I am very personal /relaxed. The clients will tell everything they need to know.
Oh yeah! Ride to or from the airportā¦ I charge $20-$25 depending on the time of day. Any other transportation needs the have I give the a little bit less than Uber.
Also, since my neighborhood is part of a community pool and gym I charge $15 for up 4 hours use either or both. This is mostly because I must attend with them as I pay dues and they attend as my guest.
A ride to the Airport is good. We stayed at an AirBnB in Rafina, Attica, Greece, which is the ferry port for the Cycladic Islands. The host offered us a lift to Athens Airport, undercutting the normal taxi fare by 50% - we gratefully accepted!
In 1998 I went to Europe and a standard routine in Salzberg for budget accomodations was to book a B and B and the host would come pick you up at the train station on arrival. Many hosts are too nervous to do that kind of thing but Iāve given a couple of guests rides for a nominal fee and would definitely do it again in the right situation.
Someone with an Airbnb very close to me is a qualified masseuse and aromatherapist and advertises this as something extra for guests. Iāve checked her reviews and a few guests do seem to take her up on this. She is also a fluent French speaker and offers conversational classes.
I am planning to offer a furniture painting workshops as an experience and will have painted items around my home with price tags on, almost like a living showroom.
Iāve given a few music lessons to guests but never chargedā¦ perhaps I should be more entrepreneurial!
This could work well: Iāve seen people doing something similar as here ā¦
[https://happyinteriorblog.com/airbnb-for-design-lovers/]
Not my style as I was around for the original 60s tat, but design-loving Millennials would love it ā¦
For those who are offended that you are thinking of an āupsellā may I offer my opinion? That is why we got into business is to make money and supplement our income.
I am not offended when I check out at Target and they have candy, gum and National Enquirers for sale. If I am not interested, I donāt buy them. However, they make it easy for me to be interested.
One of the things I have thought of was having brochures from various guides and expeditions. I would mark the brochures with our name and they would give us a commission for anyone we sent their way.
Best of luck in this exciting adventure.
Judy Helm WrightāAuthor/Publisher/Intuitive Wise Woman
Just last week I picked up 5 things (chocolate/fancy popcorn/chips etc) while grocery shopping that I put in a box with a tin. I wrote $5 finds on it with the subheading āleave $5 in the tin for any item you would like from hereā and put it in the linen cupboard. It is by no means going to pay for the deck Iād like to put on, but it makes a couple of dollars a piece and gives people the thrill of finding something the can munch without going out.
What are other peopleās thoughts?
That is how all the hotels, hostels and B&B her in Costa Rica and other touristy place turn extra bucks $$$ - every tour that someone from a hotel sets up for guest has a pay back.
That sounds fine.
There is a line between tacky and convenient. I donāt want to stay in an airbnb where everything has a pricetag on it or that feels like a gallery. Someone telling me at every turn that something is for sale would be a turn off. But if I go to a hotel and they offered a minibar, Iām not offended. If there is a tag on the robe saying ābuy me for $100,ā and a tag or the water, and the mini bar and the soap and the guidebookā¦then itās too much.
I agree. That and signs. I donāt want to stay anywhere that has so many signs around the place telling me to ādo thisā and ānot to do thatā and to āremember to do so-and-soā. I"ve stayed in too many backpackers like that. I really wonder if it helps. I go with people loving feeling trusted and being more likely to do it out of their heart than because I laminated a sheet of something typed in CAPS. lol
I agree about the signs. Hosts like to feel like they are in control and all those signs help them feel that. Typically something happens that a host doesnāt like and they put a sign. Now 100% of the guests get a sign in their face for something that only 5% of guest do. Some things are serious of course like things put in 100 year old sewage systems that canāt handle it. A plumberās fee in the hundreds is not just an inconvenience, so a sign is in order. But if posts here are any indication some hosts go overboard.
Good point about 100% of guests getting signs for things 5% of guests do. Skewed.
Font style/size/presentation of the sign for things like the sewer issue can make significant difference to glaring accusatory and polite insistence
This may be true but one of the most commented on things in my reviews is the ālove notesā I leave around my place.
I use post its everywhere guiding people to fun finds in my condo. Telling them where they can find the coffeeā¦draw a card for good vibes, light a candle, spray some lavender water on their face or pull a personal note from the fortune cookie jar.
This has helped people navigate my space and feel more at home and since it isnāt a piece of laminated paper but little post it notes everywhere it feels very welcoming.
Also, Iām particularly careful with my language using words that invite rather than command or request people to do things. Itās been highly helpful in my reviews and maintaining a 5 star rating. No one has ever said something negative about all the little ābread crumbsā I leave around the space either.
That sounds cool and not like typical signage at all. I wouldnāt have candles but the concept is great.
A ālove noteā really isnāt the type of sign that we were talking about though.
People also regularly comment on the little cards I leave around the place next to things too saying things like - "Iām your heatpack - 3 mins in the microwave next to a mug of water and Iāll help you drift off into blissful slumber if you would likeā.
Itās fun, isnāt it?
You all have inspired me. Iāve picked up some cans of gourmet Virginia peanuts (they are a steal at my local grocery ā cheaper than Amazon or the company website). Three will be stacked in a little pyramid on the desktop with a sign (yes, another sign, Iām afraid!) āNeed a souvenir or gift? Take home some Virginia peanuts! Just drop $x in the box or send $x.50 through PayPal to [my paypal ID] per can.ā
I will report back . . .
There is a website called guest check. I think its just in the Us, but you get paid for inspecting places. I reckon many hosts would have a good eye