's too much hassle to pack it. So we'll just pass it on to the next guest.

Furthermore, we don't mention this at all in the listing description, so they don't expect it in the first place. I don't think many hosts go to quite that level of hospitality, but the result is that they're always surprised and very appreciative - and reflect that in their reviews ...and it sets their mind in a more positive frame to begin with, so they're less likely to be searching for something to complain about. Yet the cost is insignificant considering what they pay for the accommodation. We love happy guests! It's worth it.

Oh, and in our patch, as long as we aren't charging for it, there are no legal or regulatory issues to contend with.

I do question sometimes about pontificating the importance of providing such hospitality. It's something that can really set your listing apart, but only if everybody else doesn't do that. So, I sometimes  wonder if I should just shut up and keep this to myself (?).

Oh... too late 🙂

[Mary1523]

Hi @Sue2451 , couple of thoughts as I've explored this myself.

1. Majority of airbnbs I stay at that are superhost/Guest favourites don't charge, they provide free of charge. So it's a lovely surprise or additional extra. Myself, I provide a hamper of local produce as a Guest Welcome Pack which guests love. It's only a sample pack, not meant to feed everyone! Funnily enough, I promote it on the listing, but it's always a surprise to guests and they comment publicly in the reviews about it (so it tells me they didn't notice or pick the place because of it...hmmmm as I would!). These guests pay enough a night (12 guest booking) so I'm not going to charge anything more. 

2. There's a professional airbnb manager near me who manages about 25 properties. As part of their package to hosts, they have an ordering service whereby they send the guests a link to a an online menu of extra stuff to order and pay (I suspect a separate offbook transaction from airbnb). Like pre-prepared meals, wine, fruit, cheese platter etc. I suspect it gets some business, otherwise why would they do it?... Time poor  guests would probably appreciate if it was reasonably priced. We are in a very touristy region known for food and wine, so it probably adds some value. I personally wouldn't order it because I find the messaging of it a little too profiteering. There's no mention of the brand of wine for example and it just sounds like a money grab. Some of these guests are paying over $600/night, so to have to pay for 1 bottle of wine is a bit rich.

3. I stayed once in a place that had all that stuff, and then asked the guests to pay then and there via an honour system. Sufficient to say, that didn't work too well. The host told me guests conveniently ignored the signage and it was a bad experience overall. Even though he had priced everything too....Guests just expect it to be provided, its not a mini bar hotel experience!

4. However having said all that, I think if your selling point/differentiator is that you are a cook of some repute, it's your passion etc and it comes across in your message that you are doing for the love of cooking etc, people will connect with that and with some photos of what you provide, ordered up front and paid for upfront, it could generate extra income for you. I assume also that your properties are priced for small guest numbers so its not something you can absorb into the price anyways. And guests will understand that....

Be curious as to what you end up doing, as I'm thinking of how I could charge for the various elements I offer in my hamper for my much smaller listings of 2-6 people, I can't afford to factor into the margin as they get the house super cheap rate. I know I would setup a commerce website with a payment gateway to scale it, but would test it first with a manual order form and ask them to bank transfer. Although mine aren't handmade, so I would have to margin up the cost price. All food for thought.....

All the best,

Kind regs

Mary

[Karen114]

@Sue2451 Sounds like a great idea if you have the time and inclination. Nothing like a home cooked meal ready and waiting for you upon arrival. 

[Marie8425]

@Sue2451 

There is a big difference in offering store bought items or you make.  You have to check laws about selling food made in your personal kitchen.  Some states like Arizona where many do, the state hass a procedure for acquiring a  cottage license.  When you are selling something a person consumes, your state usually has inspections of where prepared and liability insurance for the preparation.

[Sue2451]

Yes I have the required licenses etc. @Marie8425 

[Quincy]

Hi @Sue2451, I'm just chiming in here to let you know that I've added an @ tag to your comment so that @Marie8425  get's a notification of your reply 😊

[Robert8235]

Hi, Is this something you have figured out how to add to your listing as a paid service? If so how?