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I’m wondering if AirBnB has any way to allow Hosts to offer personal services (such as massage therapist, personal chef, hair stylist, etc) to their guests. As Hosts, do you all think if you had these services to offer your guests, they would be utilized?
The reason I ask is because I run an app that allows anyone to find a massage therapist, a personal chef, a hair stylist (and several others) and book an appointment. The app also has the ability to pay commissions to anyone who directs someone else (who books a service) to the app. So for example, if you had a guest who wanted a massage therapist to come to your property during their stay and you sent them to my app (via a special link) and they booked and paid for a massage, you would get paid a certain percentage of their total cost. There’s no cost to the Host - if none of your guests book any services, you wouldn’t be paid anything, but it doesn’t cost anything to offer them.
Can any Hosts tell me if anything like this currently exists through AirBnB? or if this sort of thing is even allowed? And if you feel like giving your opinion, do you think your guests would find value in being able to book appointments like that right through you rather than having to search around on their own?
I’m new to this community, so I hope this is the correct location for this type of question. If not, feel free to point me in the right direction.
Some of what you describe is similar to Airbnb Experiences, although those are only available in select markets at this time.
I’d guess about 85% of my guests don’t ask for recommendations beyond restaurants. The few who do ask about wine tours, yoga, spas, etc. get my unvarnished personal opinion and I’m happy to do so without any kickback or commission involved. I’d be concerned that adding an app into the process will complicate things (what if the masseuse I recommend isn’t in your app? It’s far easier for me to share her name & number directly) at best and, at worst, be seen as an attempt to “upsell” them.
Thanks for the reply Allison_H - all really good feedback. I can definitely understand your concerns all around. I wonder if something like the equivalent of a printed “coupon book” with “discount codes” printed on them for each service for Hosts to include with their other “Welcome materials” would allow the Hosts to distance themselves from the entire process and thus eliminate the risk of it being perceived as an upsell? The Guest would be free to follow instructions on the specific “coupon” to book a service they are interested in (or maybe became interested in after seeing the materials about it) or they could still ask the Host for a word-of-mouth recommendation, which would not have to involve the vouchers or app in any way.
I’m guessing the numbers would have to be higher than 15% of Guests looking for these services in the 1st place for it to be overly enticing for the Hosts to include the additional materials, but on the other hand, as I mentioned before, just seeing a voucher with a “discount code” for a massage may just put a previously uninterested Guest in the mood for a good deep tissue massage.
@Dave as someone new to this community for hosts, can you tell us a little about your experience of hosting?
I agree with @Allison_H I only recommend services I have used myself. And I recommend local apps and websites I have used myself and whose reviews I value.
I am not interested in promoting an app or coupons by a third party which is based on promoting those who pay to advertise on it.
Hey Helsi - thanks for the input… I’ve been getting a lot along those lines in my research.
I’ve owned a handful of rental and vacation properties over the years. These days, I’m down to 1 rental that’s been a yearly-lease situation for the past 2 years but have been through a slew of providers (including AirBnB) with my vacation rentals in the past. Performance-wise, AirBnB did quit well for me, but it was being managed professionally so I can take little to no credit for said performance. I plan to stay in the real estate game indefinitely and am always exploring options for picking up another short-term rental or 2. As such, I try to keep up on the things it takes to do it right/well, hence my presence here as well as my involvement with the technology side of things too.
If you’d like to know anything else, feel free to ask. And if you have any input on anything I’ve said thus far, feel free to tell =)
I am not interested in promoting an app or coupons by a third party which is based on promoting those who pay to advertise on it.
And just to clarify, the service providers don’t pay to advertise. They can list their services (which are rated and reviewed by other users) for free - they only pay a % of the total cost of someone’s booking as a service fee. Not sure if that makes any difference perception-wise, but I figured I’d add it in just in case.
@Helsi, would you say you are solicited often by 3rd parties looking to “partner” with you as a Host for any type of arrangement(s)?
That’s good to hear. I remember being constantly inundated with emails, mostly from property management sales reps, but it seems like less of those get through these days. Anyway, thanks for the responses - much appreciated. And if anyone else has any thoughts on the matter of add-on services (up sell or otherwise), I’d love to hear 'em.
Currently Airbnb hosts can offer extra services to their guests. Hosts can charge guests for any additional services that they want to offer via a resolution request. This way it ensures that the guest and host both do not get charged the guest service fee. Hosts can use the Resolution Center option to “Request payment for extra services” before, during or after the reservation.
