Things to do in the city you're hosting?

[NormaJean4]

Curious, has anyone ever made a list of things to do and see in the city they are hosting in? Recommendations? If so, how did you offer it?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@NormaJean4 We offer the list of things to do in our location verbally to guests upon arrival. Of course it is easier when the choice is limited to walking a local footpath or visiting the 13th century church over the fence at the bottom of the garden.

[Lorna170]

@NormaJean4   We have a printed guest guidebook that we have compiled from the places that we ourselves have visited in our area and from the very well curated tourist websites.  We recommend to our visitors at booking that they explore two primary tourism sites.  Most of our guests know why they are coming to our area, so our suggestions tend to be superfluous.

[Huma0]

@NormaJean4 

I use the guidebook feature on the Airbnb website. Although this is available to guests from the listing or from my profile page, I make sure to send them the link in a message a few days before they arrive too, just in case they missed it.

However, I am finding fewer and fewer guests make use of the guidebook. Maybe it's because I now host only long term guests and they seem to prefer to just ask me in person for local tips. When I hosted a lot of short term guests/tourists, many of them used to comment on how useful the guidebook was, so perhaps it just depends on the types of guests you are attracting.

[Debra300]

@NormaJean4,

No, I don't provide a things-to-do list for guests.  I used to provide information about available activities and attractions, but found that most of my guests either had no interest or budget to partake in them.  So, now I just suggest tucked away eating spots run by locals or mention a recently announced event.  I figure if they used the internet to make the reservation, they also had an opportunity to search for things they can do while on the island.

[Suzanne302]

@NormaJean4  I provide brochures from our visitors bureau, a guidebook in the room with info on things to do within walking distance, and a personally curated "Top 10" list of places to visit that includes everything from outdoor activities, to tourist spots, to fun bars and restaurants.

I have found guests to be very receptive to the "Top 10" list and many will visit at least one or two I've listed and thank me for it.

[M199]

@NormaJean4 

We have a 66 page Guidebook on our site.  In our "Thank you for boking..." confirmation, we reference the Guidebook and provide instructions on how to access it.  As well, we have a color print copy at the cottage.

We meet and greet and I always point out the Guidebook to guests. Truly, over 50% have thanked me and confirmed that they use the Guidebook.  Maybe, it's the presentation. I don't  know for sure.

Also, we have a Housebook that lists everything in the area, grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, local emergency and veterinarian contact info, numbers, etc.

There a are lots of hiking trails, so we provide local trail maps and local brochures.

Hope this helps.

[Gregory87]

@NormaJean4 :

Due to the fact that our Metro area encompasses two major cities as well as the suburbs plus the reason the guest(s) are visiting the area varies, it is difficult and often fruitless to provide a general list of items.  Instead, we provide a variety of resources around the apartment to which visitors can refer for ideas such as local magazines (Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine, Minnesota Monthly), brochures and business cards in our "lending library", past entries of the Guest Book we leave out, and an online Hostfully guidebook which contains our House Manual, suggestions for restaurants, grocery stores, fitness centers, pharmacies, bar, museums, and other items of interest.

When guests book, we do inquire as to their familiarity with the area and if they'd like some suggestions for when they're in town.  Periodically we are asked for tips and we'll provide some restaurants and/or activities based on their reason for coming (e.g. last week our guests were here to celebrate a birthday and they ended up taking a tour of the baseball field and visiting a local theme restaurant that had been suggested).

Basically, be open to helping your guests, but don't expend a lot of work since it can be challenging to figure out what is interesting/worthwhile to people.