Breakfast or no breakfast?

[Ian-And-Helen0]

Hi. My husband and I run a fairly sucessful AirBNB here in New Zealand. We provide a continental breakfast of a variety of cereals, toast with a range of jams/spreads, orange juice, yogurt and tea or coffee.  We recently did a world trip and was amazed that only one of the airBNBs we stayed at supplied breakfast. We would be interested as to how many do supply breakfast and how many don't.

I always thought that B&B stood for Bed and Breakfast?? Also is what we supply in line with others who do supply breakfast?

Cheers Helen

[Deborah1]

I would not offer breakfast in a "entire place" listing since they could go to the store and stock the frig. To let them know what they can have, I have a shelf in the frig labeled "guest" and a tray on the counter labeled in the same way.

[Huma0]

Hi @Jennifer178, yes I also do the tour, pointing out the teas and coffees etc. I tell them which milk is mine in the fridge and that they can help themselves to that, and to let me know if there's anything else they need. I give them fridge and cupboard space to put stuff they buy.

I don't want to be mean, but I have a housemate and two separate rooms on Airbnb, usually occupied so there are different people staying at the same time. If a guest eats my food/uses my towels or toiletries, it is annoyng, but no big deal. It's more of a problem if they help themselves to other people's stuff, i.e. my housemate's or the other guests.

To be honest, it hasn't been a problem with most, just the occasional guests who think it's a free for all. It's more annoying when they use other people's shampoos etc. than food. I don't know why they do this when I provide them with toiletries, but I guess they like to take the travel sized ones with them and help themselves to our stuff in the bathroom during their stay!

[Dee9]

@Huma0I too had the problem of people taking the travel size shampoo/conditioner/liquid soap. My son said to me "well ma if it was me, I would think they were free and I would take them too". So after his honest observation I made this change:

I bought inexpensive LARGE size shampoo/conditioner/liquid soap and printed labels that say "GUEST SOAP/DO NOT REMOVE, GUEST SHAMPOO/DO NOT REMOVE, GUEST CONDITIONER/DO NOT REMOVE" and stuck the labels on front AND back of the bottles. If for some reason they dont see the labels, the bottles are still too large for them to make the mistake of thinking they are free.

Hope this helps!!

[Huma0]

@Dee9 interesting idea. I don't mind them taking the travel sized toiletries. Maybe I would do the same, but only if I brought my own with me to use. I wouldn't help myself to other people's!

I stayed at a rather trendy 5 star hotel in Paris recently on a work trip. It was the first one I stayed in where there weren't travel sized toiletries. Instead, they had full size bottles of everything in fixtures in the shower and by the basin that you could use but not remove. Of course, they had a high end brand, so it still felt luxurious, but they must have saved a fortune on all those tiny little bottles...

They even had a vending machine in the lobby stocked with the same high end brand, which was fun, but maybe a bit out of our reach as Airbnb hosts!

[Jennifer178]

@Huma0  I live alone and my guests have their own bathroom.  My bathroom is in my bedroom and I lock my door when I am not home.  My bedroom is on its own floor up 5 steps.  There is no reason for guests to ever go near the door. If I had roommates I would have to rethink my entire approach.  Actually, if I had a roommate there would be no place for a guest. That can be a difficult dance with the needs of a group of people to be addressed. I admire the fact that you seem to make it work.

In the fridge I have a shelf cleared for guests who do buy some food or come home with leftovers.  In the guest bathroom I keep 2 wash clothes (couples seem to share 1), 1 hand towel on a ring by the sink, 2 more on a shelf (never get used) and 3 big fluffy towels.  I always tell people to ask if they need more of anything, almost no one ever does. Okay, except for the lady who went through a bizarre amount of TP.  There is blowdryer for them as well.  The iron and ironing board are in the guestroom closet. My setup is the same whether it is a single person or a couple. I have tried to make them as self-sufficient as possible with all the comforts of home.

In the shower caddy I have a large bottle of body wash and a bar of soap so guests have options.  There is a medium size bottle of shampoo and one of conditioner.  In the cabinet I have 2 spare rolls of toilet paper.  In tavel size I have 1 each of cotton swabs, face wash, hairspray, shaving cream, more shampoo, lotion, ittle packets of Shout stain remover and baby powder. I also offer a spare toothbrush, large tube of toothpaste and a razor. Not a single thing has ever been taken!  In fact some of the items are have been only partially used after 6 months. I think I have the normal day to day needs covered. If you can advise on something else to keep in the bathroom I would love to know. 

