How much do you spend on welcome gifts and/or extras?

[Danielle1342]

What all do you like to include in your welcome basket?  Do you supply any extras in your space?  We stayed at a space that had little spa samples of face masks and such.  It was very nice.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

In my 6 y of hosting I experimented and concluded that no matter if .... or how much chocolate / cookies / wine... I left for my guests I never EVER heard "thank you" for it. It was also never mentioned in a comment and had no noticeable positive impact on the given rating. In contrary... some guests who got more extras gave me a lower rating.

I am about to stop leaving anything except the basic oil-vinegar-coffee-sugar-salt-pepper stuff. I will rather buy a treat to my dog, he is grateful for every cookie he get 🙂

[Jacquelyn52]

Hi Danielle, I might be a tad over the top in the Welcome Gifts department from what I've read here and elsewhere. I leave a bowl that has salty and sweet snacks for the number of guests staying, a bit of fresh fruit, water bottles, plus 48-60 Keurig pods, shelf-stable creamers, etc. I also provide a variety of seasonings, bath and kitchen essentials and 6-8 detergent pods. During the winter when guests may arrive in a snow storm or bitter cold, I also leave pasta and sauce in the cupboard so that if they arrive hungry, they don't have to go out for food in the storm. 

Some hosts provide toilet paper, paper towels and bath essentials as  "Welcome Gifts". I consider those sorts of necessities part of the price of doing business and usually leave 3-4 rolls of tissue in each bath, two rolls of paper towels, nice soaps and lotions at every sink, etc.. I have a minimum 5-day stay, so I don't have to replenish everything often. But my guess is that I spend around $20-25 on my Welcome Bowl, and around $30-35 when I also need to replenish the pasta and sauce in the winter. I run about a 90% occupancy rate and have mostly longer-term guests, so I only have to do Welcome Gifts an avg of 2-3 times per month.

My experience has been different from Branka and Sylvia's in that many of my guests rave about the Welcome Bowls and additional amenities in their reviews. I definitely feel that it is worth the extra $$ I spend up front on Welcome gifts, high-quality amenities, the soft Charmin in the blue package vs. the cheap scratchy thin toilet paper, high quality linens, etc. But I also think that foregoing the nightly turnovers in favor of longer-stays makes providing great amenities feasible. My average stay last year was 15 days. If I wanted to do the one-night stays, it wouldn't make sense financially, IMO.

[Trude0]

I don’t have a «basket», but I always leave something to welcome guests.

How much/expensive, will depend on the length of stay, the price they pay etc. And I try to figure out what might be popular, depending on who’s coming. But my listing is only a small tiny house, and people tend to stay 2-5 days, so if I go overboard, I don’t make any money…

I had a couple in December who I knew were very excited about experiencing Christmas and winter in Sweden, so I left them a small kit to make a traditional hot Christmas drink, plus cookies that we eat for Christmas. For others I’ve left «Swedish fika» (look it up 😄), or a small bottle of prosecco, or chocolate. The presents seem to be appreciated. 

I always leave a few bottles of sparkling water + coke zero in the fridge, sometimes a couple of beers. And a few cereal bars + small bags of crisps, in case guests arrive starving. Now, the total value of what I leave, is probably too high, compared to what I charge. But none of my guests ever take everything, they might take a few things, so it’s fine. I do think people appreciate what is offered and free, even if they don’t use it all.

[Inna22]

I agree with @Branka-and-Silvia0 that guests do not mention it and hardly notice however I think it creates an overall positive impression from the moment they step in.

I used to leave the tin cookies but now discovered giant packages of cookies at Aldo that are both delicious and extraordinary cheap. Also, guests often leave bear behind and i stock it in the fridge for next guests

[Ana2038]

@Danielle1342 , we have always offered, cookies, fruit snacks as well as small water bottles and two types of juices. Most of our guest are appreciative of the snacks and/or drinks. Pre- COVID-19, we also offered mini neck fans to our guest to keep cool as they wait in lines at the various amusement parks in our area. We will also be offering  organic fruit (seasonal) as we have 4 different fruit trees on our property…

[Bhumika]

Hi @Danielle1342 ,

Thank you so much for sharing such an interesting topic with us!

Am sure many new Hosts who would come to the Community Center, would find such topics useful to enhance their guest experiences.

