Charge for use of unlimited use of printer?

[Sierra29]

Has anyone charged any extra for unlimited use of a printer? I have guests that are requesting a printer in the home (they have use of the whole house) so we are bringing our printer from our main home. Is this something that would be an extra charge, if so, how much?

Thanks!

[Emiel1]

@Sierra29 

It can been seen as a (very good!) service from your side to please your guests. 

But the guest is responsible for damages and i assume the guest will pay the material used (like ink/toner, paper), if use is  more then an incidental printout.

I sometimes have guests who need to print something (a boarding card, a ticket). If they are nice guests, i ask for the file and i print it for them, as a service (i live next door).  (If they or not nice, i tell them to visit the printing service in the city centre)

Bu i never considered  to give the guests the printing device itself...

best regards,

Emiel

[Mark116]

@Sierra29  I wouldn't do it, too much opportunity for problems, the printer will not work the way they want it to, they will damage it, etc.  As far as a charge, I'd charge them the cost of a new ink cartridge+toner, whatever that comes to.

[Sierra29]

Agreed. I think because they are flying from out of town, staying a month and between school and work they need a printer for both school and work- they said a medium amount of printing, not just printing tickets, etc.

It is not a problem to bring a printer here, but we are in a small mountain town, not near readily near a lot of resources where they could paper, etc., so really we will provide that as well and we live 3 hours away. It is one of those eco tanks so cartridges it will be full of ink where they won't have to purchase cartridges.  

Any thoughts to a charge and if so, how much?

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@Sierra29  The cost of one ink cartridge + paper seems quite fair to me, perhaps adding a bit on to that for electricity and wear & tear.

[Helen3]

Why don’t they just buy a cheap one for use stay?  @Sierra29 

[Mark116]

They really should have to buy their own paper!  Other than a few starter sheets, if they're printing work from home and school stuff or a month, they need to get paper for themselves.

[Anonymous]

@Mark116  I think a full packet of paper is worth throwing in (and building into the price) if you're already going to the trouble of lugging over your personal printer anyway. Presumably guests can order more by mail as needed.

Pre-Covid, I wouldn't have entertained the idea of supplying a printer to guests - as you pointed out, a lot of opportunity for problems. But the 2020 market has swung pretty decisively toward home-office features now that mobile work/study is outpacing purely recreational tourism. 

[Mark116]

@Anonymous  A ream of paper costs at least $20.  Yeah, maybe on the working from home aspect, but it feels fraught with possible problems. 

[Sierra29]

Agreed Andrew. We are a mountain retreat in Vermont and for years we got by with hotspot wifi and no printer for long weekends and a people looking for a getaway. Now we are hosting for weeks and months and upgraded our wifi to allow people to work remotely. We definitely don't mind adding a printer, but trying to figure out the nuances of it all.

[Anonymous]

@Sierra29  I think what you're experiencing fits with a lot of the current trends in travel that analysts have reported lately, so your approach makes sense. One concern I'd have is that once you offer something to the guest (even if it's not in the listing), it becomes in their mind an entitlement just like the listed amenities, and factors into how they assess you. So if that printer jams or malfunctions at an inconvenient time, there's nothing stopping them from holding you responsible for it. Hopefully the communication up to now has been cordial enough to put your mind at ease.

For hosts in a similar situation who don't want to supply a printer:  another solution to suggest to guests is an online service like LetterStream, in which you can upload a document for a one-time fee, and they will print and ship it for you. 

[Ute42]

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@Sierra29 

And as You know they will have to install the printersoftware onto their laptop or mobile phone and the 2 units have to connect to each other. Maybe they will need a specific cable, maybe the will want to connect the 2 devices through wifi - can they do that or will they call You for help, 3 hrs away.  If You do provide the printer You should be absolutely clear about what You will provide (printer, 500 sheets of paper, cartridges as they are) and what You will not provide: Anything else that is not mentioned, especially no help to get the system running.

No matter what, I see trouble on the horizon.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sierra29 I wouldn't do it. I really think this is going beyond what a host should do and could lead to more and more bizarre requests.

@Mark116 Either paper is expensive in NY or you are going for high quality. We can get a cheap ream in the UK for less than £5 tax included!

[Cormac0]

@Sierra29 

Is your Airbnb office ready? 

BTW on most printers  you can check the amount of pages printed, so before you hand over the printer check the amount of pages already printed and you can then see home many  pages your guest added to the print que, presumably your guest expects you to provide paper as well?

I would charge a nominal fee per page printed, obviously if your guest only prints ten pages or less, one would ignore the fee. Check what the local print store charge.

As usual great practical points made by @Ute42