How do I take Payment for Mini Bar items?

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Joanne202
Level 2
England, United Kingdom

How do I take Payment for Mini Bar items?

Hi,

I would like to add a mini bar to my apartment and stock it with alcohol and soft drinks.  Does anyone know if I can charge for any items removed from the mini bar through the resolution centre and use the guests security deposit?

Thanks

Jo

1 Best Answer
Tim-And-Lee0
Level 3
Woodland, WA

My POV is we are here to be an outstanding service to our guests... we have an honor bar with a few items from costco (wine is the exception, but I never buy it at more than 6.00/bottle) and I leave the following message:

THE MAPLERIDGE HONOR BAR

-An Experience in Honor and Convenience-

Our guests frequently arrive without nibbles, drinks or basic groceries. For your convenience we provide a few bottles of wine and water, some cookies and candies, and a cracker or two. These are for your convenience, and we want you to enjoy this 'emergency' cache of goodies. At the same time if you leave an 'honor payment' for whatever you use we will continue to provide this convenience for future guests! Also, we are writing a feature story for AirBnB Magazine about how this works out! So enjoy! And let's pay it forward for all our future guests!

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21 Replies 21

@Joanne202 - Yes, you can charge for items that guests consume if they are aware that consumption will result in an additional fee.  You will need to put it in your house rules and put in steps to be able to "prove" that the guests did, indeed, eat or drink items from the mini-bar in case they deny it.  This will be harder than you think and Airbnb may deny your request for additional funds if the guest refuses to pay. 

 

You will also need to be careful with liquor laws, consult a lawyer, and probably make sure you carry insurance to protect you from lawsuits filed from injured parties because you provided alcohol (this will not be covered by Airbnb's Host Guarantee!) Remember, an Airbnb stay is not like staying in a hotel, it is an opportunity to share a home that may otherwise be unoccupied.  

 

Yes, you would use the Resolution Center to collect this money. No, you cannot use the security deposit to collect these fees.  The Security Deposit is to cover the cost of damages.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/767/what-is-the-resolution-center

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/140/how-does-airbnb-handle-security-deposits

 

A good read: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/investing/buy-to-let/the-airbnb-pitfalls-that-could-end-up-costing-you-t...

 

Personally, I'd provide soda for free and provide directions to the nearest liquor store for booze.  Providing alcohol does not sound like a good idea to me at all.  

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the advice!

@Joanne202 some time ago I thought I remember someone working on an app, or a service, or something that acted sort of like a minibar for these situations.

 

I wish I remembered what it was.

 

Even though everyone here is pretty careful about keeping all payments and such on the AirBnB system, there is a strong argument that if you put out some sodas and chips and have the guests leave a few dollars in cash for it, AirBnB won't care on way or another.

It is sort of like running a bodega, except really small and really close.

 

I think the app you are thinking of was called Honor Tab. I was researching it to write a blog article about how to up-sell on Airbnb. Sadly the app is no longer available on the app store and the website is no longer maintained. I think they've given up on it. Instead, I recommend an honesty box or using PayPal PayMe links on the items for sale. Here's the full article in case of interest. http://bit.ly/2PCBJiu

Cormac0
Level 10
Kraków, Poland

@Joanne202

 

In my estimation, it sounds like a stick to beat your own back with, avoid it like the plague.

 

Let me further suggest, it will cost you more money than its worth.

 

I had one Guest that after I showed him the fridge stocked with milk, bottled drinking water, coffee and 8 cans of cola, announced they don't drink cola, yet after they left they managed to take all the cola with them, this is what your up against.

 

 

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

Very chancy endeavor, the liabilities are infinite, the rewards limited. The thinking of providing some kind of service to make money is a good one however.

Tim-And-Lee0
Level 3
Woodland, WA

My POV is we are here to be an outstanding service to our guests... we have an honor bar with a few items from costco (wine is the exception, but I never buy it at more than 6.00/bottle) and I leave the following message:

THE MAPLERIDGE HONOR BAR

-An Experience in Honor and Convenience-

Our guests frequently arrive without nibbles, drinks or basic groceries. For your convenience we provide a few bottles of wine and water, some cookies and candies, and a cracker or two. These are for your convenience, and we want you to enjoy this 'emergency' cache of goodies. At the same time if you leave an 'honor payment' for whatever you use we will continue to provide this convenience for future guests! Also, we are writing a feature story for AirBnB Magazine about how this works out! So enjoy! And let's pay it forward for all our future guests!

so how is  it going?

Yeah, how did it work out?

 

Yeah, how did it go???

 

I've decide to try this as an experiment. I already have a complimentary basket that I leave for each booking with 2 snacks (cookies and Goldfish) and a couple bottles of water. I decided to try the Honor Bar because I want to take care of my guests without giving the house away. The items only make a profit of .50-1.00 each item so I'm not trying to fleece my guests or make gobs of money. I just want to make things convenient for them while covering my costs. Many guests arrive after dark and don't want to then immediately go shopping.

My listing is a very small cottage located on my property and I try to personally speak to each of my guests at least once during their stay. It only sleeps 1 or 2 people max so I only stocked a couple of each item. I picked an unused  cabinet and made a nice sign similar to Tim and Lee above except that I gave my items an actual price instead of a donation. I taped it to the cabinet door with instructions. I stocked it with canned soups, snacks, cookies, granolas, fruit cups, things like that. I also stocked the lower shelf of the fridge with soda, juices, sparkling water, tonic, some candy bars, etc. as well as a handful of nips, a couple of Buds and a 325ml of Chard. Nothing exotic and nothing that would lead to over consumption. I bought a cheap price label gun off Amazon for $12 (which worked surprisingly well) and labeled everything accordingly. I put a small cardboard box labeled "Honor Box" inside the cabinet.  

 

I just set this up so I have no data to share but I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Any feed back on how this worked out?

 

Hi Corey. How did the experiment go in the end?

Owen28
Level 2
St. Petersburg, FL

I've been giving this quite a bit of thought lately. I've blogged about my conclusions here - http://bit.ly/2PCBJiu, but in brief I decided to go for an honesty box, and also to include my PayPal PayMe link in the menu. I'm going to see how it goes and if I get enough sales directly through paypal I may get rid of the honest box to save having to handle cash.