Do you upsell any extra services?

[Liv]

Hey everyone, 

A few Hosts have been experimenting with selling extra amenities and services to guests - apart from the stay itself. This got me thinking and I’m curious to know if any of you have ever tried or thought about doing something similar.

It could be an optional meal that you cook yourself, a ride to the airport that you charge for separately or perhaps some paintings made by a local artist.

Either way, I’d love to learn more about extras you might offer guests. Do you upsell anything in your listing? How do you advertise it to guests?

Thanks,

Liv

[Craig666]

We don't upsell anything - all of the snacks and things in the bnb are free to the guest.  

We did stay at a bnb where the host had some free items, and others were an "honor system" fee.  I wasn't put off by it, and her intentions were friendly - offering small meals to travelers who arrive late, or if there was bad weather.  My only issue was the items she offered: ramen, granola bars, etc... kind of cheap stuff that I would just offer to guests.  If I was going to ask for payment, I'd probably have something a bit nicer, but to each his own!

[Lise-Lotte0]

I think we all see our Airbnb guests as guests of the house and like to give them the same feeling of being welcome, which we give the private friends who visit us.
Hence, I expand my presentation of my guesthouse, offering my guests quality take-away food and beverages, as well as ingredients for the breakfast the first morning, ready in the house. Though in my house presentation, I miss the possibility of giving, my guests a link to a homepage providing them with information about what to choose between and prices.  Not to “get anything out of the guest except a booking”, but to make my guest feel welcomed.
I can tell the family having travelled with small children all day, arriving in a house in the countryside late afternoon, appreciate the feeling of being welcomed to a cozy warm or cooled house - and an almost ready meal in the fridge.
A service like this may be expanded with further options, all offering the guests the privacy of a guesthouse or rented flat, combined with hotel amenities.

[Daryl78]

Does anyone view allowing pets (specifically dogs) as an "upsell"?  We have to charge through the App for "extra services" for the pet fee because AirBnB doesn't have an option for guests to list their pets.  We've disclosed our fees in the listing and have only had one guest get REALLY upset at the audacity to charge for housing their animal and subsequently cancelled, one guest that refused to pay (but maybe the blown glass pot pipe they left was in lieu of payment? #facepalm).  We also charge for pet damages, another thing that AirBnB doesn't support.  If a pet damages one of our cottages, AirBnB is hands off because the App doesn't support pets so we are left to try and recover that money post-stay.  Our most recent pet damage guest took 3 months to finally send a check.   Other than that we don't upsell. 

We've also considered bikes but the liability is concerning and the bike shop 2 miles away rents them.

We give firewood for free.

We share leftover charcoal and fluid for the grills for free.

Oh YES!  We upcharge if guests want a second set of towels at $5/person.  We have 12 cottages and everyone gets a single set of towels.  If a guest wants/needs more and doesn't want to travel with them, then they can obtain them from us for $5/each set. 

[Carolyn--J0]

I do. It IS what I'm geared up for.   Dog Agility field, kennels, & all.   Raised & trained dogs for 25 yrs.  I'm charging out right for dogs. If someone wants to pay the cost & not bring dogs, & very neat, I  might slip something back. I offer a Agility lesson, if they want to try it with their dog.

[Sarah977]

@Carolyn--J0  Very cool. I would have loved to have stayed with you when my dog was young. She used to run really fast, full tilt, straight towards all the barbed wire fences in my area, and people who were watching would cringe, assuming she'd get torn to shreds, but she would flatten herself out and sail between two lines of barbed wire a foot and a half apart. She's a big dog, too.

I probably could have taught her to jump through a flaming hoop if I'd known how.

[Levee0]

It is an interesting topic. I do not have any viable idea yet that may be useful or interesting to charge the guests. For now, I just do the weekly laundry of long-term guests free of charge

minus the folding. I just would like to maintain the privacy of our basement.

[Luca86]

I am offering ebikes, the guests love it and I am making some extra money!

[Alex7939]

I added my garage for $10 per night. And do ask guest if they'll want this added to their stay just to make sure it's ready if they decide to. If a guest seems unsure I'll offer to let them add it on at any point during their stay if they change their mind. However, I do not push or try to pursuade and I also make it clear free street and driveway parking can be seen from their bedroom window. 

[Sean119]

We offer handmade, block-printed t-shirts with the name of our farm and the town/state.  They are really cute and gives the guest something special to remember their stay.  We let them know that 100% of all sales are donated to local charities (which they are:)  We feel the offering gives guests the option to contribute to our local community, which many consider special.  

[Deborah1127]

I am looking at maybe adding Turo car service next year.

[Chris1564]

Yes, we sell additional services to our guests.  The possibilities of what to offer, and how to execute, vary with each individual management circumstance.  

[Vivek72]

Hey @Chris1564 , just seeing your message. Would love to know how you are offering the additional services and how is it going?

Thanks

[Chris1564]

Hi @Vivek72 ,
  We offer additional services to guests at our booking website, and throughout the guests stay via the guests reservation link. It's a great feature we offer allowing for guests to enhance their trip with additional services and options from small things like extra beds or linens, to big things like EV-Charging onsite. This allows us to accommodate guest that are looking for an elevated experience, and/or amenities.

[Carolyn--J0]

I do upsell an Agility Lesson, if they want try the equipment with their dog(s).    As bringing their dogs, IS what I'm totally geared up & listed for.  Raise & trained dogs for 25 yrs.  I'm charging out right for dogs. If someone wants to pay the cost & not bring dogs, & are very neat, I have slipped something back.

[Irene561]

Yes, on one occasion I had some tree surgeons renting for a few days.  As they were out working all day I offered to deliver a two course simple but hearty meal each evening rather than be dependant on takeaways or ready meals.  They were delighted to accept and appreciated the home cooking.

However I did this by private arrangement and as a favour as I don’t think I could offer it through Airbnb without being a registered ‘food business’