Oops I’ve changed my mind…can I come and stay…pretty please 
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I thought the inflatable doll comment wouldn’t go over you quick-minded ones. 
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That’s very interesting. Thanks for the insight!
You are welcome, @dcmooney
Last year, a couple of customers cancelled their booking on Wimdu at short notice, like a day before they were supposed to arrive. Wimdu always paid 100 per cent commission to me as a host, which was great in the short run, of course. No guests, no hassle, but all the money kept rolling in. However, I did have a feeling that the way Wimdu handled those cancellations might do harm to their reputation, since, of course, if I was a guest who had to cancel, for whatever reason, I might have liked to get at least part of the money back. No chance with Wimdu.
This very strict application of cancellation rules might be one of the reasons guests started leaving Wimdu, looking for alternative booking engines. I hope they refined their rules, now, but I am not sure they did.
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They are now touting relaxed cancellation policies like the other sites. But they don’t seem pushy about forcing it on hosts.
I’m just saying but those machines and ones similar to them are the absolute worst for the environment.
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Amen - the more people shout about how we should all be protecting the environment the more people turn a blind eye to how we are destroying it. Ridiculous. They replaced the coffee pot in my sister’s office with one of these machines, and she watches those little plastic cups form into mountains.
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@Helsi @Eberhard_Blocher @konacoconutz a little late to the game here, but we ran some data analysis because we found this topic interesting. globally, only about 7-9% of airbnb listings check the “offers breakfast” box. here is some raw data looking at 4 markets. as you’ll see, london has one of the higher breakfast rates in the world at 13%.
conclusion: if you offer breakfast, consider that a differentiating factor because you are in the minority (and raise your prices a wee bit to reflect that). if you don’t offer breakfast, don’t feel bad. 91-93% of all listings around the world don’t offer breakfast. also, the brits seem to be more breakfast-hospitable than us americans 
, but that’s just my $0.02.
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That’s why many have said Airbnb stands for AirbedNOBreakfast.
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I had a young man this week. He has lived in this country for about 8 years. His mother was making her first trip from Vietnam to Boston. They only stayed two nights. He had never made a cup of coffee. Had no idea what a Melitta filter was, how much coffee to use, or how to put water into the water compartment! He admitted that at home in Vietnam he purchased coffee at a shop; and in NYCity, he simply uses the Keurig at the office for his daily coffee needs. I set up his pot for him the night before, and he was shocked at how good home-brewed coffee, made from freshly ground beans could be!
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Those are interesting numbers. Anyway you could cull how many private room spaces offer a breakfast? Self-catering apartments would seem less likely to offer something in the mornings.
Thank you for this. It’s interesting information.
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Conclusion: I don’t feel bad at all @quinnhubertz -
I understand my local market and know how many homes with shared spaces in my city offer breakfast.
There are lots of differeniating factors that make guests choose a place. Market research for BNB shows that ratings and reviews and location are right up there. Breakfast doesn’t come high up the rankings at all for city breaks.
Ta for the data.
Yes, I offer it as a ‘hook’, a way to set myself apart from the ever-increasing competition. My guests have loved it and mark it as one of the leading reasons they selected our home, and one of the things they liked best about staying with us. I use my breakfast table as the lead photo. We enjoy it because it gives us an opportunity to get to know our guests for a bit, and I enjoy feeding people. We are fortunate that we have a little breakfast nook, and a cabinet that holds all our airbnb breakfast plates, etc. I purchased a huge synthetic table cloth and cut it down to 3 that fit my little table. They’ve been washed a thousand times but still hold up. We get the whole thing on the table in about 30 minutes, at a cost of about $2.50 per guest. The only snag is people ask for breakfast much later than I ever would, and we need that table for our school, and to get on with the day, so I have to set limits on the time.
the other snag is when traveling using airbnb I very much want what I provide to others, but can never find it. My first airbnb did provide a lavish southern-living style breakfast every morning so that’s what I came to expect. But not for long.
.
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It’s a good point that even with listings that offer breakfast, the offerings vary greatly. I offer homemade muffins. I bake them and put them in the freezer. I also offer coffee, tea, butter, jam, juice, homemade yogurt and, thanks to @anon67190644, WIndmill House granola. I often bake bread which the guests are welcome to eat. I don’t serve breakfast. I show the guests where everything is when they arrive and let them know that they are welcome to help themselves. I’ve had guests eat breakfast anywhere from 6:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M., so self service works best for me.
Remember time is money, so you have to deduct the costs of buying the breakfast, preparing it and cleaning it up from your profits. $2.50 per guest would really break my bank. Are you saying if you have a party of five, that is the cost per guest or per reservation? Then it adds up to $12.50 per day per reservation?
I couldn’t justify it.
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What’s a city break?
I’d love to be able to leave some basic breakfast items in the guest room but there isn’t space for a table and chairs and I don’t really want to encourage eating in bed. We don’t allow guest access throughout the house. I’ve thought about setting up a little outdoor seating area for summer but I think that would encourage them to walk around the property, peering in windows ect.
Today I am putting a door in my hallway that is going to create a 2x3" space just through the airbnb room door into my part of the house. The number one reason to do this is to reduce noise between their space and mine. But there is electric there already and I’m thinking I’ll put in a compact refrigerator. Then I can leave a couple of water bottles and they have one less reason to come into my part of the house. I’m hesitant to put a coffee maker or microwave because I also have a small room and there’s a small table but only one chair. I do have a small table and chairs I could put on the front porch in warm weather. So while I could make this little nook kitchenette like, I wonder how much more business I would get if I did so. I suppose even one or two more bookings a month would be worth the extra time spent cleaning. Or maybe I could attract more people who are here for work or a more extended time.
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A break in a city
What we in Europe refer to as a short stay in a central city location.
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