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Hi Newbie to this forum but have been Airbn B-ing for about 4 years.
We own and run a seaside chalet in Suffolk. It’s definitely cheap and cheerful. We have 95% good reviews as a holiday home targeted at young families. It looks after itself and we employ a local lady to clean for us (we live about 150 miles away). Its works.
But we’re wondering if we upgraded, we could provide a higher level of service and charge more. Better beds, clean sheets, nicer bathroom etec etc. Currently, we don’t supply towels or bedding (we provide duvets of course but ask guests to bring their own bedding) This doesn’t seem to put people off but we’re wondering if we did provide laundered bedding it may attract more customers? Of course we’d need to pay someone locally to do this for us.
Has anybody done this and what were the results?
Many thanks
Geoff
Have you done any market research yourself to see what other seaside chalets in your area offer and what they charge either on Airbnb or other STR platforms?
Obviously offering bedding and improving your property will make it more desirable to a wider audience but whether the investment will be repaid in terms of how much more you can make and how long it would take to recoup your investment very much depends on your market.
I would start by;
Doing your market research with similar comparable places and tourism footfall with your local tourist board
Putting together a budget to estimate costs involved for you (fixed and variable)
Using your market research estimate how much more you can charge, how many days you are likely to be able to let it out a year and therefore whether it is worth making the investment.
As well as a local cleaner, as you live some distance away it’s also worth looking at having a local co-host who can be on hand for any problems with your place or potentially problem guests.
I’ve done a bit of research. Most hosts in the same area charge £5/10/15 per night more than us but they have fare fewer bookings! (Which is probably preferable if income is the same.
I think we have found a little niche but looking for that balance between under/overselling
It is not uncommon in my area for whole home / condo listings to be “ bring your own linens” or pay a service
Supplying linens may make your rental appealing to a different type of guest, is it worth the work & investment? Is there a local Linen company who’s services you can offer as an add on?
@Helsi is correct about doing research before you make the change. If you are getting the rentals you want, given cost & work involved, adding linens may not add to your bottom line.
There are several threads on this site about guests ruining bed sheets, towels & wash cloths. It quickly can become expensive
“Cheap” is off-putting to many potential guests. As a Guest I don’t want cheap, I want a nice clean place with decent amenities in a decent location.
Lack of bedding is even more off-putting – I would not fly from America bringing towels and bedding, that’s just ridiculous. The only time I do that is when attending a music festival on a college campus and staying in a dormitory!!!~!
As @NordlingHouse said – I would never consider booking with you once I saw the Lack Of Amenities list…
I thought Air was requiring all listings to provide bedding and toilet paper…
Yes, if you provide a better product you can ask and get a higher price.
If there is no-one in your direct area that offer seaside chalets then I would have a look at nearby seaside resorts.
Quite a few hosts ask their cleaners to provide a bedding turnover service at an additional cost (you need three sets of everything to cover in the event of damage etc).
Why not offer the option - cheaper price and bring your own bedding etc or pay an additional charge for bedding to be provided.
The thing is Ken not everybody is you! PLENTY of people DO want cheap. I don’t call it “cheap and cheerful” on the listing, as that would be silly. Its a basic seaside chalet which appeals to those on a budget. It will never be luxurious accommodation however much is spent on it. I’m looking at a way of maximising income whilst realising that spending too much would be counter productive.
Geoff - Seems like you have a good niche offering for young families. If you added bedding, (in addition to those costs - I have 3 sets per bed) your cleaning costs would increase exponentially. Changing over bedding and the laundry will increase the turn over time and unless a service is doing your laundry, tons of added time for laundry.
Depending on your competition, you could try adding a few bucks to your nightly rental rate to see if you can increase your income that way - or upgrade the master bed (for those writing the review) and offer the option of laundry service for a fixed fee.
I would also focus on the 5% of reviews that don’t fall into the “good” category to see if you can make small tweaks to improve your offering.
I think it might help to see the listing. I’ve been to a few places in the US where I had to bring my own sheets/pillows/blankets. They were all places that were cheap and never “sparkling clean”. E.g., they were cleaned with a broom instead of a vacuum and/or mop and they attracted a specific type of guests. I suppose it’s different in other markets.
You would want to figure out what the market value of your place would increase if you decided to sell it. Also what the rental rate you could increase by. Factor those two metrics into your decision.
I like the idea of providing sheets and towels. As a guest, when I travel and arrive at my home away from home for seven days, I’m not in the mood to make beds. I just want to kick off my shoes and get a glass of wine or a cup of tea. So I think it would be nice if you offered your guests nice comfy beds beautifully dressed with English quilts and nice clean sheets.
