Usually I am all about how to be giving more value to your guest and exceeding their expectations for their stay with you but today I want to talk about money & earning additional income.
Money (and asking for it) can bring up lots of complex feelings for Wholehearted hosts who primarily focus on the hospitality side of hosting. However, it is very important to remember that money:
- Pays our bills
- Puts food on our table
- Gives us the freedom to offer exceptional services over and above the basics.
Ditch the “Ick” Mindset
Keep in mind, that guests are not only needing accommodation for their stay but your local expertise. This is an extremely valuable commodity. There is no reason why you can’t be offering additional services for additional income and revenue. Of course you don’t want to be nickel and dime-ing for each small item but there are some ways for you to make some additional revenue and not feel icky.
As you think about additional revenue streams, ask yourself these questions:
- How much time will this service save them, and what is their time worth?
- How much money will they be able to save if they have to pay somebody else for this service?
- How much joy will it bring them — and can you really put a price on that?
- How much do I need to charge for this so that I feel appropriately compensated and not resentful?
Money is not necessarily a dirty subject. There are some excellent ways you can leverage add-ons to not only provide guests with exceptional experiences but put more money in your pocket.
Some ideas are:
Additional linens – I like to leave one set of towels per booked guest. That is two towels and a hand towel. Some people like to use lots of towels and that can easily blow out your cleaning budget and also make a ton of extra work turning the house around between guests. Plus it is not great for the planet.
(We have learned to keep our extra set of towels under lock and key as too often guests will help themselves to our spare set which leaves us short for turnaround. )
So, if guests want extra towels, no problem – just put a price tag on it. How much? If you use a linen service, this is easy. Just double the cost that the linen service charge you per towel. You need to factor in your time as well. If you are a self-launderer, look at your cleaning fees and really be honest about how much your time and effort is worth. Then double it.
Breakfast basket – you could offer a pre-packed basket of bread, butter, jam, granola, milk and fruit. Price everything out and then double it to factor in your time and effort.
Personal shopper: Great for all sorts of guests especially if you cater to mostly tourists and out of towners. Your local knowledge is valuable to your guests and they are often willing to pay for this especially for specialty items. Figure out a good hourly rate in line with what you would charge as a consultant, then double it.
Pick-up service – be careful with this as you don’t want to be a private taxi service. Better yet, hook up with a local transport operator and arrange for an introduction fee for each pick-up. You are helping a local business and providing a valuable service to your guests.
Ticketing for local attractions – most places will have an introduction or affiliate fee if you recommend guests or if guests want you to make the bookings for them, add at least a 20% surcharge for your time and effort.
Babysitting services – as we host many families with children, offering babysitting services allows more choices to parents. This means that many of our guests are grateful for the opportunity to take a date night while on holidays. Work out a rate with the service provider and then add a 20% surcharge for your time and effort if you are arranging this.
Case study from my business Tokyo Family Stays, our turnaround team are also available for babysitting. This gives these excellent ladies additional income and they already know the house. It is a win-win-win – my favourite type of solution.
Affiliate marketing – if you take direct bookings on your website, make arrangements with a local company offering tours and transport and ticketing. Have these links on your website and send them out to guests when they book as a part of your welcome packet. We make quite a bit of money for this service on Tokyo Family Stays. If you want to learn all about Affiliate marketing, you can take a course on this from Jo Ebisujima.
Mid-stay cleaning services – if you are like us, you only clean before and after each guest. But you can offer a mid-stay cleaning for a fee if guests want to pay for this. If you are outsourcing your cleaning, make sure you add 20% to the cleaners fees to cover your time and effort. Again, you are providing an additional earning opportunity for your turnaround team.
Home-made products honesty box. I have seen this done quite effectively in small rural areas. The host has been an excellent creator of home-made jams, jellies and chutneys. Leave a small jar for the guest and then have take home jars for sale.
Translation services – we are in Tokyo and most of our guests do not speak Japanese. From time to time, our guests have needed translation services. We hire out our staff members to assist them.
In house chef – very high end for high end clients. At first I was skeptical about the demand, but a few of my clients have very high end short term rentals and we have done some testing on this. The need and desire for an in-house chef is more common and more popular than I first thought. Again, charge at least 20% for your own time and effort to co-ordinate this.
Private tours and experiences – if you have a passion or a talent that you can share then do it. I know hosts who have taught local cooking techniques, flower arranging, taken guests for a local photo shoot or dressed guests in Japanese kimono.
The Soft Sell
Give guests the opportunity to take you up on the offer or not. Don’t fall into the trap of pushy up-selling but at the same time, remember that these services can really add to your guests’ comfort.
Focus on what you can offer and an authentic local experiences that complement your short term rental. People on holiday are often looking for great suggestions and local delights and they are expecting to spend money.
Guests have already chosen you for your listing and are already in a transactional relationship of trust. Give them the opportunity to spend their money with you.
The takeaway here is that if you put a value on your time and effort, your guests will value you in return.
Price Lists
The most important thing to keep in mind, is that any extra fees and charges need to be discussed up front. Make a pamphlet or price list of the things that you can offer.
Before each guest arrives, we send them a full welcome pack by email. This pack includes:
- Check in instructions
- welcome pack
- maps
- house rules
- useful links for local activities
- additional services price list
The price list gives your guest options and lets them know the costs in advance. This sets a clear boundaries for you and your guests and allows you to spend your time and effort being hospitable.
It also sparks some ideas with your guests about what opportunities are available to them. Often we find people are very grateful to know there are additional services.
Make sure you put the price list in your welcome book, in your listing description or on your own website.
A note on a direct booking website: I always recommend to my hosting clients to have their own website for direct bookings. This will give you the web real-estate to highlight all of your services and have affiliate links built right in. This makes it easier to show the full suite of services on offer. It adds to your professional image as a dedicated host.
If you are interested in building your own site, set up a discovery call with me and I can give you the personal attention and advice.
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