The first 2 years that I had 3 tiny cabin listings I would include 2 Keurig pods per adult, per day, for the Keurig brewer we supplied in each cabin. Most of the time, most of the coffee would be us used. Beginning the third year, we stocked the coffee caddy with as many pods as it can hold in each kitchen, approximately 24. When entering the kitchen after the guest checks out it's easy to glance at the caddy and see how much coffee is used, and it's been less on average than the first 2 years as we've offered a larger supply of it! (maybe someone smart can comment here about the psychology of scarcity vs abundance 🙂 I think that when guests see a fully stocked coffee caddy that doesn't feel appropriated like a cheap hotel, the host can convey care, trust, and possibly luxury, AND I never have to respond to any requests for more coffee pods or coffee accessories.
Next, beginning year 4, as I noticed some guests either ask specific questions about the coffee set up, or bring their own coffee geekery to usurp my Keurig provisions, I ran a test in one listing. I bought and stocked the following in one of our cabins:
- 1 electric burr grinder (Bodum)
- 1 digital scale
- 1 french press
- 1 Chemex brewer with filters in a custom bamboo caddy
- 1 stove top goose neck water kettle
- total spent on this equipment was about $200.
I added to the listing description that this cabin was stocked with a nerdier level of coffee brewing gear (vs Keurig), and that if the guest would like to use it they could request coffee beans from me and I would provide an 8oz bag of coffee in the cabin for free. After one year of this offering, about 20% of our guests have opted in to this 'craft' coffee option, AND THEY LOVE IT. The ripple effects have been huge. Now, we get inquiries and bookings specifically because we offer this, and guests often comment, and some rave, during and after the stay that really enjoyed the higher level coffee option. Now this coffee setup/option has been in all 5 listings for over a year and it really has been such a great way to add value for many guests.
I get the coffee from a local roaster who pre-packages in beautiful 8oz sealed bags and I provide the first one, giving guests the option to purchase additional coffee for an extended stay or to take with them.
Same abundance philosophy goes for the Mighty Leaf teas that we provide, probably 20 bags of individual teas to choose from, and rarely more than one or two used, but it looks and feels great on display in the caddy. We provide a tea pot and have the water kettle available for this also.
In the coffee caddy:
- individual non-dairy creams
- raw sugar and stevia packets
- keurig pods
- teas
- stir sticks
- one bottle of Monin vanilla syrup
