i recently stayed in an airbnb and i really liked how they left the fridge stocked with sodas, sparkling and still water, as well as beer ,and they also left a bottle of wine with some chocolates in the living room. i really found this to be a nice touch and was wondering of doing this for my guests. my question to you guys is, do you provide anything like this and do guests appreciate it, mention it in the reviews ? now i do not want to provide any type of alcohol, for the sake of underage guests. but i am open to any ideas you guys have and what does it cost you ?
I leave a basket of cookies with a bag of coffee beans. I have also left fruit baskets. If itās a special occasion, Iāll leave a bottle of champagne. Some guests have mentioned it in their reviews, so now I feel obligated to continue leaving gifts.
It totally depends on the type of listing. Face it. 100% of the costs of those items is passed on to the guest. The question is whether the value to the guest is reasonable for the price they paid. For some listings, the cost of those items would raise the nightly rate by a HUGE percentage.
Hereās my question to you? For the listing you stayed at, how many guests were in your group and what was the nightly rate and cleaning fee?
Edit: I guess to generalize, it doesnāt matter so much if any random guest in any random listing appreciates the items. What matters is that specific items in a specific listing attract the type of guest that the host wants to attract.
I supply water, individual juices, individual yogurt, individual milks, apples and a wrapped butter quarter in the fridge. Individual flavored teas, hot chocolate packets, and Kurgig style coffees on one counter. Sugar packets and sealed honey straws for sweetener. Oatmeal packets, individual Crasins packets, poptarts, granola bars and bananas in a bowl.
I hate all the individual wrappings but the Health Department regs make it important to have items that canāt be tampered with and donāt allow for homemade goodies. If opened, I replace the butter for each new guest and take the used one for our family.
Most people donāt use most items so I have to keep an eye on expiration dates - however, many of my reviews contain the comment āShe thought of everything!ā
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24 hours a day, we supply bottled water (sparkling and still), sodas, organic juice, milk, broth, coffee, and tea. Nothing alcoholic. We also offer fresh fruit.
If my husband bakes, we share with guests.
For breakfast, my husband makes oatmeal from steel-cut oats, fresh fruit, and milk. We also offer cold cereals, breads, bagels, butter, marmalade, cream cheese, and fruit.
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@Gandyv8 Alberto, I leave different types of water, sometimes tea bottles, soda cans or juices, milk, eggs, cheese, crackers and yogurt. I also leave various condiments, instant coffee and ground coffee. I provide a basket of chips, etc. Guests often mention it in their reviews and seem very grateful even though lots of guests donāt partake of anything I left for them.
I wouldnāt leave sparkling or still water in a fridge when you can easily get it out of the tap where I live (not great for the environment) or sodas as they tend to be sugar laden. I have a Brita jug of filtered water that guests can use. Do you have to offer bottled water where you live? @Gandyv8
What you leave will depend on your target market and price point.
I have a wide selection of teas, coffees milk and sugar that guests can help themselves to, oils, herbs and spices. I also leave retro sweets in the bedroom. I have no idea how much this costs me. Maybe a Ā£1 or so per guest.
I sometimes offer them a beer or glass of wine on arrival and always a hot drink or water.
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Exactly. Other than the usual staples in the cupboard (tea & coffee), guests at low & mid season rates get a 1.5L bottle of water. Nothing else.
High season rates (i.e. stupid money 
) get a few beers, bottle of local wine, fruit juice, milk, some local snacks (jamon, queso) and some bread/croissants. Less than ā¬15 and well worth the effort, according to feedback.
JF
We leave home baked bread, a block of cheese, packet of ham, salami, grapes, orange and apple juice, along with butter, buttery spread, mayonnaise, potato crisps or similar, chocolate biscuits and some other fruit. This is on top of the standard continental style breakfast we provide, so thereās enough for the guests to make a lunch and have snack as well. We donāt provide access to our kitchen but there is a microwave for rehearing pre-prepared meals.
Our total spend is around Ā£7-Ā£10 and in the scheme of things we think itās worth it. Our nightly rate is Ā£50-Ā£70 per room and we donāt charge a cleaning fee. We buy into the āundersell & over deliverā mantra and the feedback we get bears this out.
My listing has a full kitchen. I provide a Keurig with pods, electric kettle with tea bags, Mr. Coffee. In the cabinet I have a few of those small bowls of cereal, little pots of jelly, honey, and peanut butter. Small container of pancake mix and syrup (this has been a big hit!)
The actual fridge has bottled water, butter, eggs, yogurt, small containers of apple juice, orange juice, and milk. I have small bottles of condiments including salad dressing and mustard.
I also leave out a basket with snacks and chips.
