Beverages for guests - is cost effective best?

[Jenny]

Hello everyone!

There’s nothing nicer than a rest and a drink after a long day of travelling. I’m sure your guests feel the same, whether they’ve come from the same country or from further afield!

As someone who loves a nice coffee after reaching their destination, nothing makes me happier than seeing a selection of hot and cold drinks on offer.  Everyone’s got their own take on it though - for sunnier climes it might be more appropriate to offer water or juice.

There’s also the matter of budget!  

I’d love to know your thoughts on beverages for guests.  Is it cheaper to buy tea bags or bottles of water in bulk?  Is there a concern that an over enthusiastic guest might liberate the supplies when they leave?  Ground or instant coffee, budget or brand name tea bags? Tap or bottled water?  Do you offer anything more exotic?

I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Take care!

Jenny

[Doris439]

Hi Paula.

Great meeting you,

Enjoy ☺ 

[Doris439]

Nice ☺ 

[Doris439]

I think based on the age and number of guest provide individual containers of water or tea for guest.

[Monica2345]

Just listed my property ,  I’ll offer tea, coffee ,and I’ll leave a 5 Gallon Plastic Bottle in the kitchen. There is a Water Pump on top of this gallon, so it’s going to be easy even for kids to get water.

[Paula]

Hello @Monica2345 and Welcome to our Community Center,

It's great to know that you have been considering these details from the beginning. Please do let us know how everything goes, and we wish you all the best on your hosting journey.

Paula

[Jennifer3056]

Hi there,

I just want to share what we provide at our homes, Arikays homes.

We give our guests fresh glass of cold fruit juice during Check-in, this has been a bonus to us because it is always hot in our area. Also in their apartments we have  complimentary 2 bottles of water, 10 teabags and 10 packs of instant coffee. 

I m planning to add 2  bottles of local beers.

[Bhumika]

Hey @Jennifer3056 , 

That sounds like a wonderful gesture to welcome your guests! 

Do your guests mention it in their reviews?

[Elaine701]

@Jenny 

I think it depends on what you're charging per night. 

If you're a home share charging 20 bucks (€$£) per night, then spending 5 of that on arrival hospitality is pretty generous. 

But if you're a villa charging 500 per night, spending 50 or even 100 on arrival hospitality is pretty insignificant in terms of cost. And your guests will take notice in a very positive way. It's a very good investment. 

[Bhumika]

Hey @Elaine701 ,

Thank you for sharing these insights, which might very well stand true when it comes to value for money.

Do you offer any beverages to your guests as a welcome gesture or so?

[Elaine701]

@Bhumika 

Well, you asked 😳 :

It depends on the season.

In high season, when the guest is paying a premium, we will generally leave a compliment of fresh bread, croissants, butter, 3 or 4 jams, sliced ham, eggs, bacon, fresh rolls, lots of fruit (bananas, oranges, melon, pineapple etc)  crisps, dips, hummus, some packages of quick fix pastas... 

Drinks: Orange and apple juice, milk, lots of bottled water, coca cola, 2 or 3 bottles of locally produced wines (white, rosé, red), prosecco, a 12 pack of beer, and we keep the bar stocked with vodka, gin, aperol, tonic, lemon fizz, and other mixes. Lots of various coffee capsule flavours, 4 or 5 packages of different teas... 

that in addition to a comprehensive rack of spices and cooking ingredients. 

The guests rarely consume it all, so the cost is usually only in topping it up for each guest. Our spend is usually between 50€ - 100€. But never more than that. Considering the average guest spend in high season is between 3000€-8000€, it's a small but worthy investment. 

Yet nearly all express their appreciation and surprise at the rather overwhelming hospitality.  Some actually go to the trouble of replacing whatever they consume when they're out shopping. We don't ask for that, but some guests are just super conscientious. 

Also, it testifies to my philosophy that focusing on overwhelming guest satisfaction rather than how much profit you can make ultimately results in attracting a better quality of guest who is more interested in the quality of the experience than how much it costs.

And sure enough, the money just magically starts to show up after word gets around.

But to be fair, being in a highly popular tourist destination plays a big role in attracting good paying guests, so hospitality won't necessarily be the only attraction, and may not work for everyone. But overwhelming them with hospitality always has a positive impact, no matter where it is. You have to decide for yourself what works for you. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Bhumika 

In some cultures it is customary to offer tea as a welcome, this we are delighted to do.

[Carmen1913]

We offer chilled bottle water for all guest (one bottle for guest for the first night). Additionally, We have a tea kettle, tea bags, coffee pods, as well as snacks. It has come across as a real positive for the reviews as well as returning guests. By going the extra mile we seem to keep our guest very happy.  This is a very positive experience and great return on our investments

[Phil-and-Lacy0]

Hi everyone. 

I think it depends on the kind of home, right?

We have a water filter at both properties so that guests always have fresh water. We fill those up and keep them in the fridge for their arrival. 

They can also find coffee and tea. 

The presentation is different in each home as one is a tiny cozy home with less traffic, and the other is a larger vacation home where large families come to enjoy family resort vacations. 

🙂

[Suzanne972]

Hello Community,

We are lakefront vacation property. We provide our guests a quick snack basket with bottle waters upon their arrival. I generally put out just a few bottles of water to cover the number of guests at that time.

We also provide both a keurig as well as a drip coffee maker. With those options we provide a “starter kit” of coffees both ground ( yes we use a brand such as Starbucks or Peet’s) and the Keurig pods.

We keep our refrigerator water filter maintained so the water is always filtered fresh.

Happy hosting!

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Jenny 

This is such a terrific topic!

We leave all sorts of things for our home share guests' kitchenette. On the beverage department as follows: carafes of our delicious well water, bottled water for outings, fruit juice, non dairy milk. Coffee: 3 types of instant, 3 types of whole beans, 2 types of ground beans, coffee pods. Teas: whole leaf, bags, a total of several dozen kinds, to appeal to many cultures, both caffeinated and non/herbal. We have a coffee maker, hot water pot, coffee grinder, and French press, coffee filters, also a sweet Chinese tea pot. Everything is top of the line, no budget beverages. Does anyone take things with them when they leave? Not yet!