Luxury Airbnb Amenities

[Colber0]

Hello,

We have set up an Airbnb at our family home and are marketing to guests who like their comfort.

We have decided not to have pet guests as we have recently remodelled, refurbished and refurnished and have guests with let allergies.

We have added the usual amenities along with a welcome pack, soaps, shampoos, shower gel, slippers, beach towels and similar.

We would be really interested to hear your thoughts on what you are offering guests to stand out from the crowd.

We look forward to hearing from you 🙂

[Summer64]

I am not sure what you're considering 'standard' amenities. In my guest bathroom I have a container that holds additional things that could be forgotten (shaving cream, toothbrushes, etc...), little things someone might need that they don't have with them (sewing kit, tweezers, nail clippers), and then OTC meds in case they need something while here. I also offer snacks. I'm thinking about a 'breakfast station'. (I have an egg maker from pampered chef you can put in the microwave after adding ingredients for a quick egg breakfast). 

[Colber0]

Hi @Summer64,

By standard I meant items off the recommended Airbnb amenities list.

Some spare toiletries is a great idea. 🙂

I spoke with our local government food hygiene team. They surprised me by recommending that we could provide prepacked breakfast... individual prepacked cereals and individual prepacked pastries. 

Our welcome pack has local small bottles of water, tea, coffee, milk, soaps, shampoos, shower gel. A medium cake for longer stays and a small box of biscuits for shorter stays in a wicker presentation basket. We have sourced these directly from the manufacturers and dairy. So we may add some breakfast Items and toiletries. 🤔

[Colleen253]

@Colber0 “We have decided not to have pet guests as we have recently remodelled, refurbished and refurnished and have guests with let allergies”.

Just be aware that Airbnb’s assistance animal policy allows guests to bring their emotional support animals without disclosing it to the host,  and documents are also not required. This opens the door for anyone to bring their pet and call it an ESA. You may end up with an animal guest and be none the wiser, unfortunately. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/1869/what-is-an-assistance-animal

[Colber0]

Colleen,

Yes, thanks for the reminder, that's a really good point.

We love animals and it was a tough decision as the local rental agents advised us that on our location we would get a lot more bookings from guests with pets.

We have also enquiries from guests with allergies who have specially chosen us as we are focusing on guests without pets.

As a fall-back measure, we have discussed this with our turnaround team. They tell us it takes much longer if there has been s let in the property, particularly if the pet is allowed upstairs and in the bedrooms.

There's also the question of cleaning the lawns,  gardens and terraces, particularly with young children. We haven't worked that one out yet.

We wouldn't want to disadvantage pet owners, but perhaps the fairest approach would be for Airbnb to offer a pet surcharge fee to cover additional cleaning and a pet soiling charge?

[Colleen253]

@Colber0 That pet fee is something hosts have been asking for since the dawn of time.

[Laura2592]

@Colber0  in our experience:

espresso machine with espresso pods-- used once every 2-3 stays, mentioned maybe 2 times over 130 odd stays

record player and collection- a hit with guests. Gets used fairly often. People mention it positively.

books and games- occasionally used and mentioned as a plus.

nice toiletries-- guests don't care. They  bring their own.

bath bombs/dissolving bath petals/high end bath salts or bubble bath- rarely used (once every 10-20 stays.) never mentioned.

bath pillow- used twice until it got makeup on it and we threw it away

scented candles- occasionally used. Mentioned once. Will drive away people who have allergies to scented products.

fresh flowers- occasionally mentioned.

robes- not used or end up stolen

slippers- guests think they are creepy

nice towels- important but rarely mentioned

nice bedding- important but rarely mentioned

snack basket- guests mention it sometimes but you do have to ask prior to shopping for the stay what preferences and allergies are

wine- mentioned sometimes, but again, ask if they partake/preferences (a dry red drinker will generally not touch a sweet white.)

What guests would really appreciate in our case is an endless supply of duraflames and firewood for the fireplace and firepit. We can't afford that given the sheer volume burned by some people. So we leave one duraflame for indoors and do not supply firewood outside.

[Colber0]

Hi @Laura2592 ,

I can tell you put a lot of effort in to make your guests welcome. It's really helpful to hear your thoughts. Thank you.

We have also put in a lot of effort in to source recommended local products directly. It will be interesting to hear the feedback from our guests.

[Christine615]

We actually use our apartment for visiting family and friends. It's set up for when my in-laws are in town (allergic to animals) But it's equipped with everything we would need.

We aren't allowed by the city to provide food service and I don't want the liability but I do tell the guests they can access things in the cabinet (canned soups, etc. I stock for me when I'm there).

In the apartment we provide the usual: lotion, soap, shampoo, conditioner, extra toilet paper, hand and bar soap, lots of towels in the closet in addition to what I put out for guests, tissues in each bedroom and alarm clocks.

In the general apartment we are fully stocked with cooking pots, trays and utensils, dish towels, pot holders, condiments.

We have a coffee maker, toaster, toaster oven, microwave, waffle-maker, blender. Extra coffee and tea with sugar, honey and creamer. There is filtered water in the fridge (Brita pitcher) and ice in the freezer.

In the living room we took over all our extra DVD's and a blu-ray player, books we've finished reading and a lot of board games.

So the answer is - it just depends. We put a photo in our listing of the basket we stock with snacks. That has been a big hit.

My suggestion - play with your listing and scout what others are doing in your area. After a while you'll get a feel for what gets used or appreciated.

[Colber0]

Thank you @Christine615 ,

We very much appreciate you sharing with us. It is lovely to see you making such a great effort. We particularly love the snack basket!

Good luck with the hosting and thanks again. 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Colber0  There is a bit of a danger in describing a home as "luxury", as it can lead to entitled guests who expect even more than you offer.

There is a saying among hosts- "Promise less and deliver more". When guests arrive to find extras that weren't mentioned in the ad, they are pleasantly surprised and it tends to lead to good reviews. So resist the impulse to list every single thing you provide. 

Your listing info is too wordy, IMO. You have repeated the same thing over and over again in multiple sections. While it's important to be clear, you have to realize that many guests barely read through the listing info. I'd suggest you condense it as much as possible.