What fee do you charge and how much?

[Linda4964]

I am one month only in being a host here, and I am curious how much and what kind of fee you are charging your guests. 

i don’t know what I’m doing yet and it’s not really comforting. But I guess it is what it is for now. 

so I’m going share my own and you can maybe advise me if it’s reasonable or have your input.

What I set up is a cleaning fee for $230 per long stay, and $195 for short stay. I allowed the 2nd guest to be included with the booker meaning the 2nd guest does not get charged. However the 3rd, 4th and more will add an extra $5 per nights. I am thinking it might be low perhaps and jump that to $10 per night instead. That way it doesn’t tremendously increase the booker’s cost but it does a bit to compensate of each extra guest coming in (utilities, extra cleaning,  etc.) I also offer a 10% discount for 7+ night, a 20% discount for 28+ nights and I figured as I am new a 20% for the 3 next stay, like Airbnb suggested me to. 

I already had a guest for a week, and currently hosting now (which is day 2 and he didn’t show yet with his guests but that is in another thread) 

I would wish your insights - thanks for sharing any. Everything you share will help me be wiser in this new journey 

my listing: https://www.airbnb.com/l/NVG3grMy 

[Karen114]

@Linda4964 The home is absoutely gorgeous! 

I am not a fan of per guest pricing as it will be gamed and you will be mad and disappointed when they book for two and 6 show up and they have paid for two.  If you sleep 6 just charge the max rate.  Your rates are not unreasonable for the home you are offering.

The only way I would do per guest pricing is lock off the other bedrooms.  If reservation is for 2 guests, they get the master bed and the others are locked off.  This of course will create friction when they arrive and see the rooms locked off becuase they weren't honest at booking.  If they are locked with coded locks you could always give them the code and charge accordingly.  Seems like too much work and drama for me though. 

Cleaning fees are now factored into the total rate so guests no longer see the "cleaning fee"  I would just make sure that the fee is reasonable so that it's not inflating your nightly rate too much. 

Some newbie mistakes I see..  Izod towels..  very expensive and they will get ruined or go missing. Great job on the colored towels though as white towels are largely disposable after a few uses unless you are there to soak and use guerilla stain removal tactics on  them at every turn over.

Offering a printer and office supplies, this is a nice touch for sure but just be prepared for it to break without you knowing and the next guest can't use it.Then there is the paper and ink that will have to be managed.   

You are in a drive to location which means things like cleaning supplies, laundry pods, printers etc can grow legs very quickly.  I know as I also host in Florida.  Many guests drive and many things go missing.  The worst was my nice Bissel upholstery cleaner. 😥.  I suggest just leaving out enough for them to get through their stay.  Cleaning supplies are a must but leaving an entire bottle of Fabuloso.. 

Lastly,  I see a sign on the door in the laundry room about keep out surveillance.  No cameras are allowed in the interior of the home even if they are behind a locked door.  I would put a double dead bolt, needs to be opened with a key on each side,  and just put a nice sign, Owner's Closet. 

Hope this helps and best of luck! 

[Linda4964]

Hi Karen,

Thank you for your detailed feedback and insights! I truly appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.

• Do you use something different than the per-guest pricing? Is it better?

• Locking off rooms for smaller bookings can be an interesting idea. However, it already feels like a hassle. So, I will opt out.

• What do you mean by that: "If you sleep 6, just charge the max rate. Your rates are not unreasonable for the home you are offering"?

• Regarding cleaning fees, according to the different quotes I've received, the range was between $350 and $550 per deep cleaning. Yet I'm asking less than the average. Thanks for pointing out to me that they were already factored in.

• Regarding the towels -- great point. I have been a long-time user of this brand, and my goal has been to provide the best experience for our guests. I didn't think about being damaged and, worse, being missing, which will be stealing. All the towels I've seen look cheap-looking and disappointing. Do you have any suggestions for this? It will be very regretful to see them disappear for sure. What do you use?

• The same applies to the printer, office supplies, and other materials. I was being thoughtful and trying to make the guest experience more convenient. But I see the risk of all that. For the printer, once the office supplies are used up, I could eventually put it in storage. However, it was again intended to elevate the experience. That's another great point on 'eventually someone will mess with it or break it.' The funny thing is that this was my husband's idea. Haha.  

• Additionally, I hadn't considered the possibility of people stealing supplies - that would be unfortunate. For this, you earn a nice point, and I will follow your suggestion by leaving enough for their stay. I thought it would incline the guest to give perhaps a 5-star review.

• Is it common to fully accommodate the guests with supplies for their entire stay? I'm saying this because I was once a guest myself, which was in Tennessee, and it was only 2 TP and one PTowel; the rest we had to buy ourselves. Yet I have seen all kinds of answers about that.

• Lastly, the camera is located in the garage, which is attached to the house. I haven't included the garage in the listing because it is where all my valuable items, other supplies for the listing, and personal items are stored. This is why I put the sign and left the original camera. Yet, it's a great point to install a double deadbolt with both key sets. Thanks for that! Therefore, I can't say 'owner closet' as it is our garage, and I would feel miserable if something were to go missing from there, so it has been set up this way for now.

