What amenities should I provide?

Guests traveling to stay at your Airbnb property expect at the very least to have the absolute basic amenities on their arrival.

• Clean bedding and linen.
• Towels.
• Toilet roll.

In my opinion that would be the absolute bare minimum (if you’re a tight arse that is).

So, if you want to have below average reviews and terrible feedback, then read no further, you should be just fine with the above 🙂

But what if you want to make sure your guests have a 5-star experience?  It’s going to cost an arm and a leg, right?

Well, sort of, and sort of not…

It’s very easy to get carried away, providing lavish freebies for your guests, but at the end of the day, you are running a business.  And as a business you should always be looking for ways to increase revenue, and reduce costs.

So here’s a few ideas that won’t break the bank, but will add value to your guests stay and help you on your way to yet another 5 star review:

• Tea and Coffee:  This one is only just above “absolute minimum”, so you really should be providing this.  Tip: You don’t have to buy “Kopi Luwak” Coffee to impress your guests.  Just get yourself a posh re-usable jar/tin and refill it with fresh coffee before check in.  Tip: Airbnb is full of left wing liberals, so chuck a few herbal teas in for good measure.
• Toiletries:  Same trick as above.  Source yourself some posh re-usable bottles, and refill with bulk purchased alternatives (Now I look like the tight arse 🙁 )
• Flowers:  I’m not a fan of this as a value adding extra.  I for one wouldn’t notice, plus they’ll be dead by the end of their stay.  I’d rather give them $10 in an envelope if you ask me.
• Bottle of wine:  Now your talking.  You can keep the flowers, but if your offering free booze then I for one will definitely be leaving you a glowing review.
• Hairdryer: Now this is well worth the investment.  You can use it over and over again, plus you can tick it off on Airbnb’s list of amenities.
• Netflix: This is my own personal favorite.  It costs barely anything (approx $10 per month), is tax deductible, and is a great way to entice guests to book your place over a rivals.
• WiFi: You will make far, far more money by providing internet than not.  So don’t skimp on this one.  Tip:  Pay the extra and get fast internet.  Nobody deserves to be put through the pain of agonising connection speeds.

All of the above in my opinion, are just above absolute basics.

For those of you that want to go the extra mile, here’s a few extra suggestions:

• Travle adaptors and acessories
• Printer and scanner
• Ironing board (I mean honestly, who uses an ironing board nowadays anyway?)
• HDMI cable
• Eye mask

You get the picture.

The options are endless but the most important thing to keep in mind is this:

“Is it adding more value than it costs”?

Every extra amenity that costs you money, should be increasing your profits.  End of.

Do you have anything else to add to this list?

Got any killer suggestions I missed?

Chuck in the comments, I’d love to know.

Words by Rowan Clifford from Airbnb Smart