I know I have been extremelly lucky. I have probably cursed myself now!!

[Huma0]

Hi @Jennifer178, it sounds like you are very generous with your guests and it sounds like you have it covered. I also provide them with many of the things you mentioned: their own shelf in the fridge, plenty of towels, toiletries, extra rolls of toilet paper, hairdryer. Still, some of them just help themselves, e.g. some guests think they can just take a fresh towel every day and leave the used one in my laundry basket. So, I had to remove the spare towels from the bathroom and my housemate and I had to take our shampoos and shower gels etc. out of the shower and hide them away.

I guess the problem is that the bathrooms are shared. This morning lying in bed, I was casting my eyes around my room wondering if I might be able to somehow squeeze an en suite in there!

Anyway, I am moaning really about a small percentage of guests. Most are very respectful of our stuff.

Juggling a housemate with guests is a challenge though. She did agree to it before I started hosting, but I don't think she likes it very much. Apart from a long-term one that she got on very well with, she has no interaction with the guests and doesn't seem to want any.

[Jennifer178]

Hi @Huma0,  I originally wanted to leave the extra towels and sheets in drawers in the guest room (almost no one uses the bureau) and the bathroom supplies in the guest bathroom. I thought about the fact that if people find these things it will make them think there is a bounty, and maybe people appreciate less that of which there is plenty.  So now all supplies are in my bedroom as well as all my paper products. I buy in bulk to get better prices.  I feel like my bedroom is turning into a storage room!  And my bedroom is small.  

I wish you success in the process of keeping your roommate, guests and most importantly yourself happy.  Enjoy your Saturday night in lovely London.  I always have a great time there!

[Huma0]

@Jennifer178 @Dee9, so I've started adding in lots of extras to the travel toiletries I provide for guests, e.g. toothbrushes, razors, sewing kits, and a bunch of other stuff, as well as the usual shampoo, shower gel and soap. I've increased the range of teas, coffees etc. and provided them with milk. Sometimes I put a bowl of fruit in the room too.

When they check in, I show them all of this as well as their shelf in the fridge/space in the cupboard. I then politely ask them please to not take other people's food/toiletries without asking, explaining that they may belong to my housemate or another guest who will be upset if someone uses their stuff. I tell them if there is anything extra they would like, including more toiletries, they should ask me and I'd happy to help.

So, they say, no of course we would NEVER take anyone else's stuff! We brought our own toiletries! We're going to eat out/we've just been to the supermarket.

Then what do they do? They help themselves to whatever they like!

Okay, so I'm not talking about every guest, but it seems to be becoming more of a regular thing.

[Ian-And-Helen0]

I do like to put some chocolates in their room to greet them on arrival.

I feel its a nice touch. When we were overseas we were greeted by 

one host who had a welcome basket for us. That was a lovely touch.

Muesli bar, bottle of water, chippies, small toiletrie samples too.

It is these little things that make it special I think.

[Ian-And-Helen0]

Yes you are right, there is such a range of accomodation available and I guess

we all do what suits us and our guests.Helen

[Lawrene0]

I'm always very interested in this, @Ian-And-Helen0. We are pretty remote, and it is a camping-style accommodation, so a few guests like to cook their own over a fire, but most come up to the house for breakfast. There are no café options nearby for them, and I do like to cook. It is usually waffles, but I take allergies and preferences into account. It's a nice opportunity to get to know them better, if they are into that. 

That's only if I am home. If I am not, I offer to leave out the airbnb-sanctioned bagels for them :). (We get those reminders to stock bagels. Ugh, I'm explaining the joke, but just didn't want anyone to misunderstand what I was on about with "sanctioned".)

As to the bnb thing, some say it is Bed and Breakfast, and some say it is Bed No Breakfast. So it can be what you want it to be!

[Lisa40]

Airbnb stands for air bed and breakfast. They say to not take the name literally, that it is to show the eclectic range of places available. 

[Dee9]

i offer a bagged to-go breakfast (on the day of departure only) to assist with their exit.

i do not think it is fair to judge others ability to serve breakfast or not. It depends on a variety of factors as many have stated here.  And as you have experienced yourself hands on as a guest, its not necessarily the norm.

[Anita120]

I'm from Ohio and the tax laws state you can't include breakfast in the cost of the room otherwise you will pay taxes on the entire booking. How do others work around this?

[Dee9]

@Anita120

Airbnb only issues tax forms to hosts who made more than $20,000yr.

It says so right on this website, and i have an email from customer service stating so.