@Linda1556 I asked this very same question a few months ago. I got some good reassurance from experienced hosts.
I would make a few suggestions...
Don’t compre yourself to other markets. Culture, standards, tourism, economy etc. don’t make for easy like-for-like comparisons.
First calculate your costs. Factor in EVERYTHING, including any taxes, utilities, cleaning chemicals, all those consumables per booked night. Then work out the cost of all your linens and towels coffee machines, fridges etc. and divide it by the number of booked nights over their average life. You should then get a nightly cost of doing business. Work out how much your own time is worth and how many hours you put in to administrate and clean the listing, and add it on top of your expenses. You have to, as a minimum, price above whatever this cost-point is, and increasing amenities that would take your costs over your room rate simply doesn’t make financial sense. Determine if whatever margin is there is worth it for you - intangibles like “I enjoy showing people my city”, or “meeting people from other walks of life improves me” are completely legitimate to factor in at this stage!
Look at your other local hosts who have comparable listings in the same area. Do a comp-shop... What do they offer? What do they cost? Are their reviews better or worse than yours? This will help you see if you’re pitching the right price for the local market and to see if your current amenities should move your price point up or down. The recent increase in the transparency of the ratings will help you!
Next, check who’s booking up first, you or similar listings in the area? If it’s you then you could probably up your price which would allow you to increase your margin or increase your amenities. If it’s them and you’re still fully booked then the same thing goes, but if it’s them and you have empty room-nights, then you’re probably priced too high, so you need to reduce your price (no further than your cost-point though) otherwise you’d be losing money with every booking.
You will now know if you’re pitching correctly, and importantly your margin (room rate minus cost per night). Make a personal decision about whether you want to increase amenities which will necessarily decrease your margin or require you to increase your room rate, or to keep your offering the same.
In terms of added extras, do it if you want to, it will certainly make a good impression. I would personally pass the cost on to the guest and give my time involved for free as it’s not in your calculations above. If you’re a nicer person than me, then base it on, “Would I give them this money out of my pocket if I met them on the street?”
I hope at least some one of that made sense!
