Charging for "extras"

[Scott1426]

How do you adjust for "extras",  or, how will Air BnB know to charge for these extras?  Main examples:  

1.  We offer one room/ bath for $140, 2 rooms with separate baths for $240.  When we listed the options separately, no matter if we chose the 1 guest option or 4 guest option, the 2 room listing was the one that showed up.

2.  We include continental breakfast, but offer and AUTHENTIC Mexican breakfast for a fee.  

3.  We have pool and jacuzzi,  and offer to heat the pool for an additional charge.

Thanks... 

[Mike-And-Jane0 · Accepted solution]

@Scott1426 You can't vary the number of bedrooms in one listing. What you will need to do is create two listings - A 1 bed and a 2 bed and then link the calendars so they can't both be booked at the same time.

[Scott1426]

 Thank you for the response.  We initially did two separate listings, but only the more expensive 2 room option appeared in the search whether someone input 1 guest or 4.  That was a turn off to those only needing one room. 

We had a recent inquiry where the guest was fully aware of the 2 room option, but wanted the 1 room pricing.  I did find there is an option between accepting the reservation and declining, where you can put in custom pricing.

[Anonymous]

@Scott1426  Inquiries are non-binding - they're only generated by the guest clicking on the Contact Host button. These tend to be a waste of everyone's time. If a guest is serious about booking the place, they'll bypass that option and send a Reservation Request, which is binding and has the price locked in. You can't do custom pricing on those. 

I don't know where things went wrong with the search results on your listings, but the way you have it now is needlessly confusing and simply doesn't work. 

[Scott1426]

@Anonymous We’ll try it again.  Air BnB should have the option for how many rooms needed in addition to how many guests.  They have an option for extra fee for added guests, so why not needed rooms option (rhetorical)?

Thanks again for your advice.  By the way, and as a side note, we have spent a lot of time in Berlin on our tours, and have many friends especially in Pankow and Kreutzberg.  We’ve always felt at home there, and love Berlin.

[Anonymous]

@Scott1426  I agree with @Mike-And-Jane0 , you are not listing your rooms correctly; what you're trying to do will only work with two separate listings. No ifs, ands, or buts on that.

Any additional services you'd like to offer, you can send your guests a payment request via https://airbnb.com/resolutions  . Bear in mind, it can sometimes undermine your hospitality if guests feel nickel-and-dimed over use of the prominently featured amenities. Most guests looking for homes in your price range are expecting the privacy of an Entire Home listing - a property shared with an onsite host is something only a special niche of guests are comfortable with, and this tends to be budget-conscious travelers. If they have  a suboptimal experience because they chose to save on the fees, their disappointment will come through in the reviews.

[Scott1426]

@Anonymous 

 Thank you for the response.  We initially did two separate listings, but only the more expensive 2 room option appeared in the search whether someone input 1 guest or 4.  That was a turn off to those only needing one room.

We have a unique home with separate private wings., is in one, guests in the other.  We don’t want to rent both rooms to separate parties, nor have someone pay for two rooms when the only need one.

We also had a recent inquiry where the guest was fully aware of the 2 room option, but wanted the 1 room pricing.  I did find there is an option between accepting the reservation and declining, where you can put in custom pricing.

Thanks for the link for added fees.  We definitely don’t plan overdoing this as our amenities list is extensive.  We do want to offer upgrades to a couple of things, such as heating the pool and jacuzzi, or offering a breakfast authentic to our region rather than the free continental breakfast we offer.  Both are expensive for us, but we’d like to give people the option for a better experience.

[Michael6266]

I posted this in a reply, not realizing that it was way down on like page 10. So I am thinking that it isn’t seen by anyone.

so I am reposting here for some feedback. I hope this is okay?

reposted content:

I am very new to Airbnb hosting. We have a nice place that is getting good results. I have been think about offering extras services such as “cleaning services during stay” and “grocery pickup” for them. I am not going to do a grocery list, I was just planning on connecting them with my two main stores that have curbside pickup and then just notifying me when the pickup is ready, then I would just place them in the listing, cold stuff in the fridge, still in the bag not un bagging it so that they can still check their order. I want to just charge a delivery fee like $45 or something.

This is a fork in the road for me?
On the one hand I would gladly pay for the convenience myself and love not have to immediately go do a grocery run, but on the other hand, “extra charges for a little bit of this and that” reminds me of the innkeeper in Les Miserables!  please give me some of your opinions and your experiences either good or bad. thanks

[Elaine701]

@Michael6266 

Ok, we offer all those services and more. 

For things like grocery pickup, we offer it mostly to guests who are arriving late or on a Sunday, when many stores are closed. We don't ask any fee for this, because it's just good hospitality, and invites good reviews. 

However, if it's just a convenience for them (stores are open, they could do it if they wanted, but just can't be bothered), we'll tack on a fee for that, depending on the scope of what they want. We offer it as an additional, paid service in that case. 

Cleaning services

With their booking, they're entitled to full bedding change every 7 days. Other than that, again, it's negotiable, depending on the scope of services they want. We can hand them a new set of bedding, and take away the used for 15€ per room Or a complete change for 25€ per room. Or a bottom to top cleaning of the entire house for 190€. 

We also provide other services such as private chef, but we just give them the contacts and let them negotiate it on their own. 

We can also arrange activities such as horse riding or sailing/boat trips or balloon rides. In some cases, we get a small commission, but most of the time, it's just hospitality. Small things go a long ways. 

But honestly, you're treading on slippery territory. Remember, first and foremost, you're in the hospitality business.

It's a bit of a slippery slope to expect 45 bucks for picking up a loaf of bread, a carton of eggs, some ham and orange juice. You're better off just chalking it up to hospitality.

Unless it's something that's rather big job and/or they could do, but simply won't. It's not a hotel with a 24hr concierge. 

[Michael6266]

Thanks @Elaine701 , 

This is exactly the type of input I am hoping for.