Most guests use almost none of this; some use almost all. All of them comment in their reviews and in private about how much they loved it, even if they did not use any of it! I think it is well worth the money.
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Iād think what is provided depends on the price point and the type of guests that the AirBNB is hosting. Iām at a higher price point, and my guests fall into a couple of categories
- Vacation / Getaway
- Business
I offer them them a āstarter setā, affording them a snack in the morning (should they be arriving late) before they do their own shopping. Business travelers typically donāt even do that. What I provide includes coffee, milk (type of their choice), a homemade baked good, a few bottles of water (flat and sparkling)
In some instances I have offered to pick up groceries (for reimbursement) when guests were arriving especially late, or arriving on a holiday when many stores were closed.
This is at a hotel I stayed at recently but I have the same. I fill the bottle from the filtered supply in my home. Some guests also get sparkling water in cans. Coffee, tea and hot cocoa along with breakfast bar and a seasonal candy. Guests who get a lower rate get fewer amenities.
Well, i left candy dishes full of candy in the beginning but parents hid them from their kids, so Iām not offering them anymore. I wouldnāt leave wine or beer because everybody is different. I like dry red wine and IPAs for example. My boyfriend likes whisky and dark beer, guiness and cider. Not a wine drinker. I went to some ABBs where they left some cheap wine in the room. I knew it was horrible and didnāt touch it.
Some of my guests buy Coors light or miller. Or Bud. To me that is not beer. Itās expensive water. I like the commercials but I stick to my artisanal, IPA beer.
Besides, if I were to buy wine or beer for my guests Iād have to jack up the price and they might not even like it. So I let them buy whatever they want. The store is close by.
As for food, no. In the house I rent to groups I leave the fridge totally empty; they buy their own. I just offer coffee and tea. And water.
In my house, I offer coffee, tea, fruits all the time. In weekend I ask them if they want to have breakfast with me and I make omelette (white omelet), avocado toast, give them cream cheese, butter & jelly. I dont allow them to cook anymore after one guest ruined my all clad pan.
And I would never ever offer keurig. it pollutes the earth like crazy.
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We agree with you about Keurig. We have a very simple pour-over system for coffee and an electric kettle to heat water for tea.
Weāre always here to make coffee. For the few guests who have wanted coffee far earlier than we wanted to make it (like 4:30 a.m.), we simply show them how. Itās very easy, and no one has ever complained. In fact, all we get are compliments about the coffee here.
In addition to caf and decaf coffees and teas, we stock the fridge with a filter pitcher of water (and loaner re-fillable water bottles), and half&half for coffee/tea. For environmental reasons we no longer provide plastic bottled water.
We also provide a bottle of wine and some chocolates. If we suspect the guests are non-drinkers (from Utah, or obvious names) we provide fancy bottled sparkling grape juice. Yes it get mentioned and appreciated by guests.
We get our inexpensive, but reasonably decent tasting wines ($2.87 per bottle) from Aldi or Trader Joeās.
We do still provide bottled water, but we show guests how to use filtered water from our fridge (if they come with their own water bottle). We also show them where cups and glasses are for in-house use. Most of our guests use the filtered water either in their own bottle or in our glasses.
Oh, and we show them where recycling goes. Guests have been good about doing that.
Reading this thread makes me want to up my game!!!
I provide bottled water (still & sparkling plus refills from either filtered cold water at the fridge or filtered tap water), 3 coffee makers (drip, French Press, and Capresso), along with Trader Joeās ground coffee and ground Italian coffee for espresso. I also have a burr grinder for those guests who bring beans. I have an electric kettle, assortment of teas, sugar, and Stevia in a coffee/tea station in the kitchen. I also have a tray with reusable hot/cold mugs (dollar store, so no biggie if they go missing) and travel mugs as well as a plastic pitcher and glassware for the pool. I leave a welcome note with some chocolates (the Halloween sized M&Ms seem to be the favorite). Since they can use the kitchen, I also have spices and condiments for them to share and ask them to check if they have questions. Iāve shared wine with guests when weāre all outside and relaxing after work, but I wouldnāt leave it for anyone - Iāve had too many non-drinkers and I wouldnāt want to upset anyone.
Iām going to start offering oatmeal and cooked breakfast items, especially for the 1 night ājust passing throughā snowbirds - for a small fee.
So far, only a couple of my guests have cooked as opposed to just using the microwave.
The refrigerator is empty, for a guest to put their own groceries in. Hose outside if they want a drink of water. We are cheap and easy.
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Thank you. Seeing this in the responses made me cringe repeatedly. Theres no sense in bottled water unless youāre in a 3rd world country.
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If you also have a filter, which most guests use, why provide bottled water at all then?