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[Kirsten266]

When you stay at my place you’ll get a little bottle of Prosecco and sparkling water. There is a cup of Dutch chocolate sprinkles in the cub board. 

I also put a little sweet treat in the fridge, local strawberry cake. I always tell the guests ( I don’t do self check in) the story about the local cake. They sometimes mention it in the review. 
And I provide a pair of bath slippers a person. 

when there are kids I also put popcorn on the table. 

[Suzanne302 · Accepted solution]

What you include in your Welcome Basket depends on what type of listing you have. As a homeshare host with a nightly rate of $60-$90 (depending on the day/season) and mostly 1-2 night stays I can't spend much. For most guests though, I believe anything you can do to personalize and make their stay special will be appreciated.

I leave a personalized welcome message and if they mention a specific reason they are visiting, I include a graphic of some kind. For example, I just had a guest stay to check out scuba diving spots and on his welcome note I included an image of a diving flag.

In the room I include 2 bottles of water and a variety of sweet and salty snack packages I buy in bulk from Costco. If the guest brings a dog, I leave a small bag of gourmet dog treats with a personalized note from my dog to their dog.

All in all the costs of the snacks and water per turnover is around $3-5. Some guests take everything, some guests take nothing, and the majority only take a few items.

I 100% believe these little touches make a big difference. For me, being a successful Airbnb host means not just providing a place to stay, but giving a guest an experience.

[Susan1188]

I started leaving a bottle of cava, water, some crisps and a box of chocolate biscuits in the fridge and I found guests  frequently mention it in their reviews, in fact, it seems disproportionately important to people.  Like the main feature of the apartment, sea view, beach location, great neighborhood, all the things that make my property stand out... sometimes go without mention but they mention the cava and potato chips!

This goes to your quote that people remember most how you made them feel!  And finding a few treats in the fridge apparently makes people really happy.  So, if you really want those 5 star reviews, I recommend leaving something for guest to find on arrival.

Having said that, I find it surprisingly hard to provide these things, and i wish we didn't have to.  It's hard keeping everything in stock and making sure the cleaners put it in the units. 

And I find more and more guests have come to expect it, setting the goal post once more further in favor of the "entitled" guest attitude.  Some expect not only a welcome gift/gesture but some expect me to provide coffee, dish tablets, laundry powder, and other supplies for their entire stay! 

Also if you provide once, then someone mentions it in a review, expectation is set and you have to provide for everyone.

[Elaine701]

@Danielle1342 

My "loose" arrival hospitality spend "rule of thumb" is 10% of the one night rate. 

But we're not a home share. It's an 8 bed villa, with a 7 night minimum in high season. We view the product we are selling as "hospitality". Our guests are mainly tourists, they're on holiday. They've just arrived from the airport and they're officially "on vacation". The last thing they want is to be forced to run to the supermarket and do a major shopping run. They'd much rather make a sandwich, pour a drink and jump in the pool. 

So our hospitality spend is rather generous. Guests arrive to a stocked fridge with all the makings of a full breakfast, fresh bread, eggs, sliced meats, snacks, juices, beer, wine, more coffee and tea than they could ever consume... 

.We also have triple the dinnerware for 8 pax (24 plates, bowls, silverware, cups, glasses, wine glasses, etc).  They don't need to wash dishes after every little snack. Just toss them in the dishwasher until it's full. and hit the button. Simples. 

... full set of salt, pepper, broad range of spices, mayonnaise, ketchup, sauces, a packet of spaghetti...

...3 sets of towels of varying sizes for each person. Bath robes, Shampoos, Rinses, hand lotion, toothpaste, ... everything. Guests rarely use these things, but they're often surprised that it's so comprehensively supplied. 

We use Airbnb often in our own travels, and have found that many places are often rather spartan. 2 sets of dinnerware, 2 towels, a chocolate bar, small bag of crisps, not much else.

So we've concluded that delivering unexpected, "overwhelming hospitality" is an opportunity to distinguish our offering from others (and consistently command more premium rates) . Overall, the cost is negligible compared to what the guest is paying. 

... but the results are excellent. Not only do we receive many thank yous and compliments, but it's often written in the reviews that the hospitality is first rate. Occasionally, guests leave >us< very nice gifts! 

While this might not be a suitable strategy for every Airbnb, it's working for us 🙂