Revenue beyond Bookings?

[Dave452]

What kinds of things are you all doing to make additional money beyond the booking fees?

https://www.airbnbsmarthost.com/blog/13-smart-host-tips-to-make-extra-money-from-airbnb

[Stacia7]

I'd love to hear ideas from other hosts

[Ann72]

@Dave452 Great blog post with creative ideas.  

[Kevin560]

In addition to airbnb and other booking sites, we reached out to the many, many, many realtors in our town and market the home as a short term rental for people "between houses."  

It happens a lot more than you think.  We currently are leasing our home for 90 days to a young couple with kids who sold their home locally in February and won't be able to close on their new home until May because of the sellers construction on their new home.

The revenue is not quiet as high as airbnb, but this time, it happened in the winter months when occupancy is a little less.  Plus, it's a nice break from cleaning.

We make them sign a standard lease agreement.  They get a fully furnished nice home with utlilties paid for during their 3 month stay.

[Dave452]

Locking up longer term renters for off-season is brilliant. We always lost money in winter months, but our summers more than made up for it. 

[Don-And-Armond0]

That was a great article. Thanks for sharing it! I would have never thought of offering a lot of those services. Talk about a Superhost!

[Paul1380]

we have a hospital and medical facilities (large radiology centre etc) and we have let them know we have accommodation available for medical students here temporarily or relatives of patients who want to stay nearby.

we also have a uni campus offering distance ed courses that mean that students from other areas have to attend for a few days every semester, we get good bookings from those as we offer a lower rate and we have bikes they can take to get to and from the campus if they don't have a car.

We have also put an 'honesty box' in each room with a selection of chocolate bars and snack items that we purchase for $1 on special and then offer for $2. Kind of like a mini bar arrangement as we are a good 15 minute walk to the nearest shop. 

A local tour company also offers a 5% commission for all tours booked by our guests (they quote a code and get a discouont and the code identifies us for the payment) so it might be worht apporaching any tour operators in your area to see if they will offer something similar.

[Hollie6]

Great article and suggestions! Thank you for sharing!

[Sarah977]

I list my spare room/bath because it seemed wasteful for it to sit there empty most of the year when I had no friends or family staying. I get wonderful guests, some of whom have insisted on paying me for driving them somewhere, even though I was going that direction anyway and did not want them to give me money for it. I've had guests take me out for dinner or buy me a bottle of wine. 

I am happy that my guests book my place. The idea of trying to make more money off of them is distasteful to me.

[Inna22]

@Dave452  Interesting suggestions. Most are very labor intensive- you are giving the tours or cook or shop. However if Airbnb is your main gig, it will surely add up! What was your success rate in terms of satisfaction? (Flowers not fresh enough, wrong brand of yougurt, etc)

[Dave452]

This isn't my full time gig. I do treat this as a small business however. I don't do the tours or cooking myself. I refer guests to professional companies who do those in exchange for a referral fee from the company. I only recommend service providers I've used and like. 

There can be issues if the guest isn't happy, but we haven't had to deal with that much. 

The guests are looking for services, things to do, little extras. I see this as providing a needed service just like a boutique hotel. 

I understand this isn't for everyone, but this is a business to me and not just a hobby. Appreciate all the honest feedback. 

[Stephanie]

@Dave452 - great article, I applaud your creativity to get that added revenue to bookings!

I think its a good idea to research what other business do in terms of mutually beneficial recommendations for example, my local cinema recommends a restaurant and they both offer guests 10% off but have the benefit of driving traffic to each other. 

Perhaps have a look at what your local attractions are (like the suggested tour guide offering) and see how you can form a parntership?

Thanks,

Stephanie