What, no breakfast?

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Hi, everyone. We have a guest staying here who was surprised that we do not make breakfast for our guests. We do usually offer a muffin and we always offer coffee or tea. The person commented that they thought Airbnbs offer breakfasts. He said that when he stayed in Airbnb in France they offered breakfasts. We explained that we cannot do that but we are happy to offer coffee and a list of great restaurants around.

I wonder if I need to make it clear in our description that we do not offer breakfast. Or maybe this was just a blip. Anyone else have this happen?

We are working hard to make his stay a positive experience but are not gonna make breakfast for him.

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What nationality is your guest? In the UK a B and B is a bed and breakfast - that is, a guest house where you will get a room and breakfast as part of the deal. For years I assumed that Airbnb was precisely that which is why I didnā€™t even consider advertising our self catering cottages on the platform until a friend set me right!

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You could certainly mention in your listing info that you provide coffee and tea, but no food.

However, this is just one of those cases of a guest who makes assumptions about what will be provided, instead of basing their expectations on what is actually listed as amenities.

I did once read a whole long thread on the Airbnb forum by guests saying they would expect breakfast, because itā€™s called Airbnb.
Hosts responded, asking if they also expected to sleep on an air mattress. :laughing:

Most of the guests who thought breakfast should be provided were older people, who were used to the traditional Bed and Breakfasts, whereas Airbnb is just a company name that neither means youā€™ll get breakfast, nor only be given an air mattress to sleep on.

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As a Host, I provide cooked breakfasts for my guests, because Iā€™m Olde School that way. However when we stay in AirBnbs we do expect ā€œsomethingā€ ā€“ shelf stable milk and porridge oats, fruit, dry cereal, commercial breakfast bars, toast and jam/peanut butter ā€“ something, in addition to coffee and tea. In our experience travelling around the world and staying in AirBnbs, itā€™s the rare Air that doesnā€™t offer anything ā€¦

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I know Iā€™m talking like a dinosaur but back in the day Airbnbā€™s were all one of a kind spaces, apartments, a room in a house, and they provided unique situations. My 102 year-old home currently has three rooms as STRā€™s and no, I do not provide any food, I do provide a lot of of coffees and teas, but since we do not allow cooking or even food outside of the kitchen, it would make no sense for my core guests since almost all of them are repeat business people in the area for work.

No, we do not compete with grandmaā€™s classic bed-and-breakfast, no we do not compete with a hotel, no we do not compete with a hostel. We grit our teeth and smile when an entitled guest who probably picked us for price tells us what we should have and what they always had in the past. When somebody mentions a ā€˜missingā€™ amenity they think we should have we are gracious, smile, thank them, and realize that no - a hot tub will not fit in the living room, a barbecue will not work sitting in the hallway, and I am not cooking fresh muffins every morning for guests who think leaving us a four in value will ā€˜give us some room to improveā€™.

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There are tons of Airbnbs in my touristy town, and I donā€™t know of any that provide any food. It also depends on the price of the listing. Iā€™d have to raise my price if I provided food and have never had a guest who expected breakfast or breakfast foods.

But my guests do have full use of my kitchen, I provide coffee, tea, cream, and sugar, and they are welcome to use my oil and herbs and spices.
Also there are about 300 places to eat in this little beach town.

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A guest that expects something rather than a guest that has read the amenities and the description is the nightmare guest - ready to rate and judge us based on their expectation of a nonexistent amenity - so we include in our message of welcome our house, rules, and service limitations. Still, we get those kind of guests whose imagined missing amenities are coloring their stay. Thoughts on how to solve this bigger issue?

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Donā€™t get me wrong. We READ the amenities, and know pretty much what to expect. But a ā€œwelcome bowlā€ of fruit and snack bars is a very common, if not necessarily expected, and often unlisted ā€œammenityā€. I would suggest that as hosts you try to do a little more than listed, not just the minimum to ā€˜get byā€™. Thatā€™s how we kept a nearly solid 5 star rating for many years. Hotels donā€™t tell you that youā€™ll get a mint on your pillow, but it sure is a nice touch!

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Doing a little more than expected doesnā€™t have to involve food. I pick a pretty little bouquet of flowers and foliage from my garden to put in my guest room when they arrive, which several guests have mentioned, and I pick them up at the bus depot and drive them back when they leave, which isnā€™t listed as an amenity. Many guests have mentioned that in their reviews. Iā€™ve occasionally done complimentary repairs on guestsā€™s clothing. And I also have had a solid 5 star rating since I started hosting 9 years ago, aside from one 4 star.

