Timing for breakfast

[Leila496]

Breakfast is included in my pricing.  As it means getting up at least one hour before the start time, I have chosen to offer a start time of 8 am until 9:30 m or later at times.  I recently had a bad review because I said I offered  breakfast from 8 am, and the guests wanted an earlier breakfast at 7 am so they did not have breakfast and felt cheated.  I have had previous guests who have not insisted on an early breakfast as they understood my viewpoint and did not complain.  What do you do in your own setting?  And how would you deal with people who want an earlier breakfast?

[Shelley159]

Wow @Leila496 you go through much more trouble than many of us! It's gotten you great reviews so far, so the breakfast is obviously an appreciated nice touch.

Do you usually know in advance when people will check out early? Perhaps in such cases you can leave some breakfast items in the room. It won't be a good as your cooked breakfast, but they won't be able to say they didn't get breakfast.

[Lorna170 · Accepted solution]

@Leila496  I am sorry that you had an unappreciative and demanding guest.  If I were your guest, I would have changed my plans in order to enjoy a cooked breakfast.  Your serving hours are easy to understand and amenable.

In the event that you have another unbending guest, as @Shelley159 suggested, do have a basket of assorted breakfast items that you can hand to the guest that can be eaten in the comfort of their space along with a morning tea or coffee also prepared by them in their space. 

You are a thoughtful host, not a 24-hour cafe service.

[Frances3408]

@Leila496 . I remote host and we arent allowed to provide cooked meals unless zoned as a business so most Airbnb's here refer guests to the local options. I have had guests who like to rise early, others who like to sleep in so I cant imagine trying to get them all together for the same time as you do! So instead I provide breakfast supplies. If I was home hosting I would stick to a set time. Maybe try to add the times to those pics with the breakfast foods (pic 4) as some bookers skip the wordy description and go straight to the pictures!

What I also do provide is a Guidebook in my online listing for local places to eat and visit and I also mention it again in pre arrival messages the local coffee options if they dont like the pod machine (we've become a nation of coffee snobs).

You cant please all the guests all the time so dont second guess your hosting when you are so well rated. All the best.

[Leila496]

Thank you for your answer.  I have not yet provided an online guide book, but I have printed some information sheets in both French and English with suggestions of places where to eat, plus literature on places to visit.

The reason I provide a breakfast is that there is no kitchen in my airbnb lodging, and although I have set up a kitchenette with fridge, microwave, cuttlery and pod machines for coffee and kettle for tea, there is no way for the guests to prepare a breakfast or even wash up afterwards.  This is why I offer a breakfast and times are indicated on the information sheets.  I have now also included it on the automatic response when people make a booking, with the addition that before the set time I can provide breakfast but it will be a self serve option.  I also never receive more than one set of people at the time, ie from one group only who I ask on arriving what time they will want breakfast.  

Now I have wondered whether I should offer breakfast at all and as you say indicate local places where they could go.  However, I feel breakfast is the icing on the cake, as the bedrooms and bathroom are in the basement of my house and some people may not like this.  It is clearly mentioned in my description, and although in the basement it can be very light on sunny days, and I keep the heating on on chilly days.  It can also be a bonus on very hot days as it is a refuge of coolness.  I feel that if I did not offer breakfast because of the lack of kitchen facilities in the airbnb premises people would not book.  It certainly would make life easier for me.

So not sure whether I should take the plunge.  It may prove a deciding factor for people who come for a longer stay than one or two nights and who do need a kitchen.  So really not sure.

[Frances3408]

@Leila496 . The advantage of providing food options as they book is they can start to plan. If your accommodations are modest you want to encourage them to get out and about, unless the majority are overnight in which case a cooked breakfast at 8am may be too late. How long were the unhappy guests staying for?

I do have cooking facilities in my listings as it means I can easily host longer term stays for owners too. You could always add breakfast as an optional extra for a fee, noting it needs to be paid for at time of booking but could be refunded at arrival if they change their minds.

Or do a deal with a local cafe that can provide a voucher/credit built into your tariff and send the early birds there 😉

I look for flexibility as the vast majority of my guests are holiday and short break makers so we like to throw out the clock. I also dont want to be hovering around waiting for guests to decide if I am to cook for them, what and when. But thats me.

Do what works for you.

[Helen3]

Wow what a nasty guest. If your breakfast times are clearly advertised on your listing then they have no cause for complaint. @Leila496 

Personally I don't offer breakfast as I don't want to be tied down to having to be around to prepare it and there are so many allergies and expectations around offering gluten or dairy free. 

[Leila496]

The  guests marked me down for everything as they were clearly disgruntled about not having breakfast when they wanted it.  It brings my rating down which was quite high up to that point.  It shakes my confidence as well with regard to everything they marked down.  Hopefully my next guests will bring all this back up.  Not everybody is this grumpy.

Breakfast is continental, lots on offer, and people can pick and choose what suit them.