What makes your experience unique?

1

I’ve been thinking about the things that people do to go the extra mile. I’ve got all the basics covered (wifi, linen etc) - here are a few things I am using / looking in to:

  • Pearlshare: I put together personal guides to London for each guest that comes to stay, based on their preferences (vegetarian etc).
  • YourWelcome: Their tablets are really cool. You pay a small monthly fee and keep it in your house to welcome guests when you’re not there. Loads of cool features - you can use JOHN01 to get 30% off the monthly fee.
  • AirSpruce: Claire, the founder, is a travel writing expert and helped to optimise my listing - I heard about her through a friend - definitely recommended.
  • I also, at weekends, offer to take my guests on a walking tour of the local area - finishing in my favourite cafe.
  • I try to offer to pick them up from the station, if they have heavy cases and I have the car.

What are you doing?

2

We put together The Cabana Book, with plastic protected pages listing local information that may be of interest: restaurants we recommend (I’m a chef), local attractions like Manatee Park and the Edison-Ford Winter Estate, local activities like sightseeing boat tours, kayak rental places, public gardens, beaches, deepsea and freshwater fishing, newspaper stories about local activities, etc…

Since my partner is a Coupon Queen, there is always a stack of coupons for discounts on those local activities and such.

We also have a “lending library” – if you like it take it with you; leave one if you can.

We have a bottle of wine on the fireplace mantel – gets drunk about half the time, and a dish of hard candies alongside.

3

My experience is unique because I also board dogs here. It’s a dog lover’s paradise. Travelers with dogs are allowed for an extra person charge. Now if you don’t like dogs, are OCD about cleanliness, have allergies this might not be the best place for you. But the room has a separate entrance and if all you need is a bed and bathroom you don’t have to interact with dogs at all. I have over 100 5 star reviews, including for cleanliness, so the unique feature isn’t hurting me. I love when people tell me they picked my place because of the dogs.