Welcome guest basket ideas

[Luke73]

Dear everyone,

“Welcome guest basket" is one of the great ways to make guests “Wow". Not only that, it shows your hospitality, caring, and thoughtfulness.

To stand from the crowd, when creating our welcome guest basket, we decide to deliver all of the messages through POEM. You can check out our listing and view photos to see pictures of our welcome guest basket: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/19645805

Here is some of the ideas about welcome guest basket:

[Huma0]

@Luke73 that's a nice idea. I hadn't thought about a welcome basket. I have a little chalk board in each room which welcomes the guests, but I include their names each time. It's such a small touch but they really LOVE this. So often, they comment, "Look, there's our names!" or "How sweet!"

I provide a little set of toiletries and essentials like sewing kits etc, as well as towels, but I never thought of packaging all of these elements together in a welcome basket. I think it's a really good idea and I'm going to look into doing something along similar lines. I like the rolled up towels too, although I never got them looking that nice, so tend to just fold and layer them neatly.

[Huma0]

Oh, and I put the WiFi passwords on the chalk boards too, but your idea looks much nicer as my handwriting isn't as pretty in chalk!

[Luke73]

Thanks @Huma0

[Samantha45]

My Wi-Fi details are on the laminated sheet in the bedroom which explains the 'house rules' (just in case they forgot to read them - which they often do), how things work etc. I also have such a sheet in the bathroom which also explains how they can clean up embarrassing 'deposits' (i.e. where the rubber gloves and cleaning materials are), what to do if they feel unwell (take the liner out of the waste bin and throw up in the pail!) because I, personally, would hate the thought of that happening to me in a strange house!

[Judy29]

For 27 years welcoming guests to our accommodations, I have found that gift, or welcome baskets, have become extremely costly.  All of these lovely ideas only end up in the guests suitcases when they leave.  The daily expense can sometimes add up to well over $30 to which I am not about to add to their nightly fee, or my pocket book.  

I do however make sure that there are full bars of soap, large containers of shampoo, body wash and a well supplied first aid kit stored in the bathroom.  There is always supplies left for the guests who want to do their own laundry.

Being creatively welcoming with guests is a fabulous idea, but it doesnt usually bring rewarding compliments for the extra things that we do for our guests.

[Mary879]

I have heard gifting 10% of the first night for multi-night rentals

[Jan9982]

@Judy29 I agree! We provide everything one could reasonably need and try to show great hospitality. A gift is not necessary. I have a friend/fellow host who went as far as leaving take and bake meals and other items and they were almost always wasted. It’s almost impossible to guess what will appeal to the taste of your guests. 

[Huma0]

@Jan9982 

I think that unless you are offering some sort of catered accommodation, food gifts can get really complicated and create a lot of waste. People have so many different dietary requirements or preferences these days, even when it comes to basics like milk or bread.

When this thread was started, I still hosted short term stays. Now I only host long term. Everyone buys their own milk. If you would peek into my fridge right now, you would find that I buy lactose free, one guest has soya milk, another has oat milk and a third regular cows milk. EVERYONE seems to prefer a different kind.

I also believe that gifts are not necessary. I reserve these for special occasions, e.g. a guest's birthday, anniversary or engagement, honeymooners etc.

Because I am a homeshare host, I will share my cakes with guests and most of them seem to love this. If I was renting out an entire unit, I would not leave baked goods. Even when I tried fruit bowls, most of it went to waste.

The toiletries are not so perishable though. I supply them, some guests use them, many don't, and very few just take them when they leave, so it's not a big investment at all. It's the thought that counts. Guests can see that you went to an effort to make sure they had essentials should they have needed them. Most don't use them, but it's not something that needs to be thrown out. Even the mini bottles can be refilled.

I still maintain that the thing that makes the biggest impact is the blackboards. This costs next to no money. You buy them once for a few pounds, have a box of chalk (most come with these anyway) which lasts forever and it takes seconds to write the guest's name, which I routinely do as part of my cleaning/turnover routine. Next to zero effort for a great first impression and smiling guests.

[Farah1]

@Luke73 @Huma0 do you only do this for guests who stay longer? I have A LOT of 1-nighter... not sure how I feel about providing welcome baskets for the 1-nighters.

[Huma0]

@Farah1 @Luke73 I did one nighters initially but stopped because it was too much work. Now my minimum is two nights, but even that can feel like a lot to manage.

I still provide the same stuff for the two nighters,and the laundry/cleaning is a lot to do, but I find that the very short stay guest are for some resaon less likely to take the mini toilietries, so I get through less with them. I don't know why except that I think maybe the ones who take everything are those on tours of several cities so they think it's useful to take with them. They don't necessarily use it while they are here because, on the advice from another host on the forum, I started putting full size bottles of shower gel, shampoo and conditioner in the bathrooms, all labelled for guests. This is not as fancy as the welcome basket type stuff, but it doesn't cost much and the guests do seem to appreciate it and some have even mentioned it in their reviews.

For me, the personalised black board thing really works the best. It takes seconds, but guests love that you have bothered to write their names on it.

I have also tried bowls of fruit in the rooms, but not sure I will continue as a lot of it goes untouched and ends up being thrown away Flowers are also nice, but it really depends on if I find the time/something in my budget. It's not standard. However,  I always put a caraffe of cold water and glasses in the room just before arrival. Some don't touch it, but most do use it.

[Huma0]

PS as well as providing towels in the bedroom and the toiletries in the bathroom (forgot to mention I provide toothpaste and mouthwash too), my equivalent of a welcome basket typically contains shower gel, shampoo (sometimes conditioner) soap, sewing kit, nail file (sometimes also toothbrush, shower cap, razor).

[Farah1]

@Huma0 I used to provide little bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. However, it was not efficient -many times this goes to waste... guests do not finish it and leave it behind (maybe 25% left in the bottle or something like that). I changed to soap/shampoo dispenser that I put in the shower and it is available for guests to use. Since then, I do not waste anymore shampoo and soap. 🙂

[Huma0]

@Farah1 also I might just stick to the full size bottles in the bathroom once my travel size ones run out (I have quite a stash from work trips!) as I can see why it is not at all economical/environmentally friendly for the reasons you have given. However, seeing as I still have a few to hand out, it's a nice touch for now. The guests seem quite happy with the full size ones in the bathrooms (a tip from another host on the forums who I can't tag here) and hardly use the mini ones, so they're probably not necessary.

[Judy29]

I agree with you whole heartedlly.  As the guests are staying in a small but complete house, I try to make sure there is everything they need whether one night or weeks at a time.  The more you put out for guests, the more they take.  I find that the large bottles of body soap, shampoo, etc will never disappear.  But I do give my guests full sized bars of "ivory soap".  Guests like that there is something substantial to hold onto while showering...instead of tiny little soaps.