Thank you, Karen, again for your valuable suggestions. Hopefully, as I journey into this, I will make wiser decisions, the ones that will maximize my listing's earnings. Although I'm glad that, just a month into listing my property, I already had 2 over-week guests booking. Hopefully, it will continue to grow, and maybe I could be a superhost like you are.

Thank you infinitely for all your guidance and support, Karen.

Linda.

[Karen114 · Accepted solution]

@Linda4964  

• Do you use something different than the per-guest pricing? Is it better? Yes, I just price for the entire space whether it's 2 guests or 6.  My units sleep 4 or 6.  I have been tempted to do the per guest pricing but just know it will be a problem and I try to limit my stress and anger levels the older I get.  

• Regarding cleaning fees, according to the different quotes I've received, the range was between $350 and $550 per deep cleaning. Yet I'm asking less than the average. Thanks for pointing out to me that they were already factored in. That is good if you can still have a reasonable cleaning fee and turn a profit.  I too charge less than what the cleaning service charges me. 

• Regarding the towels -- great point. I have been a long-time user of this brand, and my goal has been to provide the best experience for our guests. I didn't think about being damaged and, worse, being missing, which will be stealing. All the towels I've seen look cheap-looking and disappointing. Do you have any suggestions for this? It will be very regretful to see them disappear for sure. What do you use?  The guest may not necessarily steal them but if they damage them, they will toss them. I buy my towels on Amazon and do not buy white.  I started with white towels 15 years ago  and it was just an effort in futility.  It is discussed ad nauseum in every hosting group daily.  About 5 years ago I switched to all Navy and grey, black or gray wash cloths.  No complaints and very rarely have to replace towels. Sheets are all white however not expensive.  I get the Millani brand on Amazon and get a lot of compliments.  I often buy bulk fitted, flat sheets and pillow cases which break down to very little per sheet and just toss them when they get stained. 

• The same applies to the printer, office supplies, and other materials. I was being thoughtful and trying to make the guest experience more convenient. But I see the risk of all that. For the printer, once the office supplies are used up, I could eventually put it in storage. However, it was again intended to elevate the experience. That's another great point on 'eventually someone will mess with it or break it.' The funny thing is that this was my husband's idea. Haha.  If you are local to your rental and can troubleshoot then you can try it out and see how it goes.  Once it breaks and you don't or can't provide an immediate resolution you will get, "the printer is the only reason we rented your space", and they will request a refund.  Any amenity that is not working, Air will provide a 30% refund so just be careful with that. 

• Additionally, I hadn't considered the possibility of people stealing supplies - that would be unfortunate. For this, you earn a nice point, and I will follow your suggestion by leaving enough for their stay. I thought it would incline the guest to give perhaps a 5-star review. There are many hosts that leave thoughtful gifts, snacks, complimentary gift cards etc and they are very rarely thanked for it or mentioned in a review.  I am not local so don't offer things like that.  I do let them know they will be given a starter pack of supplies that will get them through their first few days and mileage will vary depending on guest count and length of stay.  Most guests are renting a home vs hotel room because they want to be able to cook etc and that will require a trip to the grocery store.   I most recently was in town restocking supplies and I do leave a full bottle of Cascade diswasher liquid under the sink.  I went back for something else after a guest that drove to the property and the entire bottle was gone. 😥

• Lastly, the camera is located in the garage, which is attached to the house. I haven't included the garage in the listing because it is where all my valuable items, other supplies for the listing, and personal items are stored. This is why I put the sign and left the original camera. Yet, it's a great point to install a double deadbolt with both key sets. Thanks for that! Therefore, I can't say 'owner closet' as it is our garage, and I would feel miserable if something were to go missing from there, so it has been set up this way for now. For the savvy guest that knows the Airbnb rules etc this will open you up to a host of problems, no pun intended.  Air CS receives camera complaint from guest and the listing is immediately suspended.  Lock that door up good and use a deadbolt.  If a guest wants to get in there they will pry the door open steal your stuff and then report you have a camera.  Deadbolts make it more difficult to do. You can have a sign made, Private Area No Entrance or a skull and cross bones, High voltage area 😀

[John5097]

@Linda4964 

Congrats on the start of your hosting journey! 

@Karen114  already offered some great suggestions and she is always spot on. 

You should absolutely change out the door lock for the garage ASAP and get rid of the video surveillance sign. You can simply install a double keyed lock that is super easy and could easily do it yourself. Then just mention the garage isn't part of the listing in the Other Things to Note. 

You really don't want to take any chances with any kind of indoor camera.

It's not just an Airbnb rule. They will absolutely suspend the listing for any kind of indoor camera. 

Invasion of privacy can be very nuanced and involve massive lawsuits.

This is an article from Proper Insurance which is the leading STR insurance provider in the US.

https://www.proper.insure/blog/airbnb-security-cameras/


Most experienced landlords know all the ins and outs of privacy laws which can be very nuanced and not something most people wouldn't consider. 

Thankfully changing out a $40 lock is easy solution in this situation. This may seem very dramatic but you really can't be too careful. Even insurance would deny coverage for this situation and you would be totally on your own.