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My name is Garin, I’m a web designer and Airbnb addict from Oregon.
A while back I read an article about a guy who made $250k/year driving for Uber. His secret was that he sold jewelry to his guests- he always had a necklace hanging from the rear view mirror and catelogues in the backseat pockets.
I started thinking if that would be possible to do with Airbnb. Maybe you could upsell gift baskets, prepared meals, local wine, or even get paid commissions for selling tours, activities, or car rentals.
I created a sample website that includes a payment gateway. This way you could use the site for marketing, or answering common guest questions, but also making these upsells and processing payments. You can see it here: garinetch.com/airbnb.
As hosts, what do you think of this idea? Would it be useful for your Airbnb business? Feel free to share any feedback you have. Thanks!
Airbnb already thought of this it’s called Airbnb experiences."
Some forum members here have already posted that they do this. Since there are already many payment options available like cash, check, credit card readers, paypal and others it’s hard to see what unique service you are offering.
Thanks for the feedback! I thought having it on a website would make it more convenient. For example you could have 4 gift baskets on the site, a guest could pick one and pay on the site, and then it would be waiting for them at the property when they arrived. That way you wouldn’t have to have inventory in the home that made it feel like a store, and you wouldn’t have to go through the awkward process of handling payment in person. But those were all just assumptions so I really appreciate your input. Maybe those aren’t problems after all and this wouldn’t be a big benefit.
I actually like the idea of not having to handle payment … like you say it removes awkwardness. And for people who can’t get Airbnb to approve their trips but still really want to do it your idea would actually be a great alternative.
If it existed (the site) I would use it to advertise picnic baskets which can be ordered and then taken to the park. I’d probably add meals on there too again to be ordered in advance …
I like your website mock-up - and it’s an interesting idea to include those extras. I see it on hotel and airline websites all the time. Even if someone didn’t take advantage of those services, it still appears to offer a more full-service experience to the guest.
We already have a page on our direct website with links to various activities, tours, grocery delivery, etc. But to try to make a commission from that would require a LOT of work in contacting each of those “partners” and somehow coming up with a way to get paid - and then hope that they will pay you (or do you charge them and then pay the tour company, for example?).
I’ve also wondered about having rental items for offer, like kayaks or snowshoes, or perhaps cribs/playpens - I haven’t done that because it might seem a little “grabby”. And some people might think that it should be included with the rental. Also, if someone were staying a week how do you know which days they are using your product if nobody were there on site?
If one were to sell their own product (i.e. a gift basket) it might be the best way of making extra cash, but I question if the hassle of arranging tours, etc and collecting a 10% commission would be worth the hassle.
Someone had posted here that they used to have kayaks until they thought about the liability issues or the insurance company found out. I can’t recall who it was but maybe they will see this post.
I like the idea of hosts having their own page on your site but I have my doubts as to whether the idea is a viable one for you. Hosts and their local laws vary so much - for example, in our area we’re not allowed to do the prepared meals thing due to health regulations. I’m also not sure about the legal ramifications when it comes to selling wine?
As mentioned above I have arrangement with local companies and some of those are pretty loose arrangements whereby I don’t receive a financial commission but a ‘gift’ as a thank you. For instance, if I refer a guest to a local business they ‘thank’ me with a gift of a bottle of wine which I can then use at home or as a guest gift in the rental.
This avoids all sorts of complex accounting issues.
For some items, it’s better for hosts to set up their own affiliate programs with companies and get commission that way.
There’s the added complication of the disappearing guest. If I had seven prepared meals for a guest, plus a gift basket, plus a bottle of wine, plus a day kayaking, what would happen if the guest then cancelled or failed to show up? What if the guest had paid for these and wanted refunds? Who would deal with that?
And I would say “here are a bunch of ideas for how to make more with your airbnb business, and here’s what is working for my other clients, and whatever ideas you want to incorporate I can add to your page.” But I’d leave it up to each person to customize what upsells they want based on their location, or what information they want to include on their site.
I don’t know if that’s a cop out. But I’ll definitely think more about the points you raised. Thanks!
It wasn’t me but my attorney told me to definitely NOT include anything such as bikes, kayaks etc. because of the liability issue.
I have various arrangements with local companies instead.
That makes total sense. I like the idea of connecting with local companies instead. I have a friend that has a tour company- they take groups to local wineries- and he and my mom are working out a deal where her Airbnb guests get a % discount, and she gets a % commission. It’s worth it to him since he doesn’t have to pay for marketing for those customers. Anyways, if I start building websites like this for my own clients, I’ll compile examples of what’s actually working in the real world.
If one were to sell their own product (i.e. a gift basket) it might be the best way of making extra cash, but I question if the hassle of arranging tours, etc and collecting a 10% commission would be worth the hassle.
You raise a lot of good points. When it comes to commissions, I think it would probably be easiest if guests paid you, then you paid the company. I think that would cut down on payments bouncing back and forth. But right now it’s just an idea so I don’t have a real-world example of this working.
I agree with you that I think gift baskets would be easiest. You could have a few variations on the website, and if the guest buys you just leave it for them at the property and it’s waiting for them when they check in.
I actually like the idea of not having to handle payment … like you say it removes awkwardness. And for people who can’t get Airbnb to approve their trips but still really want to do it your idea would actually be a great alternative.
If one were to sell their own product (i.e. a gift basket) it might be the best way of making extra cash, but I question if the hassle of arranging tours, etc and collecting a 10% commission would be worth the hassle.
I think we’re on the same page. I think meals and picnic baskets would be great upsells.
If you want to give it a shot I’d be happy to build it for you! My idea isn’t to make a site where you have a profile, but just to build a full website for you and your listing. ZandrasAirbnb.com for example. Let me know if you’d be interested!
the only difference is, an Uber driver may have ten different clients a day to sell to, maybe 50 a week.We usually only have maybe 2 clients a week, sometimes only in a month, you wouldnt be selling many necklaces with those numbers.
the only difference is, an Uber driver may have ten different clients a day to sell to, maybe 50 a week.We usually only have maybe 2 clients a week, sometimes only in a month, you wouldnt be selling many necklaces with those numbers.
Totally true. But if you sold higher ticket items it wouldn’t take much to make a big difference on your business.
My mom used to rent out her property, but she hated having full-time tenants. So now she knows "I have to rent out my place on Airbnb X days/month in order to make as much as if I just had renters. Unfortunately she doesn’t have much control over how many people choose her listing on Airbnb each month, other than maintaining her superhost status. But we were brainstorming the upsell idea and figured that would give her control over the average price per guest.
I feel old and unloved. I just want to carry on doing airbnb old-style. You know, give someone a nice comfy place to stay, have a chat, share my knowledge of the city etc. Do I have to make jewellery now?
I like the last option best. It’s the only one I can actually do competently, anyway. Bookings are way down, though, compared to previous years so I may have to think about a night class in falcon training or something.
I am starting to think that AirBNB is having difficulties keeping and/or retaining guests. Instead of getting rid of the hosts that don’t provide a good experience as a means of retaining those guests, they have instead continued their marketing to get more hosts to lower prices.
I think you’re right. It’s not what it was. The new “experiences” thing is nice but seems so gimmicky. I have offered the real, original experience of staying with someone who knows the city and is willing and happy to share that and give a home-like feeling to all guests. Seems that is not enough any more. I refuse to lower my prices any more.