I donā€™t get the impression that the majority of hosts on this forum only do the bare minimum to ā€œget byā€.

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10

I appreciate all the comments Iā€™ve been getting and the wide range of opinion about providing sweet touches. Unlike some of the people posting, I would not mend guest clothing or provide a fruit basket, that kind of thing. We are only charging $60 a night and for that they get a really good cup of coffee and probably a homemade muffin (albeit from the freezer) and I think our biggest amenity is friendly, affectionate cats! Iā€™m going to revisit our Airbnb description to see if I can make it clear that we do not provide breakfast. Thanks, everyone, I just love this forum.

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In my neck of the woods, many locals think AirBnb units provide breakfast. They were trying to use breakfast as a means to shut down STRs, saying we needed to pass restaurant inspections and such. I lost count of how many times I had to explain that I do not provide breakfast to guests.

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I only mended the clothing because Iā€™m a seamtress by trade and they were like 5 minute jobs to sew up a ripped out seam. :wink:

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I think itā€™s very kind of you. I apologize for using that as an example of things I wonā€™t do. Iā€™m sure I would love to stay at your Airbnb

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Nothing to apologize for. My airbnb is one of the most inexpensive places to stay in my town, so I certainly donā€™t provide things like bowls of fruit and snack bars or bottles of wine.

I do extra little things for guests that donā€™t cost me extra money or time, nor would I do things for guests that I donā€™t even do for myself, like making some elaborate breakfast.

I can understand if hosts are making hundreds of dollars a night that leaving a $25 bottle of wine and a bunch of goodies to help get 5 star reviews makes sense, but not for small time hosts like us.

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15

if itā€™s not stated in your listing, then it doesnā€™t exist!

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I have only seen that kind of comment from people who are new to Airbnb. Since I donā€™t do instant book I always ask guests with no history if they have stayed at an AirBnB? Some who havenā€™t do expect breakfast, but I explain that in lieu of breakfast like a B&B we offer a fully stocked kitchen and BBQ where they can prepare all of theirf meals, should they wish.

Now in Sept we stayed in several AirBnBā€™s in France and in only one did the Host did provide a lovely breakfast, but hers was a bedroom/bathroom only and common space to share. I have never seen a full house/apartment STR include breakfast or any food, other than salt pepper and perhaps other condiments, except those that are someoneā€™s full time home they are letting out while they travel and make it clear we are welcome to anything we find in the cabinets or fridge.

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Iā€™ve stayed in over 100 AirBnBs as a guest at this point, in the US, Canada, England, and Ireland. They were a range of types and price points, ranging from budget accommodations that were a bedroom in someoneā€™s home to entire place higher end homes.

In my experience, there is no ā€œusualā€ when it comes to food related amenities. Iā€™ve stayed in AirBnBs that didnā€™t even have coffee or salt and pepper. Iā€™ve stayed in some that had a variety of coffees, teas, beverages of various kinds (including alcohol) and various food stuffs.

Iā€™ve learned never to expect anything but be grateful for anything offered.

Most commonly, I find AirBnBs will usually have bottled water, coffee, salt and pepper, cooking oil or spray of some kind, and shelf stable creamer of some kind, and sugar.

Some guests are totally turned of by finding any foodstuffs in the AirBnB at all. Guests of this ilk seem to be extremely squeamish and suspicious anything left for guests, even when itā€™s unused and sealed. They seem to want a completely bare fridge, and empty cupboards.

I used to buy certain staples and put them in the AirBnB before guests arrivedā€¦fresh milk, bread, butter, eggs, jelly/jam, yogurtā€¦as well as providing shelf stable items like coffee, teas, sugar, cooking oil, oatmeal, canned soup, boxed mac and cheese, and so on. The idea was to make sure they could find something to eat to make a meal if they arrived late at night, and to make for breakfast the next morning so they didnā€™t have to go grocery shopping before they could eat breakfast.

I found that many times, while the guests appreciated the thought, the items were not used. This was not a problem with the non-perishable food items, but often the cleaner, or I would end up taking the perishable items home after the guests departed. So I learned to buy only things the cleaner or I would use if the guests did not.

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